Any video, even a shorter one, should have a story to tell. For someone who works alone like me, it can be really hard to be part of a story without adding themselves in a few scenes.

For the longest time, I used a JOBY Gorilla Pod to hold my vlogging camera (a Sony a6000 with the 16-50mm kit lens).

It's a nice and light tripod, but it's not the best to record yourself. Being so short, you need to place it somewhere relatively high (a chair, a fence, a tree... if there's any of these around). Otherwise, every angle would be from the ground and looking up, resulting in mediocre footage.

More often than not, I used my regular tripod to record videos, but of course I can't use it when I'm taking a photo since I have either my Bronica SQ-Ai or my Sony a6500 on it.

Tired of the tiny Gorilla Pod, I wanted to find a very light -but still tall- tripod for the vlogging camera.

On my search, I stumbled upon what would've been the perfect tripod: the ZipShot by Tamrac. Unfortunately, it's not being sold anymore and I couldn't find any seller on Amazon nor eBay.

In the end, I settled on a cheap, light tripod for phones and small compact cameras: the Fotopro tripod.

It's only 0.85lbs (0.4kg), and 11" (28cm) folded. It extends to almost 40 inches (1 meter), so it's perfect for both handheld use and to place somewhere to record yourself walking or taking a photo.

As I said, it is and it feels like a cheap tripod. I'm not sure how long it will last. It holds the a6000 and the kit lens just fine, but I wouldn't trust it with a heavier camera.

I've used it on a few trips already, and so far so good. I really love having a second tripod that is so light and folds to the size of the Gorilla Pod.

If you are thinking about documenting your work (and you should!) and want to start including yourself on your videos / photos, this might be a good option to hold a light vlogging camera.

I have a complete list of all the gear I use, for film and digital photography, and vlogging as well.