Good photography is much less about the gear you don’t have and much more about using the gear you do have. In the video below, Brandon of figandlight shows how to shoot a high-quality reflective bottle using simple tools available cheaply around the home and a cell phone. By doing so, he effectively illustrates that good photography is less about the best and newest gear and much more about knowing how to use what you have.
Step-by-step instructions are provided about how to compose the image, what tools were used, as well as camera settings. Emphasis is placed on ideating the final image and shooting in a way that pays respect to the final image. In practical terms, for this particular shoot, for example, this meant underexposing the image slightly so as to preserve details in the highlights; and then brightening the overall image in post-production.
Photography, quite literally means “drawing with light.” Knowing how to light a subject or a scene is paramount to this practice. Brandon shows us in the video below a classical example of using available resources and smart phone to achieve your desired image.
