Tripods : When To Bring and When NOT to Bring

Carrying a Tripod

Obviously, this isn’t a rocket science blanket recommendation, but something to think about if you are likely to face lighting conditions that will require a super slow shutter speed. On the contrary, packing a tripod can slow you down, be awkwardly bulky, and certainly identifies you to everyone around you as a photographer. In its favor, you can make exposures as long as you like and keep the camera locked onto a view for which you might want to vary the settings.

Everyone has their own preferences for style of tripod, but the light, strong materials like carbon fiber, which are unfortunately the most expensive by the way, make carrying a tripod less of a chore. You also need a strap of light case, and a tripod head that locks tight but is easy to use.

When Tripods Are Forbidden

There is a freaking creeping culture of restriction when it comes to setting up and using a tripod, and it’s so funny that it is happening in just those places where a tripod is pretty much vital and essential to take a photograph. These are places namely museums, galleries, interiors, and archeological sites. These are inevitable unfortunate times a photographer must face. When faced with the situation where yes, you can take photographs but no, not a tripod, there are a number of possible solutions:

• Use a Tripod until someone comes along and stops you (my personal favorite )
• Use a Monopod (but expect this to count as a tripod even though technically it is not)

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  A Monopod
  

• Use a Mini-Tripod and place it on some elevated surface or jam it againts a wall. It’s still a tripod, but you might get away with it as it won’t alert attention at a distance

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  Mini Tripod
  

• Use a Mini-Tripod on the ground, with either a Tilt-Shift Lens or with the camera tilted up, later resorting to perspective correction in post-processing

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  Canon Tilt-Shift Lens
  

• Use a Tripod head on its own, holding it down with one hand
• Take a baseplate, perhaps even with a block of wood
• Tip the caretaker or guard (depends on the country and circumtances ..works well in the Philippines by the way )