If tripods are a photographer's best friend, they are also usually the most neglected. Let's face it, tripods tend to be big, heavy and fairly fidgety to work with, and often they can be a bother to carry around, especially if you are already carrying heavy DSLRs and lenses. But for some images, a tripod is essential.

Taking photographs at night for long exposure shots, you have to keep the camera steady otherwise you get blurry images. The longer your focal length, the shorter the shutter speed has to be. Why? Because zoom lenses not only magnify the image, they magnify any vibrations so even the tiniest tremor could register as big shocks on the sensor and you'll get blurs.

Tripods
Tripods come in many shapes and sizes. It's probably a good idea to have at least one lying around somewhere and consider it a good investment so don't just get the cheapest variety. A tripod has to provide good steady support and if you've got a heavy DSLR with a big zoom lens, then you need to ensure that the tripod can support its weight.

Most tripods come with a standard screw thread to screw on to the bottom of your camera. They are all pretty much the same size and all cameras come ready to be attached to any tripod top. It can be a bother to continually screw and unscrew the camera on to tripods so you might want to get a tripod that has a quick release plate. That way you screw it on once, and then you can slide the plate in when you need the tripod, and release it when you don't.

Tabletop Tripod
A tabletop mini tripod is pretty popular because it can slip into your bag without much fuss. They are small and lightweight, but they tend to only work where a tall stable surface is already there like tabletops. Some smaller ones are a little fragile and might not take the weight of heavy DSLRs but they go very well with smaller point and shoots.

Normal Tripod
They can vary in sizes to about waist height, or chest height or even taller. They are very useful for portrait shots when you need to take several photos in different poses or lighting. You can position them in different ways, attach flashes or what not to take interesting shots. They help with panning by keeping the camera at the same level, and with panoramic shots. You can also leave the camera where it is for long periods if you are trying to take very long exposure shots of stars or time laps photography.

Monopod
Monopods just have one leg rather than three, ergo the "mono"-pod, which might seem silly, what use is one leg? But they are easier to fold up and carry around, and when you add your two legs into the mix, you do get three legs and with it a little extra support. You can get long varieties to rest on the ground, or some are shorter and are used as beltpods or chestpods, resting against you instead. They might not be as completely steady as a tripod or as useful sometimes, but it's definitely better than having no extra support at all.

Gorillapod
The most recent addition to the tripod family, gorillapods are in a league of their own. They have three legs, but those legs have many knobby joints, and can bend around and grip anything like a weird mechanical monkey from outer space. They don't tend to be very big so won't be very good at holding your camera up to your face, but they are very versatile. Place them on table tops, or wrap them around tree limbs and they'll hold up your camera and they look pretty cool as well.

Whatever you decide to go with, there's no doubt that a tripod is invaluable to photographers; many professionals will have several tripods to pick and choose from, depending on the situation and the subject they are photographing. Even as an amateur you might get away with bracing your camera against walls and other firm surfaces to take pictures, but eventually you will find yourself wishing you had a tripod with you, so it's probably a good idea to invest in a good one.