I shoot 90% of the time handheld on my Olympus EM1 Mark II!
In this episode we chat about tripod vs. handheld photography:
Pro’s and con’s of using a tripod
Pro’s and con’s of going handheld
Why I don’t like using a tripod
5 things to consider before purchasing a tripod
My Current Tripod
The current tripod I use is the Manfrotto Element Traveller Tripod Big. I purchased it when I was in Fort McMurray from Foto Source for about $130.
What I like about the tripod is it’s light and compact - it weights on average 2 pounds and when compact it’s only about 15-inches long. I can easily carry it around or I can slip it onto my backpack or onto my purse if I want to be hands free.
The main thing I dislike about the tripod is the clasps. This tripod has rotating clasps so you have to rotate the clasp to unlock and rotate again to lock and you have to do this for every single extension for every leg.
This setup makes it extremely cumbersome and time-consuming to setup, takedown or move.
Pro’s and Con’s of Using a Tripod
In my experience of using the tripod there has been three main benefits:
The first benefit is for long exposure photography. I find with the image stabilization in the Olympus I can go up to 2 seconds before camera shake becomes an obvious problem so having a tripod handy for moments that require a longer shutter speed is great!
The second benefit is for low-light photography. I don’t tend to do a lot of low light photography - the latest I am typically out photographing is 30-45 minutes after sunset and there is still some light in the sky. However, if you do a lot of low-light photography then a tripod is a must!
The third benefit is for capturing motion or movement. When I captured the picture below at Gyro Beach I used a tripod - I was on the beach for over an hour, sprinkling leaves in front of the camera so the tripod made the process easier than trying to do it handheld.
The biggest con I have experienced in using a tripod is its restriction on my movement and creativity. I find with a tripod I get anchored to one spot, and due to the fact that its cumbersome to setup and takedown I don’t like moving it a lot so I find I become very static with the use of the tripod and I’m the kind of photographer that likes to get low to the ground, get behind bushes and tree’s and really do some photography yoga to get the shot!
For this photo I stood at corner across from the Paramount Theatre sign in Kelowna. I wanted to get a motion shot of cars passing by - this was shot handheld at 1.3 seconds!
In this photo I opted to use a tripod - I positioned my tripod on the beach and sprinkled leaves in front of the camera until I got the shot. Because I was positioned there for over an hour using a tripod made better sense than going handheld.
Pro’s and Con’s of Going Handheld
The biggest benefit of going handheld with my photography is it’s impact on my movement and creativity - like I said earlier I like to get low to the ground, change up my composition, get behind bushes and tree’s and using a tripod doesn’t work well for that. Without a tripod I can move around a lot more and get creative with my photos!
With this photo (bottom left) I had to get my camera extremely low to the ground (almost touching) and that would have been very difficult had I been trying to use a tripod.
The second benefit with going handheld is you’re carrying less equipment. I greatly despise carrying tons of equipment and I like feeling light so I can quickly move around. So if I don’t have to carry a tripod I won’t!
The biggest con I have experienced not having a tripod is the moments when I need one and I don’t have one. For this photo (bottom right) I used the park bench to stabilize my EM1 Mark II when its shutter was open past 2 seconds.
The restriction of a tripod on my movement and creativity is the biggest reason why I don’t like using a tripod.
Other times when I went handheld with my photography:
5 Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Tripod
Here are 5 things to consider before purchasing a tripod:
Size and Weight: If you’re backpacking around Europe then you’ll want to invest in a lightweight, compact tripod that can fit nicely on your backpack. If you are mostly photographing in a stationary place without too much movement then you can probably go for a heavier and larger tripod.
Height: How tall do you NEED your tripod to be? When I purchased my tripod I thought I wanted the big version that had the extra height, however, I’ve actually never required it so I could have gone with the smaller version.
Clasps: The tripod I use has rotating clasps that require me to rotate each extension to extend the leg and then rotate again to lock which makes setting up time-consuming and cumbersome. I have found since using my dads tripod which is also by Manfrotto that having the pop-up clasps makes setup so much easier.
Sturdyness: Depending on your camera equipment you’ll want to consider the weight-bearing capacity of the tripod - can the tripod you are looking at hold your current setup and any future equipment you might purchase?
Cost: What is the budget for your tripod? There are some expensive tripods on the market so really consider what your budget is for your tripod.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed todays article about tripod vs. handheld photography.
90% of the time I do handheld photography because I don’t like the restriction on my movement and creativity that a tripod imposes on me but of course, there are times that using a tripod makes my workflow easier.