Your camera doesn’t matter.

In recent years, brands have awakened to the undeniable power of content creation. This is hardly surprising when you consider that visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than text based content (Source: HubSpot). Therefore, top content creators like Casey Neistat or Rory Kramer can earn huge sums of money crafting content for brands. While these creators have a seemingly overflowing bank account to purchase complex lighting setups and home studios, you don’t need to spend thousands on high-end equipment to get similar results.

Many people seem to think there are huge technical barriers to creating content that will extend the reach of their brand. But this is simply not true. Your equipment does not determine the impact of your images/video. The right equipment can make the job easier/faster/more convenient to achieve the desired result but ultimately it’s the editing and the creative idea behind the camera that gives it a wow factor.

To demonstrate this to you, have a look at look at the two videos below. One was shot on camera equipment totaling about €15,000, the other on a Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone that costs under €500.

Can you tell which one is which? Of course you can. But the point I’m making is that both pieces are visually engaging and carry out the functions they were intended to. When I was asked to shoot both of the videos above, the client wanted the finished piece to be shareable, easy to consume, nice to look at and inspired action to purchase. Both of these succeeded in doing so. High-end production quality is preferable in certain scenarios but it’s not absolutely vital. (Credit to Ryan Jafarzadeh and Conor Bradshaw for video edits)

So, you should never become fixated on the camera you have or the lens you don’t have. For years I thought "if I only had that new camera or that shiny new rig" that all my video wants would be satisfied. Far from it. I still want that "one more camera" and I always will. There is always one more ‘X’. Instead of wasting time and passing up on opportunities to create, just go for it and focus on the creative idea behind your story. Dedicate the time saved to becoming a more proficient editor and once you’ve got some money coming in, you can re-invest in more sophisticated equipment.

So if you’re reading this and you have an idea for an amazing piece of content, act on it now. Don’t sit on the idea waiting for ‘the perfect opportunity’. It doesn't always come, so what are you waiting for?