What situations do YOU use a tripod for at weddings?

<p>From the results of the survey I recently posted, it seems as though many of the responders do not regularly bring tripods to weddings. This disturbed some members of photo.net. <br>

So I was hoping some people who do use tripods at weddings could share their use of them, so that perhaps those who don't regularly bring them might learn why others choose to do so. <br>

I'm not saying not bringing a tripod to a wedding is right or wrong. Just opening it up for discussion. Here's what I use mine for:</p>

<ul>

<li>Some macro shots when I have the time to set them up that way, and if I'm in a very dark environment.</li>

<li>Sometimes when doing formals if they just want the same background over and over, I will set it up on a tripod. </li>

<li>Capturing motion blur on the dancefloor with a long exposure.</li>

<li>If I'm in a very dark church, I will probably use a tripod or monopod if allowed just for the added steadiness.</li>

<li>Used as a light stand for my slave speedlight.</li>

</ul>

<p>For the rest of my work though, most of the time I am going around with just the camera in hand, or at most a monopod in case I need to make sure I don't fatigue my arms too quickly if I have a heavier zoom lens on.</p>

<p>With the 5DmkII body, I find that I can pump up the ISO enough that I don't have to bring down the shutter speed too much that camera shake becomes too much of an issue, and the small level of noise is acceptable to me, and so far all my clients. Before that body, I used my tripod and monopod more.</p>

<p>At my own wedding my photographer didn't use a tripod at all, and he had tons of experience shooting weddings. We choose him for his photojournalistic approach, so this didn't surprise me all that much.</p>

<p>What situations do you use your tripod for at a wedding?</p>

<p>I use a tripod when I need to shoot at shutter speeds that would be visibly effected by camera shake. (Camera shake is a photographer, equipment and situation specific issue so there isn't much point is listing general situations.)<br>

I also use a tripod for group shots so I don't have to look through the viewfinder after I frame things up. By looking directly at the people I can interact with them better and see details better.</p>

<p>Most often I use the tripod for a more stable light stand when shooting outside in the wind with a softbox or umbrella. If I have to stay way back from the altar during the ceremony I will also use it when shooting with very long focal lengths. Very rarely I will set it up with a remote controlled camera. I always bring it to the weddings I shoot, but most of the time it stays in the car unused.</p>

<p>When I shot film I always used it for the formal portraits, but as you mentioned, high ISO is so much better these days I don't often find it necessary. I'd rather spend the limited time I'm allowed with light stands and lighting than a tripod. I am a big advocate of using a tripod when the situation allows, but I find that at weddings I almost always get my time crunched by the actions of others (the clients are running late, the ceremony location manager is kicking us out, etc...). I almost always use one when shooting landscapes. For portraits I think lighting is more important, and my hand held portraits are still much sharper than most folks over age 16 care to see themselves. </p>

<p>It depends.</p>

<p>For PJ I use hand held.</p>

<p>For many others I use a tripod. The clients that hire me usually will buy at least one fairly large photograph. Anytime I know that a 16x20 or larger photograph will be ordered I will use a tripod for many images. I have a couple of 40" x 30" photos on display in my studio. All were made using a tripod. Even at a reception I will have one of my cameras on a tripod.</p>

<p>Hope this helps you.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>A few places I always use the tripod are first in the church (other). I will usually immediately set up my tripod with a 2nd body and either my 85mm or 180mm lens, off to the side, for use as I see fit. Next would be the family groups, I will switch to the 50mm and see if I can work with that first before going to anything wider. Next would be the formal portraits, this could be outside or maybe on a small location studio set-up for couples and headshots or other bridal formals. Last, I will usually make a few shots around the reception hall with the tripod. This could be anything from some staircase shots to an overall of the ballroom to some detail shots. I have always used a tripod quite a bit, so I don't really think much of this as an extra step, just my usual step. I have a radio transmitter attached to my tripod witha basic PC sync cord so I can just plug in and activate a light on a stand, I usually use a 200 or 400 ws Lumedyne on an 8ft Bogen medium weight stand. I use a variety of reflectors on the light to fit the quality I want, but usually it's either a white-glass Norman face or a plain silver that I bounce. I only really use a wide angle for formals or portraits with the Hasselblad, a 50mm CF-fle, I will use the tripod for this too.</p>

<p>It is possible to shoot many weddings without a tripod. However, it's not always possible to predict/control available light sufficiency for handheld at the church and potential last minute rule changes which prohibit flash and force you to stay in a small area in the rear of a church.... which will necessitate use of a tripod. If you don't have a tripod or failed to bring it with you, you'll be up the creek. You'll also be held accountable for a lack of professional judgment and preparedness by old farts like yours truly. There's also other circumstances where the tripod will be desired and/or needed.</p>

<p>I always bring a tripod but don't always use it, there's also a monopod in my light kit which I seldom use but I will use it as a portable light stand for a slaved flash or mount a camera to it and raise it high overhead (shutter on a timer release) for an interesting angle. I routinely have two reflectors (2-sided which cover white, silver, & gold) at every wedding along with one or two portable flex-out backgrounds, among several other equipment choices (i.e., sewing kit, leatherman tool, small scissors). My bag also has a small table-top tripod that collapses into a small 5 1/2 inch handle. The key to obtaining equipment and gear selection is to understand the tools of the trade and their particular uses...regardless of the opinions of what some handful of shooters are using.</p>

<p>A tripod can steady the camera, but when subjects are moving.... I can see for formals where the group is assembled and the picture framed, where it is more important to have eye contact with the subjects and get the right expressions, hard to do when looking through a viewfinder.</p>

<p>We bring a tripod and a monopod to any indoor ceremony ... especially if there is a balcony. Most Churches/Temples here do not allow flash during the ceremony).</p>

<p>Second shooter usually employs a tripod mounted 70-200 zoom (sometimes with a 1.4X extender depending on distance to the altar). This allows free use of a second hand-held camera with a wide-angle for shooting the procession over the edge of the balcony.</p>

<p>(If allowed), the other shooter can roam the main floor freely with the monopod ... the monopod allows use of f/stops for greater DOF or a lower ISO when needed ... with less chance of camera shake.</p>

<p>When working alone, it is also conceivable to mount a zoom on a tripod in the balcony with everything preset ... to be fired with a Pocket Wizard.</p>

<p>Also occasionally use a tripod to shoot formals ... but I do that less now that I use more powerful strobes to light them.</p>

<p>Can't remember when I last used a tripod at a reception, if ever. Do use a monopod at a reception sometimes.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>What Bruce said.<br>

IMHO tripods for weddings need to be ultra-fast to setup and very fast to use. To me that means a 3 section tripod, a long center column, lever locks on the legs, ball head with panning base, quick release adapter and quick release plates on all cameras.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I use my tripod mostly during no flash ceremonies and for formals in dim interiors. I almost never use (can't think of one instance in the recent past) one during the getting ready session or during the reception. Most of the time, I'll rely on flash duration to freeze motion. The only other time I can think of might be at night, for outdoor, long exposure photography, but most of the time, for those, I use high ISO and flash to freeze subjects, with unlighted background focus not so important. If you were doing special effects, such as opening and closing the shutter manually, maybe.</p>

<p>I don't always bring a tripod. If I am photographing a daytime, outdoor ceremony where I know the ceremony and formals are going to be in brighter light, I leave the tripod at home. I always have a string tripod in my bag, however.</p>

I did a lot of outdoor weddings. I did formals with a Bronica. I put the Bronica and an old Tiltall in the ground right after the ceremony to mark where I was going to do the formals. If I stood behind the camera the groups, with the help of a helper, who I usually got from the bridal party ,the members of the wedding party and families just naturally lined up facing me. The tripod kept me from getting arm weary, steadied the Bronica and made for sharper pictures. I could also step away from it to direct traffic although I tried to keep that to a minimum. It is a good prop. I shot a lot by the ocean and background was important.to get in line. I did use it inside once in a great while. I did not have the advantage then of ISOs higher than 800 or 400 on film.

<p>And, if you are going to photograph an outdoor wedding so you don't bring the tripod, what do you do if it rains and the ceremony is moved inside or there is a last minute change of venue and the ceremony is moved to a church with dark interiors?</p>

<p>David--if there is a chance of rain, I bring the tripod. I am talking about middle of summer, bright sun, outdoor weddings where chance of rain is next to zero here in California. While I've never had an outdoor venue changed after I've already arrived at a location, I grant that it may happen. In that case, I use high ISO, my flashes, wide aperture primes, string tripod and/or found supports. All of the these are with me at all times (except for the found supports).</p>

<p>One of the very best investments I ever made was my carbon fiber tripod. I could shoot myself for not getting one sooner. When do I use it? When I need it! In general, for the formals (indoors) without doubt. You simply get a sharper image. I also use a remote release so that keeps me from always being behind the camera. Works much better for interacting with a group. I <em>always</em> use it for macro shots. I can't imagine taking a shallow DoF macro shot hand held. I typically use my 80-200 (non-VR) on the tripod. And if I am setting up for a multiple images in one frame Photoshop type of shot. I can say that the carbon fiber makes a huge difference. With my aluminum legs, I brought those out only when I really needed them. My camera set up weighs more than my carbon fiber tripod now! So the tripod is an easy place to keep another camera set up.</p>

<p>I use a tripod mainly for the posed formals......it has the huge advantage of allowing me and the clients to relate visually. They are looking at me.....not a large glass eye. And from the interactions possible from that, it's easier to get the desired "mood" responses.....Robert</p><div></div>

<p>Robert, I could see what you are saying as a big advantage, but do you ever get wandering eye syndrome from that, with some looking dead set to the middle of the lens and others looking at you?<br>

I tend to always bring my tripod with me because my nifty thinktank rolling case has a nice little side adapter for me to put my tripod into. I just have to remember to pack a coin with me so I can screw in the quick release adapter. If I lose that coin though, usually someone like the bartender or a guest is able provides a replacement, or another object can be a stand in. <br>

David, GREAT advice about the leatherman. That will cut down on the number of tools I tend to bring in my arsenal. I will definitely be picking one up. Can you carry that on with you on planes? Or does that have to be checked?</p>

<p>For those of you who leave bodies on the tripod, are you not worried that someone will trip on it (assuming it isn't in the balcony), etc, while you aren't attending to it? At a recent wedding my husband more than gently urged me to not leave my other body unattended on the tripod because he feared people would trip or knock it over. Yes I have liability insurance and equipment insurance, but this is still something I'd think we'd want to avoid. I know the obvious of avoid high traffic areas but do you sometimes sandbag them down? Or any other tricks to keep them safe?<br>

It's great to have you all share how you use this great tool! Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Vail, why do you remove your quick release plates from your camera? The whole idea is to have it on your cameras all the time so you can lock them on to a tripod or monopod without any additional work or tools. That's why you can buy the quick release plates separately - one for each camera you have.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It's if I want to that body to then go onto my flash bracket. The underside of my current quick release doesn't have an opening for the screw on the bottom. =( I adore my demb flash bracket as it makes bouncing so much faster for me. When I just have the flash in the hot shoe, I tend to not remember as much to switch the direction of the flash when I briefly switch to portrait instead of landscape orientation of the camera.</p>

<p>Yes, but why don't you put a quick release on your flash bracket? The female part so to speak.<br /> Then you just click on the flash bracket when you need it and can remove it in two seconds if you like.<br /> The only reason it wasn't there in the first place is price. And of course that not everybody uses the same quick release system...</p>

<p>This is the Manfrotto RC2 system that many like.<br /> <img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/largeimages/554141.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /><br />Manfrotto 200PL-14 are <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554154-REG/Manfrotto_200PL_14_200PL_14_Rectangular_Quick_Release.html">the plates that go onto the camera</a>.<br /> Manfrotto 323 RC2 are the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554141-REG/Manfrotto_323_323_RC2_System_Quick.html">entire RC2 adapter with plate</a>.</p>

I have always used a quick release and do so to this day. However, I have had a tripod knocked over into the mud at an outdoor wedding. I carried three Bronica bodies and three Canon bodies and four flashes to every wedding because stuff like this happens. I cleaned the mud off the body and it worked fine. I probably overdid my redundancy.

<p>Wandering eye syndrome is a problem whether you use a tripod with yourself away from it or not. You control that the same way, regardless of tripod use--by force of personality and ability to command subjects' attention.</p>

<p>I agree with Pete re the QR release. If the one on your tripod doesn't work for you with the Demb bracket, get one that does. Leave it on the bracket.</p>

<p>I've written about this in the past, but I use a different kind of tripod. I rigged a The Pod upside down on the top of a tripod, so that when I want some stability, I just rest the camera on the Pod. This eliminates the problem with flopping the camera for verticals and also the problem of potential kicking over. During formals, the aisle is often full of people walking up to the altar and back again. Now, I don't worry about knock over. Obviously, you cannot use the really slow speeds with a set up like this but I never use the really slow speeds anyway--those don't stop subject motion. I have a regular head set for the tripod anyway, though, in case I ever want to do time exposures.</p>

<p>When I didn't have the set up, I would stash the tripod between pews (one leg in the pew) between formals groups. Or be sure it wasn't in a bad spot. The other thing you can do is just pick it up and have it with you, so you have a hand on it, or can put a hand on it quickly, at all times.</p>

<p>String tripod, Nadine?</p>

<p>Marten--it is basically a nylon cord attached (just tie a knot) to a metal eye with a 1/4 20 thread. To use, you screw the eye into the tripod socket of the camera, drop the cord down toward your feet, then step on the cord so that you can create tension. When you shoot, pull up on the camera. This helps steady your shot. Practice with different stances. The cord is nylon so that you can use a match to seal the ends from fraying.</p>

<p>Dick, I'm betting your aviation background contributes to the safety via redundancy philosophy which I also subscribe to.</p>

<p>Vail, the leatherman has a pretty serious knife blade so I'm sure that you'll need to check that through baggage if you're flying. I always keep one in my primary bag but rarely ever fly to weddings (twice in past 15 years). The mini-tripod that stays in my bag as well folds out to about 6-7 inches. In a pinch you can support it on a balcony railing, pew, or it adjusts so that you can hold it against (brace it) your chest and get a pretty reliable support. It is <strong>always</strong> in my bag (Model: Bilora 1012 made in West Germany). About the only time my primary tripod doesn't travel with me is when doing the boat weddings off of Navy pier where I need to stay very portable and access to the car isn't available without getting very, very wet.</p><div></div>

<p>Oh yeah--I forgot. I have an Ultrapod in my shoulder bag that is with me all the time too.</p>