5 Tripod Mistakes Every Photographer Commits

You’ve got that amazingly expensive DSLR and now want to buy all the cool accessories, like tripods, which will help you photograph better. All camera manuals will go on and on about how certain situations require you to shoot only with a tripod if you ever want to capture any good pictures, which is the reason you have started hunting for one?

Then here’s some friendly advice, while learning how to use a camera tripod properly, also learn what not to do while using it. Mistakes committed by other photographers can teach you a lot, so rather than making those errors yourself, pay attention! Committing such blunders and learning it after that – maybe at the expense of a broken camera or tripod – can be quite painful.

It goes without saying that you must not go for a cheap tripod. Invest in a good quality and branded tripod, since your expensive camera is going to sit on it’s head.

1. A collapsible tripod will have extendable legs. Which means that lower end of a tripod leg can slide in and out of it’s outer cover. When not needed, it can be safely tucked inside the cover, which work as legs too. But when you take the lower end out to extend the height of tripod, you will notice that the tripod is not as stable as before. So here’s a tip, when you don’t need those extra long legs, keep them fastened inside the cover for greater stability.

2. Tripods have a centre column which will allow you to raise it height when needed. But wait, did you try extending the legs first? Well yes, in the previous point we did tell you extending the legs will give a little less stability, but then what’s the use of having a tripod if you can’t raise it anymore higher to get good photos. So extend the legs first, and then if needed, extend the centre column.

3. Keep that tripod of yours on a steady and sturdy surface. Make sure it doesn’t wobble. Make sure even a slight breeze won’t topple it. It may sound quite amateurish to give such advice but you will be amazed how many mishaps professional photographers have had because of this.

4. If you want to place your camera tripod on a surface which is slightly unsteady, like on heavy vegetation, on sand or at the beach, then take some simple precautions to prevent it from becoming unbalanced and falling face first. Either forcefully push it down so that it finds ground, or use snow shoes (not yours, but ones that are manufactured specially for tripods) to stabilize it.

5. Another seemingly “oh please” advice – once you are done with clicking photographs, remove the camera from the tripod before you sling the stand over your shoulder and move on to the next location. It takes merely a few seconds and is way better than smashing the camera accidentally on a wall or tree, or risk the camera falling off.