Starting out in photography, I specialized in studio headshots and portraits and thus investing in a good tripod, and perhaps more importantly, a good tripod head was essential. One of the popular headshot photographer’s I learned from was Peter Hurley, and he used a Feisol Tripod and Ball Head.

Perfect. I thought. I’ll just go with that. I pulled up B&H and found out that it would set me back a cool $600+. When I started over 10 years ago, that’s about how much my camera cost.

To be honest, like most photography gear and accessories, your preference for a tripod head is a personal thing. I’ve tried, and still own many different variations and below I’ll let you know which is my favorite. But first…

What You Need to Know – Tripod Heads for Portrait Photographers

Double Check Your Tripod – This post assumes you already have a good tripod, but you want a better (or different) tripod head. If you’re looking to swap tripod heads, do research and confirm that your tripod supports this, and that you can remove and swap your existing head.

If you need a tripod: A good tripod for portraiture should extend at least 70″ (just under 6′), you don’t want to shoot your subject too low. So I would skip out on small or portable tripods. You could sit tall subjects on a stool, but that’s really only good for seated shots, and headshots.

Types of Tripod Heads:

• Ball Head – The most popular tripod head amongst photographers
• Pan/Tilt Heads & Fluid Heads – Mostly designed for video
• Gimbal Heads – Popular with wildlife photographers
• Pistol Grip Head – My personal favorite

Ball Head or Pistol Grip Head, what do photographers prefer?

There are many types of tripod heads, but ultimately your search will probably narrow down to either a ball head or a pistol grip head. And to be honest, if you invest in a good quality one – you can’t go wrong with either.

And let’s face it… a pistol grip head is really just a ball head with a pistol grip instead of a twist to lock grip.

The tripod head should be able to hold your gear at any angle, thus investing in a good one is essential. You don’t want your camera sliding, or even worse – falling due to a cheap tripod head.

I tried the $50 Promaster Pistol Grip Head, and it was good for about a year or two, but overtime it would loosen, the camera would slip, and I’d constantly have to re-adjust during a shoot.

I then invested about $100 in the Manfrotto Pistol Grip Head, and the same thing started to happen. But I found a fix, thankfully the Manfrotto heads have a friction adjustment which brought my head to just like new:

Now the newer Manfrotto 327RC2 retails for about $200, my advice is to take to eBay and buy one used. You guys know most Manfrotto stuff is high-end, I have tripods and light stands that are a decade old in good shape. I actually bought the older version, the Manfrotto 324RC2 and found a used one for around $100 (see today’s listings), and with regular use still works like it should.