Is Your Tripod Sturdy Enough to Support an Acrobat?

Photography Tips

How sturdy is a tripod really? Photographer Joe McNally had a vision of balancing a gymnast on top of a tripod and finally had the opportunity to put his plan into action. In the desert outside of Las Vegas, McNally set up a simple shoot with two acrobats:

To show how sturdy and important a tripod can be, McNally used a heavy-duty Gitzo tripod to demonstrate. With two very talented acrobats he used a very simple set-up: just one tripod and some simple lights on the side, and he shot into the sunset.

Even with such a simplistic set-up, McNally created stunning images of the acrobats holding poses on top of the sturdy tripod.

Even camera gear can be in the spotlight from time to time!