AboutSteve Meltzer Expertise I am a professional photographer and I've been shooting for newspapers, magazines, commercial clients and artists for over 30 years.
I have shot stock photography for dozens of years and in 1977 created West Stock (Seattle, WA) which was one of the first to produce stock photo CDs and later one of the first to establish an online stock photo slaes site.
I have a new book on digital photography "PHOTOGRAPHING ARTS, CRAFTS AND COLLECTIBLES (Lark Books, 2007)which is available at Amazon.com, eBay.com and in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I have another book, CAPTURE THE LIGHT which will be puiblished in November, 2008.
I write 20-30 feature articles and columns for regional and national publications a year.
My education includes studying with photographers like Cornell Capa, Duane Michels and Oliver Gagliani (from the Ansel Adams Center.)
Expert: Steve Meltzer Date: 2/8/2007 Subject: Professional practice
Question I know most professional photographers use digital these days, but do they use tripods much? Or does a true professional have a steady enough hand not to need one in most cases?
Answer James
Being professional means you do what you need to to get great shots. Image stabilizations sytems work but you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that below 1/15 second they keep the images sharp. They help but aren't perfect at all slow speeds. A professional who doesn't have a tripod isn't really a professional.
Even shooting models in a studio with strobes you start out on a pod.
