Photographers can be really good at the “Yeah buts.” Let me explain. You show someone a great image that you took over the weekend and the response is, “Yeah, but you own a professional camera.” Your image of the gorgeous pink and purple sunset won an award at a print competition. Overheard in whispered voices, “Yeah, but she used too much Photoshop.” Your recent studio image was the cover of a magazine; “Yeah, but she had a $20k budget to work with.” You post an image into a social media group and the response? “Yeah, but I could do that…”
[REWIND: HOW & WHY TO NEVER LOOK AT ANOTHER’S PHOTO AND SAY ‘I COULD DO THAT’]
Five years ago, Lee Morris from Fstoppers posted a popular iPhone fashion photo shoot using the iPhone 3GS (it inspired us to shoot our own tribute, which you can see here). The point of the video was to show that you don’t need expensive gear to shoot great photos, but as they often do, the naysayers pointed out that Lee used thousands of dollars of lighting equipment in a fancy studio and a professional model to create the beautiful images. So, this time around, Lee decided to make it “so simple that absolutely anyone would be able to recreate [his] shots.”
This time around, Lee used the new iPhone 6s, his “next door neighbor,” and less than $40 worth of lighting equipment per shot; no DSLRs, Profotos, seamless backdrops, etc. Lee uses foam core and flashlights with nature as a backdrop.
Gear List
- iPhone 6s 128GB
- Black foam core
- White foam core
- Flashlight
- LED panelÂ
If you have some “Yeah buts” running through your head at the moment, the main thing to takeaway from this video was summed up nicely by Lee,
The point is that today, with this amazing technology at each of our fingertips, you can no longer blame your equipment for your body of work. A talented photographer can create compelling images with any set of tools just like a talented musician can create beautiful music with a cheap instrument. The most expensive guitar in the world will not be able to create music if the person holding it doesn’t know how to play.
Your gear isn’t holding you back, stop worrying about what you don’t have and get back to mastering your craft.
Head over to the Fstoppers article to get more info on each shot, including the images before and after post processing.