Flex Your Ideas, Not Your Gear

I want to talk about the importance of not being too obsessed with your toolbox.

By that I mean, not being so attached to the idea that better stuff = better work. I know so many creatives who "have to have" to latest everything. Only God knows where they get the money from ( loans...👀) to invest in new cameras, gears, tech and software constantly Don't get me wrong, that's stuff is lovely...but, they won't make your work more creative...if you're not more creative. I've seen amazing things done on a £5,000+ camera with the best of editing software (in my opinion, that's the Adobe Suite), but I've also seen amazing things done on a £200 camera with an video editing app on phone. The opposite is also the same. I've worked with some top videographers, and the client work I've received back was well...pants. I've equally worked with some upcoming graphic designers and well, let's just say that I won't be giving them a recommendation anytime soon. The tools are nothing without the creative genius behind it to properly execute them. The common denominator in whether a project is a success or flop, is you.

So, to rid the world of creatives who actually don't know how to create (😬), here are my top two tips for knowing when to invest in new gear:

👉🏾 Only invest if you've reached the absolute limit with what you have

I'm the Queen of spending money on things I don't need. If you didn't know, I make and edit videos here and there. Now, I'm no cinematographer or anything but I can execute simple (emphasis on the simple 🥵) projects fairly well and my Church has definitely given me some good practise. However, I have six backdrops, four tripods, three cameras, two HUGE studio lights and one Adobe Creative Cloud subscription that I don't even use. I use iMovie because I can be in and out within an hour. I bought all of those things because I was eager, but I really don't need them, they're just somewhere gathering dust. Please don't invest until you are being held back by the equipment/tools/software that you have.

👉🏾 Only invest if you've got the ideas to back it

I have to be brutally honest here, drone shots are pretty but often they don't add very much. There, I said it! Hear me out though.Every decision you make for a project, photography, videography or otherwise should be done with "how can I have maximum output on the message I'm trying to send out" in mind. In fact that would be central to everything you do. I don't mind who I offend with this one, but I've never looked back on a video and thought, "wow, that drone shot made it so amazing". Listen, 'packaging's is nice, but it's just that- packaging. Your audience will always be able to see straight through creatives who are all about the glitz and glam without the goods to back it up. Please don't invest until you've got real substance.

Quit holding yourself back because you think that you don't have the right gear. Do right with what you have by continuing to flex your creative muscles.