Photography and Videography on a Budget: Start Creating With What You Have
Updated: 6 days ago
The barrier to making great content isn't the gear, it's simply getting started.
It’s easy to fall into the belief that you aren’t a skilled photographer/videographer unless you’ve got the latest gear, or a cinema-grade FX3. But, you have more gear at your disposal than you think and it’s probably living in your pocket (or within your budget): an iPhone, a Polaroid, a disposable camera, or a cheap digital camera you found on eBay. Even with my current Sony A7Rii, one of my favorite things to do is go thrifting and check out old, cheap camera gear/lenses, and most of these have SD cards hiding in them~ score! I recently thrifted a vintage Pentax 135mm ($18) and bought an adapter ($30), fairly cheap gear and fun to play with! Any of these options will do.
When I was in college, I couldn't afford camera gear, so I bought a $30 tripod on Amazon and a phone mount for less than $5. That was my rig. With it, I made documentaries and video content that I'm still proud of.
I’m proud that I went out into the world and created. When I didn't have human subjects to film, I went out and captured what was around me: Florida State University's campus, the Tallahassee State Capitol, Miller's Landing, etc.
Imposter syndrome is real, especially when people around you have fancy gear, internships/jobs, their own business, and LinkedIn is popping off constantly! You must step away from all of that noise and get to the root of yourself as a creative. Yes, the tools can matter, but the artist wielding them is what's critical.
Photos all taken on iPhone and edited using Lightroom Mobile:
Editing is where a lot of people get stuck next. Professional software can be expensive, and it's easy to convince yourself you need the full Adobe suite before you can make anything worth sharing. However, the principles of strong editing may just be in your pocket already.
A huge chunk of my editing foundation came from the built-in adjustment tools on my iPhone. These were the resources I had access to at the time. Your phone may have nearly everything you need: highlights/shadows, whites/blacks, saturation, tint, sharpness, etc. Master those sliders and you'll understand what every professional tool is doing under the hood.
From there, programs like Darkroom, Lightroom Mobile, Canva, GIMP, Adobe Express, Superimpose, etc. can take your work further without requiring an expensive software subscription.
Raw vs. edited - taken on iPhone, edited using Lightroom Mobile:
Again, the real currency in creative work isn't gear; it's the reps. Go outside and shoot. Practice editing the same photo three different ways. Learn the rule of thirds and then break it intentionally. Study composition. Try new techniques. Consume different media, different genres, different eras, different mediums. The more you put in front of your eyes, the sharper your instincts get. Use the gear you have at you disposal, and push it to its limits.
The $20,000 cinema rig, the full frame mirrorless body, the professional lighting kit, all of that can come later if you put in the work now. I'm still putting in the work, still learning new techniques, still pushing the limits of myself and my gear, and hopefully as time goes on, more fancy camera gear will come my way and I can continue growing. :)
So start where you are, with what you have. The best camera is the one in your pocket and the best time to use it is right now.
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