{"id":19506,"date":"2017-03-23T08:15:17","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T17:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/?p=19506"},"modified":"2017-09-03T14:53:05","modified_gmt":"2017-09-03T23:53:05","slug":"choosing-the-best-lightweight-tripod-for-your-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/choosing-the-best-lightweight-tripod-for-your-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing The Best Lightweight Tripod For Your Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After your camera and lens, a good tripod is perhaps the most important piece of photography gear you can own. It’s an critically essential tool for landscape and travel photographers.<\/p>\n

A good, sturdy tripod will ensure sharper images and it will allow you to shoot at slower shutter speeds. This is\u00a0critically important when shooting long exposure subjects, like rushing streams, star trails, the Milky Way, and of course, northern lights.<\/p>\n

You probably already know this, but do you know the other\u00a0huge reason why tripods can make such a big different in your photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The “other” reason why tripods are so important<\/h3>\n

When you place your camera on a tripod, you’re essentially going “hands free.” You suddenly have the freedom to devote all of your energy towards refining your composition and making sure your picture will look exactly like you want it to.<\/p>\n

Instead of trying to hold the camera steady, you can take a few (or many) moments to stand back, gauge your scene, study your subject elements, pick and choose, think about your exposure settings and make sure you’ve got everting right before your press the shutter.<\/p>\n

In effect, using a tripod allows you to make the most of your most valuable and powerful compositional tool- your brain<\/strong>. Using a tripod gives you the freedom to step away and think about what you’re doing<\/strong>. This will make a bigger difference than any other aspect in your creative process.<\/p>\n

And depending on your creative\u00a0and “thinking’ style, and considering how\u00a0much time you have, you might want to set it up and walk around for awhile while you engage the creative machinery inside your head.<\/p>\n

You might even set it up and leave it for a few minutes while you wait for the “moment” to happen, or stand around and confer with your fellow photographers if you’re shoot with someone else. You might even leave it set up for a few hours while you wait for night, snow, rain, animals, etc…<\/p>\n

And what about time lapse photography? Have you ever photographed the same subject under a different light, weather conditions or even different seasons? Using a tripod and marking your spot can lead to some very interesting picture “sets.”<\/p>\n

Choosing the right tripod<\/h3>\n

If you get\u00a0the “right” tripod, you’ll know. The “right tripod” will become your best friend<\/strong>. It will accompany you on\u00a0countless adventure, trips and photography outing. It will get beat up, scratched, maybe even dented, and you’ll love it forever. It will be the thing that helped you create some of your favorite imagery. So yea, the pressure is on to get the “right” one!<\/p>\n

But what is the “right” tripod? How do you choose the right tripod for outdoor, travel and landscape photography?<\/p>\n

When it comes to tripods, you have three main things to consider. Essentially, you’re playing the tradeoff game between these aspects:<\/p>\n