9 Best DIY Tripod Alternatives For Photographers To Try Today
Updated on November 1, 2022 in Photography by Alifiya Mustafa
Are tripod alternatives a thing? – Yes, they are, and there are 8 DIY Tripod Alternatives that you can start using today.
For every professional photographer, a camera and tripod are just a power duo. When they work together, they create magic. It’s almost impossible to capture a stunning image without them. No matter how good you are with your camera, a tripod proves essential when you want super-stable, detailed photos.
However, there might be a few times when you either forget your tripod or don’t have a tripod at all, or just didn’t intend to capture anything but something beautiful caught your attention! – Who knows?
But, no worries. You may try these DIY Tripod alternatives to achieve the stability you desire.
9 Best DIY Tripod Alternatives To Try
1. Pile of Books
This DIY tripod alternative is pretty helpful and practical for capturing non-shaky images. The pile of books can be found easily, especially if you’re shooting indoors.
You can adjust the height as well as the distance. This hack may not always be available at your disposal when you’re outdoors.
But you can always plan if you want to use this DIY tripod alternative for outdoor photography as well.
2. Bean Bags
Bean bags are another one of the best DIY tripod alternatives for indoor photography. However, you’ll have to keep it neat and straight before placing the camera. A slight tilt can ruin the entire image. This is the best DIY photography equipment since you can just find it lying in your home and start your own home studio.
3. Filled Sacks
Sacks filled with grains of sand can be used as one of the DIY tripod alternatives. These can be used for both indoor as well as outdoor photography. So, next time you’re in a town, don’t hesitate to borrow a sack for your professional creativity. This DIY tripod is easy to find wherever you are. So, if you’re traveling, you do not need to carry a tripod with you all the time.
4. Water Bottle
A water bottle is the most portable DIY tripod alternative. There is nearly zero chance of not having a water bottle around indoors or outdoors. The bottle cap’s surface decides which camera you may use.
A bottle with a little cap surface can work if you carry your little but excellent GoPro. You may use a bottle with a larger cap surface for other digital cameras.
Make sure that your bottle is at least 50% filled with water to get that stability so that it doesn’t fall with the blow of the wind – else; it might cost you a camera!
5. Monopod
Monopods are simply perfect for capturing any paced action or sports. You might’ve seen Olympic photographers often using monopods to capture athletes.
A monopod is a lighter and easy-to-carry tripod alternative. It can carry the weight of their long lens, weighs lighter than the three legs of the tripod, and most importantly, allows them to move freely.
The only drawback of using a monopod is that they can’t stand freely, and you might need to hold them throughout the photoshoot.
6. Clamps
I believe whether or not you have a tripod, but if you’re a professional photographer, you must have this tripod alternative in your bag.
Super clamps are cheap, flexible, portable, and vital to providing support. There’s hardly any reason why you shouldn’t own one.
You can make the super clamp grab almost anything and allow it to provide the necessary stability to your camera.
7. Pocket Tripods
As the name suggests, you must understand what this tripod alternative must look like. These are the mini versions of the original, huge tripods. Pocket tripods are less expensive and are easy to carry around, which eliminates the need to carry around a large and heavy three-leg stand.
The load capacity varies with the model. You may find one easily on Amazon or any other online marketplace.
8. Utilize the Environment
During a photoshoot, there are plenty of amazing and useful things that you can use as your DIY tripod alternatives.
As explained, the stack of books and water bottles can be used from your home. You may also use a ladder, a pile of newspapers, a radio, or an empty box from online delivery that can be found easily at home.
For outside photoshoots, you may find bricks, a stable pedestal, a lower wall, stairs, and many other places in your surroundings that you can utilize to mount your camera and achieve stability.
9. Disposable Cup
Before you go, I’d also like to mention a great DIY tripod alternative for smartphones. If you’re using your smartphone for photography, then here’s what you can use:
Use a disposable cup as a tripod. Make two wide slits at the sides of the cup parallelly. Do not cut the slits until the bottom, just cut them till 1/4 of the cup. Fill the cup with rice, stones, or sand to make sure that the cup doesn’t fall when you mount your smartphone.
Once the setup is complete, place your smartphone between the slits and capture the images.
Wrapping Up
Tripod is an essential accessory for every beginner and professional photographer. Though, it may not be necessary that you’re always equipped with this accessory. Therefore, this article gives you some DIY tripod alternative ideas that you may use whenever required. These DIY tripod alternatives will help you achieve the stability you expect from a tripod.
I hope this article was helpful for you to build the best and most effective tripods for yourself. If you wish to learn more about eCommerce, product photography, Product photo editing, and how to grow online, subscribe to the PixelPhant email newsletter below.
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