When to Use a Tripod

• You should use a tripod while taking pictures when your pictures would otherwise be blurry. Tripods help stabilize your camera when you are shooting in low-light or long shutter speed situations. They are also helpful if you are using a longer lens that is harder to hold steady while taking photos.
  
  

Types

• Tripods come in many different varieties. Most photographers use full-sized tripods, though they can be fairly heavy to carry around. For this reason, many also choose to have a more compact or travel version. These provide less support and sometimes are much smaller and should only be used on a table-top or another raised surface. Tripods can also come with different head types -- either a pan and tilt head, a ball and socket head, or no head attached at all. The two offer different ranges of motion, the pan and tilt with strict up and down or right to left ranges of mtion, and the ball and socket version is more fluid. Decide which head type is best for you and your camera and the photos you are going to take before purchasing your tripod.
  
  

Set Up

• While setting up your tripod you should try to find a flat surface to put it on. If you need to set up on a hill, make sure that you put two of the tripod's legs on the downhill slant. Begin by undoing the locks on the tripod legs and spreading the legs apart. Then, let the legs fall until the tripod is at the desired height for your shoot.
  
  Make sure that the feet of the tripod are pressed into the ground so that the tripod is stable and that the head of the tripod is at the level and correct height. Adjust the spreaders on the legs if your tripod has them. Make sure to lock and tighten all the knobs and locks on your tripod before attaching your camera to the head. If your tripod has a center pole, then adjust this height next before attaching your camera.
  
  Finally, attach your camera to the head of the tripod; this should require a plate that screws into the bottom of your camera. Finally, you can use the pan/tilt handle of the tripod to adjust the angle of the camera up, down, right or left. Usually this adjustment is done with the right hand while the left hand adjusts the camera and you find your shot.