You’ve probably heard this advice before, and I’m sure you know that it’s true, but if you’re like most people you ignore it anyway… The single best way to get sharper images is to use a tripod. This is especially true for shooting video with dSLR’s where camera shake is a constant annoyance!

So use your tripod. It’s just that easy. Take your tripod with you, and actually use it. Even an inexpensive, simple, lightweight tripod that has no extra features (other than supporting your camera) will net you far better images on average than not using one at all. You can probably buy one of these at Wal-Mart for $20 or less.

It’s so simple that I don’t think I even need to explain it further.

What Tripod Should I Buy?

I was going to stop there, but because I get asked about it all the time, I’m going to provide a list of 3 really great tripods that you should consider buying. Note that you won’t find a $20 tripod from Wal-Mart on this list, but if that’s really all you can afford you really should go get one. Note also that you actually need 2 things: a tripod and a ball head. The ball head sits on top of the tripod and is the actual part that attaches to the camera. It allows you to quickly and easily point the camera in the direction, angle, and orientation that you want. I like Manfrotto tripods and ball heads, so that’s what I’m going to recommend here:

Tripods for Small Cameras: The Manfrotto 190xProB with a 496RC2 ball head is a great combination for the vast majority of photographers. This will be good for people with entry-level dSLR’s (or even for those bigger point and shoots). It is a relatively small and lightweight tripod that is easy to use and to carry, and you can get this combination for around $250. The max load rating is about 8 pounds, so if you have a big camera and/or lenses (or if you think you will be getting bigger stuff soon) then you might consider stepping up to the next level.

Tripods for Big Cameras: The Manfrotto 055xProB with a 498RC2 ball head is an excellent system for advanced shooters with bigger cameras or lenses. I bought this tripod (with the now discontinued 488RC2 ballhead) when I got my Canon 40D because I knew that I would be using it with some pretty heavy lenses for shooting birds and wildlife. It still works great with my Canon 1D Mark IV, but if I use any really heavy lenses then I’m starting to push its limits. This ballhead is much stronger than the 486RC2m (it supports up to 17 pounds) and the tripod is much heavier and stronger than the 190xProB too. The combination is also taller. I’m 6′ 2″ and I only have to bend slightly while using my tripod with the legs fully extended. I’ve been using this combination extensively (multiple times a week) for over 2 years now and it is still in great condition. This combination goes for around $300.

Lightweight Tripods (that you might actually use): The major problem with tripods is that they are big and heavy, and most people end up not using them because of that. If you want one that’s small enough and light enough that you will actually take it with you then you should consider getting Carbon Fiber. I can highly recommend the Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 or 190CXPRO4 for small cameras, or the 055CXPRO3 or 055CXPRO4for bigger cameras, or. These are essentially the same tripods as I described above, but they come in a couple of different options. The difference between the Pro3 and the Pro4 versions is in how many leg sections (3 vs 4) they have, and therefore the minimum length that they will be when folded down. More sections allows them to get smaller (for carrying in a hiking pack or a suitcase), but also makes them more time consuming to set up. They also get progressively more expensive (in the order I listed them) as you go up the chain, starting at around $400 for the legs alone. The choice is yours. I would use these with the same 496RC2 or 498RC2 ball heads I suggested above depending on the weight of your gear.

I posted an article yesterday describing a method to reduce noise from photographic images shot at high ISO by using a free Action for Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom called the OD Virtual Tripod Action.

In that article I used an example image that was shot at ISO 400. I realized when I was writing it that the example image may not have been the most convincing; however, it was the best example I had at the time.

So I went out at sunrise and created a new series of images that could really demonstrate how well this action works.

This new example image was created from a series of 11 images that I shot in rapid fire on my Canon 1D Mark IV at ISO 12,800. I deliberately underexposed the images, which always results in noiser images than images that are exposed correctly. I also turned off all noise reduction in Lightroom. The resulting image (upper left) after applying the action is still somewhat noisy, but I think it’s a much more pleasant or organic noise than the originals.

Check out a closeup of the original image on the left below. It is really, really ugly. Now compare it to the image on the right. This is the resulting image after the OD Virtual Tripod Action has been applied. I think the result speaks for itself.

For more information about the OD Virtual Tripod Action check out the original article.

Download the Free OD Virtual Tripod Photoshop Action

• OD Virtual Tripod (Photoshop Action)

There was a post on the Imaging Professional Blog a few months ago showing how to use Adobe Photoshop to dramatically reduce the noise in a series of images that were shot at high ISO.

“This technique describes a method to stack several high ISO source images in Photoshop CS3 or CS4 Extended, in order to minimize random noise – in effect creating a synthesized long duration low-ISO exposure.”

Sometimes you really just don’t have the light you need to shoot at low ISO and still get the high shutter speeds you need to shoot hand held. If you don’t have a tripod with you then your only option may be to crank up the ISO. This will likely create some very noisy images. Using this Virtual Tripod technique will allow you to easily reduce that noise in post processing after the fact. In my experience this method works far better than noise reduction software and can result in some really great looking, noise-free images.

The original article described in detail a method to do this once you already have a series of images loaded up in Photoshop. I took those instructions and modified them slightly to simplify their use with Adobe Lightroom. I also created a Photoshop Action to automate the process. Depending on how many images you use, the resolution of your camera, and how fast your computer is, this method could take several minutes to run (or maybe even longer in some circumstances. But using this method is very easy, and extremely effective!

Example Images

The first image is one of the original images, essentially straight out of the camera. There may have been some minor global edits applied in Lightroom, but no noise reduction has been performed.

The second example is the resulting image after application of the OD Virtual Tripod Action. This was done using a series of 5 images that were shot using the high speed shooting mode with my Canon 40D.

The difference isn’t really noticeable when the images are rezzed down for on-screen display, but when you zoom in the noise in the original is extremely obvious (I’m really not that much of a pixel peeper, but even when looking at the originals in Lightroom the difference was extremely obvious.)

Here is a close up of one of the original images with no edits applied.

And here is a close up of the resulting image after application of the OD Virtual Tripod Action.

I think you will agree that the difference is simply amazing. These images were shot at ISO 400. Imagine if I had used originals at ISO 1600 or even 3200. I generally find the images shot at ISO’s above 800 on this camera are barely useable. Using this technique has allowed me to create a few really nice images that I wouldn’t even have tried to make if I didn’t have this tool in my kit.

Try it, you’ll like it!

Install the OD Virtual Tripod Action

1. Skip down to the end of this article to download the Free Virtual Tripod Photoshop Action
2. Extract the file called “OD_Virtual_Tripod.atn” from the zip file you just downloaded, and save the action to a safe place on your computer (that you will remember).
3. Open Photoshop
4. In the Actions Palette choose “Load Actions…” and navigate to the file you just saved. Choose “Load“.
5. You will now have a new folder in your Actions Palette called “OD Virtual Tripod“

If you need more help with loading actions (or using them) then you should check out the article called Photoshop Actions for Photographers over at PhotoshopSupport.com. They do a great job of teaching all about Photoshop Actions.

Using the OD Virtual Tripod Action

1. Shoot a series of photos in rapid fire. Use your best “Human Tripod” technique while shooting them. Hold your arms in tight to your body and try to be as still as possible. If there is a small amount of camera shake or body movement then the Photoshop Action will take care of aligning the images properly. This won’t work so well for large movements or for moving subjects. I suggest that you use at least 5 images, but any more than 12 is probably overkill. You can read more about how to actually make the images in the original article over at the Imaging Professional Blog.
2. Import the files into Lightroom. Do any basic edits you want to the images, but be sure to do the same edits to all of the images.
3. Select all the images.
4. Right Click on one of the files and choose “Edit In” and then “Open as Layers in Photoshop…“
5. Run the OD Virtual Tripod Action
6. When the action finishes, Save and Close the resulting file in Photoshop. The finished image will automatically get imported back into Lightroom.
7. Inspect the resulting image to ensure that there is no ghosting and that the edges are clean. If the images didn’t line up properly, or if one (or more) of the images was severely out of alignment with the others then you may need to do some additional cropping to clean up the images. You may even need to repeat the process after deselecting the offending image(s) that were badly aligned.

Download the Free Virtual Tripod Photoshop Action

• OD Virtual Tripod (Photoshop Action)

That’s it. Try it out and drop me a comment to let me know how it works! This action should definitely works in Photoshop CS4, and it may also work in prior versions. Please let me know if you try it with other versions and I will compile a compatibility list.

In the last installment of Quick Tips for Photographers we talked about Shooting the Moon. Well I’ve got another great tip for you to make even better images of the moon.

Make the Moon Look Really Big

Most people automatically shoot images of the moon with really wide angle lenses. The natural assumption is that a great Landscape image will look even better if it includes the moon. This is true, but the thing is, the moon is really far away and if you shoot it with a wide lens, it’s going to look really small. You’re far better to use the longest lens you’ve got. This will allow you to take advantage of a principle called Telephoto Compression; this is where distant objects appear to be closer, and larger, than they really are when they are magnified

So how do you make this work with the moon?

1. Figure out when you need to be at your chosen destination so that you see the Full Moon when it is near the horizon. I prefer to do this at sunrise or sunset so that the light of the moon is nicely balanced with the landscape around it. Note that for every Full Moon there will be at least 2, and sometimes 3, opportunities when the rising or setting moon coincides with the rising or setting sun. You can use TimeandDate.com to figure out when the next one will be.
2. Find a really scenic vista that you can see unobstructed from a long way away.
3. Back up a long way so that you can fill the frame appropriately with the main subject (other than the moon), and still have room to include the moon.
4. Arrive plenty early so you have time to get your gear set up in advance of the rising or setting moon, and so that you can change positions if you don’t have the moon perfectly aligned with your main subject.
5. Make plenty of images as the sun and the moon rise and set. The light will be perfect for only a few minutes for each opportunity.
6. Be prepared for the weather to totally bust you more often than not. I honestly try to make moon images almost every month, and in the last year I’ve only been successful 3 times. That’s just how it goes as a landscape shooter. Sometimes the weather cooperates, sometimes it doesn’t.

This is the next installment in my series of Quick Tips for photographers.

It seems that every photographer wants to have a great image of the moon in their collection. Why? Because it’s there! And because it’s cool!

Most people that set out to shoot the moon expect that it will be hard to do, that you will need to use long exposures, and maybe even a tripod. In short, they expect to have to shoot it like any other night time shot. Using a tripod is always a great idea if you want to make really sharp images, but for the moon it’s not strictly required. In fact, shooting the moon is more like a daytime shot rather than a night time shot.

Photographing the Moon

Although it may be counter-intuitive, the moon is actually very bright. We can only see the moon because it reflects the light of the sun. That means that the Sunny 16 Rule is actually a great starting point to make images of the moon.

The moon is not quite as bright as a sunny day, so you will probably want to add at least 1 stop of light to the exposure that you calculated using the Sunny 16 Rule to get it just right. So instead of 1/ISO at f/16, you might try f/11 instead.

Modified Sunny 16 Rule for Shooting the Moon:
Aperture = f/11
Shutter = 1/ISO

An equivalent exposure that I like to use for shooting the moon is:
f/8 @ ISO 200 and 1/400th of a second

I like these settings because ISO 200 provides a nice clean (noise-free) images for most modern cameras, and 1/400th is easily hand-holdable unless you are using very long lenses.

NOTE – if you want to zoom in tight on the moon then you will need to use an extremely long lens. In that case you will absolutely want to use an equivalent exposure that includes a very fast shutter speed.

For example, I occasionally use my 400mm lens with a 2x teleconverter to get an equivalent focal length of 800mm. In that case I want to ensure that I get at least 1/1000th of a second to get tack sharp images. To do so I will typically open up the aperture to f/5.6 and also increase my ISO to 400. Doing so allows me to use a shutter speed as fast as 1/1600th of a second.

An equivalent exposure for shooting the moon with long lenses:
f/5.6 @ ISO 400 and 1/1600th of a second

As in all exposure decisions you will want to salt to taste depending on your particular equipment and environment…

A final word on shooting the moon:

Most people that make images of the moon do so when the moon is full. That’s actually the most boring time to shoot the moon, because the entire moon is lit up and it ends up coming out flat and boring. The most interesting images of the moon are taken when only part of it is lit, which is about 1 week before or after the full moon. In this situation the moon is only partially lit which makes the texture from the craters on its surface really pop because the shadows behind them are visible.

This trick is also true for many other forms of photography.

If you want your subject to look interesting, only light part of it!