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Freestyle, Monopod, or Tripod
How many of you photographers use a monopod or tripod when doing a shoot inside or outside of a studio? Do you use reflectors(silver, gold, etc.) on outside shoots? Feb 16 06 05:46 pm Link I frequently use a tripod indoors for portraits, esp because I like available light pictures. When shooting motor sports and bicycle racing , a monopod is a big help when using a long , heavy lens. My vision is rotten, so I take all the hepl I can get. Feb 16 06 05:49 pm Link Ana Julie wrote: I typically shoot at a shutter speed that does not require a tripod for nice sharp photos. I change my angles too much to be bothered with a tripod most of the time. Feb 16 06 05:49 pm Link I only use a tripod when absolutely necessary because it makes me feel tied down.....restricted.....afraid of commitment much??? LOL But really, I normally shoot free hand....use a monopod when I need some stability....out in the field....but mostly I use anything around that can provide stability...a fence....car hood....wall....sofa...table, you name it i've used it. As for reflectors...workin' em into the system...definitely makes a big difference. Shots that would have been crap, flourish from that simple spot of light a reflector added. Feb 16 06 05:51 pm Link Hand held essentially only with short-duration electronic flash. High shutter speeds do NOT eliminate camera shake. Only a tripod can assure ultra sharp photos, but a tripod is bulky, heavy, and slow. A monopod is the best compromise. It eliminates about 90 percent of camera shake, is quick to use, and doubles as a walking stick. I use a monopod for most of my work. Feb 16 06 06:00 pm Link I love my monopod. If it were a woman... Feb 16 06 06:02 pm Link All three in addition to duct taping my stunt camera to the fog lights. Feb 16 06 06:46 pm Link the girls at one school where i work nicknamed me "tripod", but i don't know if that's the answer you're looking for. Feb 16 06 08:04 pm Link Handhold in low light up to about 1/2 second. Now that I'll be using a view camera, I will use a tripod, of course. -Don Feb 16 06 08:09 pm Link Ana Julie wrote: Totally freestyle!! When I shoot I move around a lot. I am always thinking of my next click of the camera. I HATE being locked in with a tripod or monopod. Feb 16 06 08:10 pm Link Oh, I use a diffuser more than i use a reflector. Feb 16 06 08:14 pm Link I don't feel tied down by a tripod. Nor do I consider myself less of a photographer for using one as long as the image comes out the way I envision it. If I need my exposure to be sharp and I need to shoot at 1/8 second, I'm going to use a tripod and cable release. No hesitation. Until this very week, I didn't even have a flash unit and I've never let low lighting stop me from shooting. I have no problem hand-holding a 35mm at low shutter speeds, but I'm not yet comfortable hand-holding my 645 at the lower ends. I put it on the tripod all the time. I'll use whatever I need to get the shot. I'm not that guy running around firing off shot after shot after shot after shot at 30 bursts a second. I'll put the camera down and compose a scene for minutes at a time. Having the tripod to keep the camera in a fixed position helps considerably. As far as reflectors... I'll spring for a 4-in-1 soon, but presently I'll use white and gold gatorboard or foam, mirrors, white sheets on the ground, a white wall outside of the viewing area of the camera... anything that's available or usable. I get a kick out of playing with tricky lighting situations with few tools at hand. Feb 16 06 08:25 pm Link I used to just make sure I had someone about 5' 1" at every shoot who could stand very still. Eventually I got a tripod and I'm about to get a monopod. For natural light you need the stability. Right now I use a Lumiquest 80-20 with a gold, silver or white reflector depending on the effect I want. I basically use those with my bounce flash. For the style I've been shooting, setting up big reflectors didn't really flow well with me. We'll see if that's the same story for what I have in mind this year. Feb 16 06 08:31 pm Link Tripod whenever possible....a must for large tele lenses and small appetures. Monopod for action i.e. sports, but I often end up handheld trying to get just the right angle. Especially in the studio with strobes. Can never seem to get the tripod just where I want it. Feb 16 06 08:36 pm Link Normally I charge for this info...... Inside I hand hold... unless absolutely nessesary with hot lights shooting below 1/30... then I'll go to a tripod. (Manfrotto #055 with a Manfrotto #352RC Ball Head). -when strobing I remain in hand regardless. Outside I hand hold down to 1/15 @ F4 ... below that it is too dark to shoot anyway so I go home! If ever (never anymore) shooting sports... I may use a monopod with a 300 2.8... but generally I hand hold a 300 2.8 as well. If shooting long days of catalog with blown out backgrounds with the 300 2.8 ... then as well I'll use a mono pod. That's it. No tripods outdoors ever. No reflectors outside ever... other than a few white bedsheets. Send your check to.......: Feb 16 06 09:32 pm Link In the studio with strobes, I'm always hand-held. My light painting photography requires a tripod, obviously. When I am doing nature photography I almost always use a tripod. I bought a monopod years ago, but find that I hardly ever use it. I generally find that if I need the extra stability, I reach for my tripod, not my monopod. Feb 16 06 09:51 pm Link I use a monopod quite frequently... it provides you with very sharp images captured in ranges of 1/10 up 1/60 of a second... that might not be sharp had you not used it. I've got killer results in low light shooting my D70s at ISO 800 (no noise there) at F 5.6 in those shutter speed ranges that I could have NEVER attained with film... No charge for this info... send my check to that poor little Bigler kid... sounds to me like he can use the bucks... Feb 16 06 09:57 pm Link Select Models wrote: No need for checks these days Gary... use Paypal... payable to Feb 16 06 10:11 pm Link I often use a tripod outside - but then that's because I do a lot of night time architectural shots. Inside I sometimes but not always use a tripod. Main reason is a) when I don't have an assist and so I have to use a hand to hold reflectors/diffusers etc and b) when I'm shooting at speeds below 1/60th of a second - although if I try hard I can get a sharp image shooting at about 1/15 on occasion. Rest of the time I freeform, as it were. I also normally use silver reflectors, but that's mainly becuase nobody in the UK has a tan and so a gold reflector would make them look odd! :-) Feb 17 06 11:05 am Link if i ever shoot without a strobe, i'll probably dust off my tripod. it hasn't come up yet. Feb 17 06 11:12 am Link I only use my mono pod when shooting concerts with my 300 2.8D ED-IF II AF-S. Feb 17 06 11:19 am Link I always use the steadiest platform I can arrange. I am not a rapid shooter, prefering instead to set up a shot, get it as right as I can and then shoot it. Of course, for landscape, a tripod is no handicap. The only time I haven't used a tripod was once, shooting in NYC, I was told that professionals had to be licensed or some such crap. They thought I was a pro because I was using a tripod! Feb 17 06 07:43 pm Link I always use both- I tend to shoot with larger lenses and sometimes cannot get a fast enough shutter speed. Feb 17 06 07:49 pm Link |