Jędrzej Sokołowski

As professional photographers, we need to be able to sell not only our photographs but also ourselves – our image. It’s not just about the clients you’ve worked with, the quality of your portfolio, or the prices and deadlines you offer. Many clients, often unconsciously, are also buying you as a person.

Not everyone who takes photos needs to have a tripod. However, in architectural photography, a camera practically doesn’t exist without a tripod. Moreover, it is worth having more than one tripod! Many people believe that the optimal solution is to have three models… A large, versatile “workhorse” tripod (such as the previously mentioned Leofoto LM-324CL or the competing Gitzo GT3543XLS) A medium-sized tripod that we can always take with us, for example, in carry-on luggage or attach to a backpack when going hiking (Albrecht Voss described the Gitzo GK2545T-82QD model) A pocket-sized tabletop tripod that can be useful in specific situations (check out Mike Kelley’s review of the Platypod or the Gitzo Mini Traveler Tabletop Tripod).

A tripod can serve as support for both the camera and the photographer who is exhausted after a long photo session. It can also be a declaration of the photographer’s presence, expressing their intention to capture their subject. During documentary projects, I have consciously used a large format analog camera placed on a tripod, which drew the attention of passersby and became a pretext for conversation, facilitating the establishment of contact with people I wanted to photograph, for example, to take their portraits.

For some time now, I’ve been convinced that a better tripod or tripod head doesn’t make me a better photographer or improve my photographs in any way. That being said, it definitely makes my life easier and more satisfying instead of difficult. That’s why as a professional architecture photographer I always use carbon tripods from Gitzo with heads and accessories from: Arca Swiss, Really Right Stuff and Sunwayfoto.