Tripod Use

• Always fully expand (horizontally) the legs of the tripod. A tripod with the legs fully expanded (horizontally, not vertically) is much harder to accidentally knock over than a tripod that isn’t fully expanded.
• You don’t have to fully extend (vertically) the legs of the tripod if you don’t need to.
• When adjusting the tripod, always FIRST make sure that the appropriate screws are loosened. DO NOT ADJUST THE TRIPOD WHILE THE SCREWS ARE TIGHTENED. This will strip the screws and make it impossible to adjust the tripod in the future.
• Once you have the camera firmly fixed to the tripod, point it at something with horizontal lines (posters, lockers, the wall) parallel to the floor. If the lines appear skewed at an angle, then your camera is not mounted correctly on the tripod. Fix it before you shoot anything. Some tripods also have a spirit level — a small bubble inside a tube or disk that shows you whether or not your tripod is level. Use it.
• Make sure that the interviewer, camera lens, and interview subject are all on the same horizontal plane. Is your subject seated? Then you should be seated, and the tripod should be lowered to their eye level. Is the subject standing? Then you should be standing and the tripod should be fully extended so that the camera is at their eye level. There should be no high angle or low angle shots unless they are for a specific purpose.