Tripod VS Blur

                    

                           

Sharp+Tripod

    Blur+No Tripod

Images Taken on Nikon D5000

Images cropped to appropriate size to assist blog

                                                          

Using a tripod is although a hassle to have to carry around, it is also still a good thing to have with you. Not only does a tripod make a photographer look like they know what they're doing but it also helps to stabilize your camera and provide you with the best quality image. Night photography without a doubt requires a tripod. You can not easily shoot something at night and get perfectly sharp images. As shutter speed and ISO adjustments can be made in the capturing of night photography, the motion of just clicking the button can cause the camera to shake making your end result blurry.

The two images I have provided were shots I have taken while in New York City on the Staten Island Ferry boat. On the trip from land to the island, I was able to use a tripod on the boat and capture a sharp image even with the swaying of the boat and mass amounts of wind. On the way back however, I was told to put my tripod away as you need a form of permission on paper in NYC to have an open tripod in public. My aperture was set to wide open, my shutter was dragged and my ISO was up to 800 for both images. The image on the top was the result of the use of my tripod and the image on the bottom was the result of having no tripod. From these two images themselves you can see how important it is to use a tripod, especially at night time. Now if this image was taken during a sunny day, I would have had a higher shutter speed, more closed aperture and lower ISO where I would then not need the use of a tripod as my pictures should turn out sharp due to my settings and lighting.

Monopod's are also good things to have. For those who don't no what a monopod is, it's like a tripod but with one leg. I would not however, recommend a monopod for night photography as you need to hold on to the monopod and will create camera shake and therefore blur. A monopod is good though for taking landscape photography and certain sport photography. It is less of a hassle to have to carry around as it is much lighter and more compact then a tripod is.

Both monopod's and tripods can be found at local camera stores. I would highly recommend in investing in a good tripod and not just a cheap one. The more money you spend on a tripod the heavier and better quality it will be and therefor more satisfying.