Basic Mobile Photography Kit
I just had the pleasure of spending 15 days traveling through Europe. When I was packing, I had to make a decision on my camera gear, what to bring and how much of it I wanted to carry. The other factor I had to take into consideration was the weight restrictions and number of bags you are allowed to carry onto airlines.
After taking these factors into consideration, I decided I was only going to bring a small mobile photography kit focused around my Samsung Note 20 Ultra. You can find everything here in my Amazon Store.
The first piece of equipment is a small tripod with a ball head. I like the GorillaPod made by Joby. The one I use is the GorillaPod 3K Flexible Mini-Tripod with the Joby BallHead 3K. This combination is lightweight and compact but it still gives you a sturdy platform to mount your phone to.
With the tripod, you need a phone mount. For my basic setup, I use the Joby GripTight ONE Mount. This mount is small in size and does not take up a lot of space. Note that it will only hold the camera in a horizontal format. I use this mount if I will only be shooting in a square format or if space and weight is extremely limited.
The only additional accessory I will always carry is a ND (Neutral Density) filter. A ND filter will reduce the amount of light coming in through the lens. This will give you the ability to use a slower shutter speed allowing you to add motion to water. The nd filter will also give you a more uniform exposure between highlights and shadows.
I carry the Cokin Square Filter Full ND Creative Kit. This kit gives you 3 ND filters to pick from, depending on how much light you want to reduce your exposure by. To use the filter, I will have the phone on the tripod and I will just hold it in front of the lens. ITs simple, but it works.
The last piece to my basic kit is a case to hold everything. For this I use a Tenba Tools Tool Box 6. This case is compact to fit into a carry on but has enough space for all of my gear. I will also carry all of my required charging cables in the case as well.
If you are looking for a more advanced mobile photography kit or are planning on shooting more video, watch out for my Advance Mobile Photography Kit post.
