Saturday, October 23, 2010

How To Use Your Camera - The Tripod

The single most important accessory you can have to help you learn how to use your camera is a tripod. I have two and use them all the time. One is small and light weight and the other bigger and heavier. I use the small one when I'll be doing a lot of walking with lots of other gear. The bigger one gets selected most of the time because it is solid as a rock. It's a bit heavy and predates the newer carbon fiber tripods but it still works really well.

You can find tripods in most department stores and in any camera store that will work for you. To choose one, take your camera with you and try them out. Get the one that will hold your camera steady indefinitely in all positions. My camera is too heavy for my small tripod when tipped sideways for portrait shots. It worked for my previous camera if I didn't have long heavy lenses in place. It works perfectly for my point and shoots. For now the important thing for you to do is buy or borrow a tripod and get ready to learn to use it. My next posts will cover this topic in detail so keep coming back.

Watch this site for more information about how to use your camera and the tripod together.

Please send comments if this article was helpful to you or if you would like information about other topics.

If you are looking for books about how to use your camera click this Book Store link to see what is available. Need a Camera? This Camera Store has the the best choices available on the internet.

You can also visit my own photography website at Dwains Picks to see some of my work.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you will check this site often.

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Photography Tips

Here are a few things you can do to improve your photography that will apply regardless of what camera you use. These are the basics that every photographer should know and do to get reasonably good pictures out of any camera.

Make sure you have a clean lens. Don't just blow the dust off, but use a clean cloth suitable for cleaning lenses and do it right.

Set up so your camera is stable and won't move as you press the shutter. You can do this a number of ways. If you will be handholding the camera, hold your elbows in against your sides, and stand with your feet apart with one slightly forward of the other. You can also lean against a solid object like a light pole, tree, building or whatever. The best method though is to use a tripod or monopod. I have both but I like to carry the tripod best. If I want to use it as a monopod I just extend only one leg and us it as I would a monopod. I'll add instructions about to how to use these tools later.

Finally the "First" basic thing you need to do is read your manual and learn what all the parts of your camera are for and how to use them. If you understand how your meter works and what white balence is you'll go a long way to getting that shot you want when the light is wierd and you are wondering why your pictures are all dark or yellow instead of like what you saw on the monitor or in the viewfinder.

I'll expand on all these topics in the coming weeks and months so you'll want to check back and see what I've added from time to time.