A lot of museums and galleries have a ban on tripods and sometimes you just don’t want to lug your tripod around with you so here are a few alternatives for stability without a tripod.

The Monopod
monopodIf you can’t have three legs, sometimes one will do - monopods are the obvious step down from a tripod and still give you a good amount of flexibility and stability. Often galleries ban tripods because they are worried about other visitors tripping over them so using a monopod eliminates that risk and the gallery may let you get away with it. A monopod is also particularly good if you like trekking through the mountains/wilderness as it can double up as a walking pole. (Photo by cogdogblog)

The Mini Tripod
Mini tripods are pretty popular but it’s hard to find one that will take the weight of a DSLR. If you’re using a compact, one like this will do but if you’re a DSLR user, you need to go for something a bit more solid like the Sunpak MINI-PLUS.

The Gorillapod
gorillapodAlthough it’s quite similar to a mini tripod, the Gorillapod is worthy of a category of its own. They come in a few sizes so there’s one for compact cameras (US / UK), one for DSLR cameras (US / UK) and one for DSLR cameras with zoom lenses (US / UK). You can use them like a regular mini tripod but they have an extra trick in that their articulated legs can be bent into any position you need them in grip onto a convenient railing or tree branch.

The Bean Bag
If you’ve got a sturdy flat surface (table, wall, etc) but you need to point your camera up or down, resting it on a small bean bag or two (like these) can give you a lot of control over your camera positioning. Another option is the POD which is essentially a bean bag with a tripod screw built in.

The Stringpod
A winner in terms of portability (easily pocket-sized) and cost, you might want to make yourself a stringpod. It’s not going to offer the stability of a proper tripod but in some situations it might make the difference between a sharp photo and a blurry one.