Use a Tripod to Make Better Photos

Better compositions 
A tripod forces you to slow down and carefully compose your photographs. Make sure that the horizon is level and no important objects are cut off by the edge of the frame. Often the composition can be approved by getting everything just right in the viewfinder and then shooting as the scene unfolds before you. For example you can shoot the changing sky during the sunrise or sunset or different cloud formations as they float through your composition.

Increased creativity 
Some of the most dramatic photographs are made in the hour just before or after sunrise or sunset. Using a tripod allows for the longer exposures these low light situations demand.

Photographing moving water often benefits enormously from longer exposures. Shutter speeds of 1/2 to 1 second reveal a silky texture to the water that just isn’t possible with the shorter exposure times necessary when hand-holding your camera.

Tips for using your tripod

Compose your shot first 
Study your subject from different angles through the camera’s viewfinder. Often getting lower to the ground or closer to a foreground subject can dramatically improve the composition.

Avoid extending the center post 
The center post is considerably less stable than the three legs spread out.  To get the sharpest image possible, only extend the post as a last resort.