How to Take Incredible Tripod Photos
All photos taken by yours truly, SariRisbeyPhotography (using my handy dandy tripod of course!)
Getting a photo of yourself that you love can be super challenging, even for us photographers! Sure, you can always take a selfie to document yourself, but sometimes that’s just not going to cut it. If you want to level up and take great photos of yourself and yourself with your loved ones using a tripod, I’ve got all the tips and tricks you need.
Before we get to the do’s and dont’s, know that this blog post is geared largely towards professional photographers with professional gear, although tons of the tips will also be helpful to you even if you are not a photographer and you use a phone!
“Taking pictures is savouring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”
I love this quote! As photographers, we help our clients savour and hold onto precious moments in their life and on top of that, they seek us out and choose us each specifically as their photographer based on the way we shoot and create. Essentially, a client will hire you largely for your style, which we all have uniquely. Although I do love to hire other local photographers whose style I love, there is also something so incredibly special about capturing my own moments by using my own creativity and style. Tripod photos can be absolutely incredible and should not be slept on! They very well may become your favourite photos you’ve ever taken in your own personal life, because you created them exactly the way you wanted.
On top of being able to create photos that speak to and align with you on a deep level artistically, having the skill to take your own photos at any time at any place is super valuable! Moments pass so quickly and if you're a photographer, you have the skills to capture those moments professionally for yourself before they pass. Why wouldn’t you make use of those skills?
Where do I Start?
First thing’s first! You need to get a tripod. I found mine on Amazon for about $50 and it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made, in business and in life. Things you’ll want to look at before you buy your tripod are:
Will it work with what you intend to take your photos on? Make sure that it can screw into the bottom of your camera or that it can hold your phone (if you plan to use a phone).
Make sure that it extends to an adequate height. You’ll probably want a tripod that extends to at least 5 feet high, but even higher is better. The more adjustable your tripod is, the more variety you can create in your photos!
Read the reviews before you buy, especially if you intend to mount your professional camera to the tripod. Although saving money where you can is always nice, you don’t want to mount your expensive camera to a super flimsy tripod just so that it can fall over and break your gear! Some things are worth reading into more than others and a tripod’s reliability/stability is something you want to look into before buying.
Now You’re Ready to Shoot!
Once you’ve got your tripod and your camera or phone, you’re all set! Before you head out, you’ll want to have a location and time (hello golden hour) in mind as well as some poses or prompts. There is nothing worse than getting ready, packing up and heading out to your spot just to blank on ideas. Instead of wasting your time, prep some ideas in advance! This is a fun time to experiment with poses and prompts.
Settings
This part can really trip a lot of people up. Depending on your camera, you might have a hard time nailing the focus of your shots. I shoot on manual 100% of the time and, typically, my settings look something like this:
Shutter Speed: 1/500, Aperture: 2.2, ISO: 100 (adjust based on sunlight, but keep it as low as possible).
Of course you may need to adjust your shutter speed (and ISO) significantly based on the lighting available, but somewhere around this setup is my go to for those golden hour shots!
Next, you’ll want to change two very important settings.
Autofocus. If you are shooting any type of movement and your camera has this option, I recommend setting your autofocus to face/eye tracking! I use face tracking for all of the photos I take with Marcus because it allows us to move around and do fun prompts together while still capturing our photos in perfect focus. If you will be posing in place with no movement, single point autofocus should work just fine for you and may be more reliable.
Self Timer. You will need to set your camera/phone to use the self timer mode. I choose the 10 second countdown option on my camera as it gives me more time to get in place!
Lastly, if your camera has wifi, see if there is an app for your phone that allows you to connect your phone to your camera and trigger your shutter from your phone. Canon has an awesome app that lets you see what your camera sees on your phone screen! From there, you can trigger the shutter from your phone, change the camera’s settings from your phone, and even review and download images on your phone! It’s incredible and being able to use your phone is a massive maaaaassive help. I am able to shoot much more quickly since I can review and snap photos right from my phone.
My Best Tip
Genuine smiles cannot be forced and if you’re putting pressure on yourself to take the perfect photo, I can almost guarantee that you will not get it. Try out your tripod and all of your settings a few days before you head out to take photos and get comfortable with how it will all work for you! This way, when you go out to take photos, you’ve already smoothed out any bumps or learning curves and you can just focus on having fun in front of the camera. If you treat it like a fun plan with your friends, family or yourself, chances are it will be!
