Big production budgets, bright studio lighting, and professional camera equipment — that's probably what comes to your mind as you ooh and aww over breathtaking photographs.
But surprisingly, this isn't always the case. As these talented photographers reveal, sometimes all you need to capture the perfect picture is a trusty smartphone, whatever materials you already have at home, and a whole lot of creativity.
You've probably come across plenty of product photos while skincare shopping whose brilliance has taken you aback.
Although some of these images may have been professionally taken in a studio, others were likely captured in a makeshift setup that nonetheless yields stunning results.
Just take a look at the before and after pictures of a skincare product taken by a visual marketer. The beautiful shot was achieved with nothing more than a simple setup and natural lighting.
Capturing the best shot possible often requires going to great lengths, like bringing a large studio softbox light to a tennis court. And more so, contorting oneself into uncomfortable positions to frame the photo perfectly.
It goes without saying that all the effort put into this shoot was worthwhile as the final photo of a model holding a tennis racket in front of the net radiates so much raw talent.
Deciding on a model, stumbling upon the ideal location, and setting up the shot's frame are only half the battle of taking a striking photograph. The other half happens on an entirely different screen — the computer.
Using photo editing software like Adobe Lightroom or DxO Photolab, photographers are able to enhance their raw photos and turn them into magical works of art.
These before and after photos are the perfect example of how a bit of editing can alter images in the best ways possible.
The stunning details in this photograph are so unreal. Every inch of the image exudes such flawlessness.
So surely the process of capturing the ethereal moment must have been a demanding task, right? No. It actually wasn't.
Portrait photographer Demel shared his process of taking the striking photo, and it was surprisingly simple. As the video on the last slide of his Instagram posts reveals, a person poured water over a model's face while Demel snapped the perfect shot.
If we had come across the picture on the right without the setup context we would have immediately believed the photo to be part of an iPhone campaign.
The sleekness of the phone paired with the striped black and white background screams professional studio photography on a huge budget.
However, the actual setup of the image proves otherwise. The striped background isn't a flat lay backdrop, it's instead a t-shirt. And as for the iPhone, it's positioned on an empty toilet paper roll!
When the Twitter account for Adobe Lightroom tweeted a call out for photographers to share their best "The setup vs. The shot," it started a thread that received over a hundred submissions.
Twitter user @MichDuffey was one of these many photographers who replied to the tweet with these magical before and after pictures. His setup features a softbox light, a black backdrop littered with orange dots, and of course, a camera to capture the striking image.
Photographer Ibor Edosa Victor has nearly 140,000 followers on Instagram and it's not hard to see why. Capturing the beauty in Benin City, Nigeria, he never fails to deliver mesmerizing portrait photos that tell their own stories.
The images are even more impressive knowing that Victor ditches all the studio equipment and instead takes his portraits using only his camera. Take a look at one of his recent portrait sets entitled "Made of Black," and swipe through to see his unadulterated process.
Okay, so these before and after photos reveal that a not-so-simple approach was taken. Instead, a rather extensive setup was used to capture the sheer beauty within the final picture.
But evidently, the plentitude of extra time and effort worked magic in taking such a lustrous photo.
Here's another example of taking a relaxed approach to photography without all the need for special equipment and gadgets.
In doing so, the photographer was able to truly bring the image to life with the use of photo editing software. Note the difference in color between the setup picture and the final shot.
The final picture exudes a softens to it that makes the shot as equally delicate as it is alluring.
If underwater photographs don't leave you completely entranced by their brilliance, then perhaps this fact might do the trick. The shot was impressively captured with a cellphone.
Looking at the dark images you probably assume that the pictures were taken in a river or lake. And the real answer is neither!
They was actually taken in a swimming pool and a photo editing program was later used to transform the raw shots into breathtaking works of art.
A chessboard, its accompanying pieces, and a small, bright light were all it took to capture this stunning photo of an illuminated chess queen.
The shot frame was set up in such a way that the queen piece is in focus while the surrounding king, knight, and pawns blur into the background.
What a stunning capture!
How is it possible that capturing fruit on camera somehow makes it so much more enticing?
Perhaps the answer comes down to the dark background that makes the vivid ensemble of strawberries and blueberries pop. Or maybe it's the camera's crystal clear resolution that makes the fruit appear ultra-crisp.
What we say for certain is that we're so hungry now. And we're more than prepared to demolish both overfilled bowls and the accompanying jar of berries.
Inspired by Netflix's hit show Bridgerton, one photographer effortlessly brought the early 19th-century aesthetic into her dwelling.
Using peel and stick wallpaper, heavy drapery, and decor reminiscent of the period, her makeshift set came to life. All that was left to do was dress up in her daintiest attire and snap away.
We're completely in awe of her craftiness and raw talent!
This LA-based photographer shared on Twitter the photo he took of rising pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The simple photo was then juxtaposed with an image the user snapped of his photograph blown up on a digital billboard in New York City following the release of Rodrigo's debut album 'Sour.'
If that's not absolutely fascinating, we don't know what is!
The before and after photos of this powerful shot are almost unrecognizable from each other.
This is largely due to the location of the shoot which features large, open windows. The bright beige walls and natural light is a stark contrast to the final image of a person wrapped head to toe in red fabric.
But arguably, it is the immense natural light in the shooting location that helps detail the vividness of the blood-red hue.
Portrait photographer Demel is back at it again with flawlessly capturing people. But this time, he used nature as his backdrop and the results are nothing short of breathtaking.
Swipe through to see the Virginia-based photographer's simple technique of taking his photos with only his creative eye and trusty camera in hand.
Ditching digital altogether, this Twitter user shared his setup and final picture while shooting on film. Using a 4 x 5, large format field camera, the photographer captured a beautiful peach-colored Lincoln Capri from the 1950s.
Field cameras, which date back to the 19th century, feature a glass frame that depicts what the lens is looking at. However, as the setup picture reveals, the image on the frame is upside down.
Nature photography never fails to showcase the beauty earth has to offer. And its enchanting essence radiates from both the setup image and final shot of this photographer's mountain shoot in Utah.
From the pretty white snow to the picturesque sunset, the photo on the right is unbelievably breathtaking. We surely wouldn't mind waking up to this view even in the dead of winter!
Would you believe us if we told you that all it took to capture this stunning photograph was a plastic water bottle with its bottom cut off and a smartphone?
Yeah, we were just as skeptical until viewing the behind-the-scenes of the image. Both before and after photos of the shoot were posted to Twitter and unsurprisingly they were an instant hit with the internet.
