Gear does matter

I think the equipment you use has a real, visible influence on the character of your photography. You are going to work differently, and make different kinds of pictures, if you have to set up a view camera on a tripod than if you’re Friendlander with handheld rangerfinder. But fundamentally, vision is not about which camera or how many megapixels you have, it’s about what you find important. It’s all about ideas. – Keith Carter

Having the proper equipment serving the purpose for what you wish to do with your photography can make a big difference.

Despite the technology of modern digital cameras renders tripods as possibly a non-essential tool for most of the photography needs nowadays, I almost always bring my tripod along on photography walks and trips. My tripod is a tool that has made a significant difference to my photography development over the years.

The instructors who have been the most influential in my photography development have all embraced the use of tripods. This of course has something to do with the genre of photography that interests me the most – landscape photography. When I took my first landscape photography class years ago, my instructor Shane was a staunch advocate of using tripods out in the field. I remember him going around checking to see if we have set our tripods up during our photography outings. I jokingly called him “the tripod police” when I was in his class. I have fond memories of him asking “Ming, where is your tripod?” During that time, I found the process of setting up my tripod to be a chore. I have since grown to appreciate Shane’s insistence on us doing so as the ritual of setting up my tripod has become a crucial part of

my workflow out in the field.

It takes time to set up a tripod. We need to spend time extending the legs and position them exactly as we want. It also takes time to position our cameras and lock the tripod head before taking a shot. The whole process of setting things up slows us down. While the extra few minutes it takes may not sound like much, but it does give us extra time and space to ponder what we do with our composition. When it comes to photography, the slower you go, the more time you afford yourself thinking about composition and light. A slow photographer approaches his photos more carefully. He takes fewer shots, and they tend to be better thought out. Of course, there is a time and a place for quick shooting, and sometimes it does pay to shoot handheld and be more spontaneous, for example, with street photography, we need to respond quickly to the changes in the environment. Using a tripod will therefore not be suitable.

There are other obvious advantages of using a tripod too. First and foremost, a tripod offers stability, so you are more likely to come away with sharp images. Also, by having a stable platform, you allow yourself the opportunity to experiment with different shutter speed. One of the photography genres I enjoy the most is seascapes. I enjoy capturing the water movement by using neutral density filters of various strength that affects the outcome with different shutter speed. I can try shutter speed of mere seconds up to minutes. Without using a tripod, it will not be possible to make different interpretations of the scene.

I find using a tripod helps me frame shots with ease. Once I set my camera up on the tripod, I can easily make subtle changes to my composition with more precision. During the process, I can also make new compositions by panning my camera in different directions.

In a nutshell, from my years of photographing, I find a strong sturdy tripod to be an indispensable tool. I suggest getting a good quality tripod that will give you years of good use.