In most cases, I use a tripod when photographing gourmet dishes. Whether it’s food or various other types of photography, a tripod is the photographer’s eternal friend to prevent camera shake.
When photographing in restaurants, the atmosphere is often dim, so it’s common to give up on using on-site or natural light from the start. That alone is a reason to use a tripod.
However, menu shots often need to be taken from different angles, so they’re always handheld. Stroubes are used to ensure sufficient flash light source and shutter speed. Therefore, the camera shake issue is solved, and there is no problem with a handheld shake.
Still, the tripod remains one of the essential pieces of equipment for shooting. Why is that?
The answer is fire.
If, during the pre-shooting discussion, the client requests photos that capture the dynamic movement of fire or flame-grilled food, the tripod becomes a must-have item.
In the strong light of a flash, the actual light of a typical fire is very weak.
Even if the flash output is set to the lowest level, there is a high chance that the fire’s expressive power will be weakened. Therefore, a longer shutter speed with the tripod is needed for scenes involving fire.
The probability of capturing more attractive flames increases.
Other dynamic photos often require the use of a tripod to be successfully captured as well.