The Things You Didn't Know You Needed

Each of us have a few items that we {love} so much, and use so often, we're not sure what we did before we had them...or what we would do without them! So I'm going to do a little series here on SNDR, sharing a few of my {favorite} things with all of you.

*disclaimer* Being that I am not Oprah, you will not all be going home with the items mentioned. ;)

So...here comes item #1. (drum roll, please....)








A Tripod! This is not the one I have, but it's the most similar I could find online. Tripods are available now at every price range, and with all sorts of fancy bells & whistles ~ they are lightweight and fold down to become very compact and portable, many have cleats to keep them from sliding around, and levels built-in so you know when you're camera is straight.

Now, if you're thinking that you don't really need a tripod b/c your just using a little point and shoot, let me stop you there. How many times have you propped your camera on a table, a rock, a fence post, etc. and used the timer to take a picture....running into the frame before the time runs out and {praying} that nothing happens that will cause your camera to tumble to the ground before you can get back to it? Uh-huh. I'm guilty of that, too. Now, granted, a tripod can be knocked over, too...but it's a lot more stable than some of the things you're probably doing now.

Having a tripod also allows you to take a series of photographs, knowing that the distance to the subject/s will be the same in each shot ~ thus making adjustments like head swaps much easier for you to accomplish after the fact. For example...

See this lovely photo? This is my family. Notice how my very classy brother (he's a very serious attorney, as you can see) has his arm flung haphazardly into the air. Notice also his very lovely Hall & Oates t-shirt. Take a look at my nephew, too. And my mom. Everyone else looks pretty good - and this photo was the best choice overall...it just needed a few {tweaks} in photoshop.







Because the camera was set on a tripod, I was able to look through each of the photos that were taken, find the best faces from my brother, nephew and mom, and do a few head swaps to make this photo a true keeper. See?






Using a tripod also eliminates the issue of camera shake, and gives the person who's pushing the shutter button a few less things to worry about if you're not using a remote or a timer.

Also ~ and this one is {big} for us ~ if you've got kids in school, in sports, in dance classes, etc. you'll definitely find out quickly just how great a tripod can be...because these babies are made to hold video recorders, too. Yep. No more tired arms from holding up a camera for an hour and a half. No more shaky shots or nausea-inducing spinning around ~ it can all be carefully controlled.

So there you have it ~ the first item on my list of favorite things that you might not know you need...but you {totally} do. ;)

What are some of your can't live without items? I'd love to hear!