This is my first question. I am a fairly serious hobby photographer. Fairly serious meaning I love it and do it fairly frequently. Hobby meaning I'm pretty much the only one who ever looks at my pictures except sometimes my family. Primarily I like to shoot nature and wildlife and candid shots of people. I prefer close-ups and playing with depth of field. I recently used a tripod for the first time to try slow shutter speed on a waterfall. I liked the effect but I hated using a tripod. It felt so stiff and I felt I lost my ability to easily frame the shots and move around the way I normally like to. I'm assuming this would improve if I practiced with it a lot but I was wondering if there are others that just do not like tripods and stick with handheld or is it really a skill I should practice and learn if I want to improve my skills? If, so. what features should I look for in a good tripod?

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

I'm with you. I feel like I'm tethered when I try to use a tripod. I KNOW the resulting picture will probably be better, but. . . . I'm so accustomed to simply moving - up, down, over, etc. - to get the image, and I hate that slowness of having to move and reset the tripod. I find that I simply don't take the picture frequently because of having to "fight" with the tripod.

I recently purchased a monopod with feet. Although it's not the most secure thing in the world, it does help. And I don't have that awkwardness as I do with a tripod. You might try one and see if it helps. Using a base of any sort does help eliminate camera shake and allows for better images.

A tripod will be an absolute must if you want to do slow shutter speed photography, such as the waterfall you mentioned, especially so if you want that silky look to the water.

Also if you want to do night sky (milky way) shots.

And, if you do get a tripod, there is no substitute for a good one--though you may get away with less if you only shoot very wide angles, the general rule is, buy a very good one once, or two or three cheap ones before you learn. Sadly, by good one, I mean upwards of a grand for tripod and head combined.

Back in the film days, when ISOs were MUCH lower than today--I shot Fujichrome Velvia almost exclusively, at ISO/ASA 50. I never shot without a tripod, because you just couldn't handhold a camera for most of the shots I wanted to take, with a small enough aperture to get good depth of field, especially in evening light.

Today, with the super high ISOs digital cameras are capable of, and with vibration reduction systems becoming increasingly effective, that has changed, and I shoot a lot handheld, especially when shooting wildlife, or from a bouncing sea kayak, or when I'm hiking or biking with friends, and it becomes inconvenient, or rude, to take the time to set up a tripod. I just use VR, and a high enough ISO to get the needed shutter speed.

And I agree, that that gives you greater flexibility in framing a shot. I've been shooting a lot of ultra wide lately, and in that situation a tripod is not very necessary and you need to spend a lot of time carefully composing and experimenting with angles to make the most of those types of lenses. A tripod would be a great hassle in that case.

But, again, there are situations when a tripod is an absolute must, or when you have the time or the patience to set it all up.

Sorry if I've been too long-winded, and I hope I've been some help.

This is my first question. I am a fairly serious hobby photographer. Fairly serious meaning I love it and do it fairly frequently. Hobby meaning I'm pretty much the only one who ever looks at my pictures except sometimes my family. Primarily I like to shoot nature and wildlife and candid shots of people. I prefer close-ups and playing with depth of field. I recently used a tripod for the first time to try slow shutter speed on a waterfall. I liked the effect but I hated using a tripod. It felt so stiff and I felt I lost my ability to easily frame the shots and move around the way I normally like to. I'm assuming this would improve if I practiced with it a lot but I was wondering if there are others that just do not like tripods and stick with handheld or is it really a skill I should practice and learn if I want to improve my skills? If, so. what features should I look for in a good tripod?

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

This is my first question. I am a fairly serious hobby photographer. Fairly serious meaning I love it and do it fairly frequently. Hobby meaning I'm pretty much the only one who ever looks at my pictures except sometimes my family. Primarily I like to shoot nature and wildlife and candid shots of people. I prefer close-ups and playing with depth of field. I recently used a tripod for the first time to try slow shutter speed on a waterfall. I liked the effect but I hated using a tripod. It felt so stiff and I felt I lost my ability to easily frame the shots and move around the way I normally like to. I'm assuming this would improve if I practiced with it a lot but I was wondering if there are others that just do not like tripods and stick with handheld or is it really a skill I should practice and learn if I want to improve my skills? If, so. what features should I look for in a good tripod?

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

Except for indoors, I rarely use a tripod, as it often only hinders my mobility and thereby my creativity. For example, I often like shooting from up in a tree, low on the ground, on a stairway, on a steep slope, off the beaten path. Carrying a tripod often slows me down, gets in the way, and I'm then less inclined to explore alternative, interesting possibilities of perspective. Of course no tripod means not being able to do long exposures, but I don't really care all that much for long exposure photography anyway. Mobility is far more important to me.

You will need to find a way to incorporate the tripod to almost every shot for landscape and for most wildlife photography. With a tripod, I can always get to base ISO 64-100-200. This is one of the important keys for good photography. The base ISO gives me the best image without noise. With a low ISO you going to have to use strategy to get the appropriate aperture and shutter speed for the shot you need. Every shot is different and so are the settings. In low light, mornings and evenings, the tripod is a must. I can't hold f/16-22, 1/25 of second or slower at ISO 64 with a polarizer on a static images let alone one with movement.

Most photographers, use their camera at handheld and work the scene for the proper perspective and composition BEFORE they set up their tripod. I suggest you do the same. Also, learn to shoot high and low, left an right. Everyone can see at eye level. Use your tripod to give them a perspective of that which they normally can't see and your image will be unique.

This is my first question. I am a fairly serious hobby photographer. Fairly serious meaning I love it and do it fairly frequently. Hobby meaning I'm pretty much the only one who ever looks at my pictures except sometimes my family. Primarily I like to shoot nature and wildlife and candid shots of people. I prefer close-ups and playing with depth of field. I recently used a tripod for the first time to try slow shutter speed on a waterfall. I liked the effect but I hated using a tripod. It felt so stiff and I felt I lost my ability to easily frame the shots and move around the way I normally like to. I'm assuming this would improve if I practiced with it a lot but I was wondering if there are others that just do not like tripods and stick with handheld or is it really a skill I should practice and learn if I want to improve my skills? If, so. what features should I look for in a good tripod?

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.