My essential tools for UGC
Now what Iβm about to tell you may blow your mind, but you really donβt need a lot of things to be a UGC creator. Youβll see people recommending endless lists of equipment, and coming from someone who creates content for a living, 90% of that list just isnβt necessary. This isnβt to say that you canβt go all out and purchase masses of tools and equipment if thatβs what you really want to do, but for most people just starting out with UGC, they simply donβt have the budget for that.
My UGC tools consist of three things (technically four if you include one of the items which I own two of) on a daily basis, and Iβm going to share exactly what they are belowβ¦
A good quality camera
When I say a good quality camera, youβre pretty much guaranteed to be able to shoot good enough content on your phone in this day and age. I personally try and have the latest iPhone, to make sure that Iβm shooting top notch content, but I understand thatβs not the normal for everyone, as iPhoneβs can be pretty expensive. Thereβs lots of older iPhone models that take decent quality footage, and you can always use a camera if you have one that takes better quality clips than your phone.
I think some people believe that you need a really expensive camera to do UGC for a living, and I personally just donβt think thatβs the case. It really depends on the person and their individual style, but my iPhone 16 Pro Max has a superb camera on it, it can shoot in 4K, and it makes filming videos on a daily basis so easy. I donβt think Iβd have half the content I do if I had to mess about with a camera every time I wanted to film something. My best recommendation would be to use an iPhone Pro Max to shoot on, and have the 14, 15 or 16 model.
A VERSATILE TRIPOD
My next recommendation would be to get yourself a versatile tripod. Over the years that Iβve been creating content, I have lost count of the amount of tripods that Iβve owned. Itβs honestly been hundreds. My favourite, and holy grail tripod that I use for everything, is this one with a gooseneck on. It was just an Amazon find, but itβs incredible. It has lots of height on so that Iβm not restricted with shooting things from high up, and the gooseneck makes it a breeze to get into tight corners, down low, or shoot overhead. It is honestly, a game changer and whenever I get asked for a tripod recommendation, itβs this one.
I also own a second tripod that permanently lives on my phone, and thatβs the MOFT Invisible Tripod. I worked with this company on a paid review/video and had never heard of them, or this tripod before they reached out to me, however itβs one of the best phone inventions to date. If you have a MagSafe iPhone case, it simply attaches to the case via magnet, and if not, the tripods come with a magnetic ring that you can attach to Android phones, or non-magsafe phone cases. If you want to see how it works, you can watch my video on it here.
AN EASY EDITING APP
Once your UGC videos are filmed, thereβs nothing worse than spending hours and hours of your life editing the footage. I find a simple and easy editing app is key to save lots of time. I still spend many hours editing footage, but certainly not as many as I would have using the complicated editors there were a few years back! My go-to app is one you probably already know and love, but if not, itβs just CapCut. CapCut is a sister app to TikTok, as they are under the same parent company and I just love how easy it is to use. Thereβs an app version as well as a desktop version, but I personally havenβt used or tried the desktop version yet. I find the app a breeze to use and I love that you can find your saved TikTok music through it whilst editing, making it easy to edit videos to sounds if you wish.
I donβt use anything else for my UGC work and I work with brands on a weekly basis. The only other things I would suggest investing in is a few props and things that come in handy for different jobs, but ultimately what you invest in depends entirely on your own niche.
I know lots of creators use ring lights and studio lights, but I donβt find artificial lighting beneficial at all, and I personally shoot all of my content in natural lighting. Nothing beats it, even on a gloomy day!
Let me know if thereβs anything that you swear by for UGC that I havenβt included here, Iβd be really interested to hear!
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