What are the most essential photography tools for creating high-quality content?

For good quality content (for what? a website as in a DAM? or for a campagne? Or a series of portraits?) you need skills before gear. With a phone you can make an office overview movie. And with a Hasselblad camera you can create beautiful productphotos (or with any good pro camera but a hassy makes the nicest feel in pictures) or any good fullframe can create beautiful portraits. But you mostly need a good eye, creativity and improvising talent first!

Podria afirmar esto: disponer del equipo con la mayor calidad posible. Pero lo realmente esencial es el ojo y/o alma del fotógrafo.

You don't need a remote shutter in most cases. For product photography you can shoot tethered and use the tether software to control your camera. I do use a remote shutter sometimes. In most cases when I have my travel tripod that is less stable I use the remote shutter to minimize or eliminate any movement when pressing the shutter. In many cases you can also use your smartphone to control your camera.

Important to know is your flash needs to be consistent both in flash power as color. For example on Godox you can activate color (on the AD600 Pro & AD1200 Pro) to make sure the color temperature is in a range of +/-75 Kelvin. When not activated this is +/- 200 kelvin. There is not much difference in cheap or expensive light formers once you add an outer diffuse. Without a diffuse the inner material of a softbox makes a huge difference. Flash light all starts with understanding the inverse square law.

If you want to be serious about editing your photography, use Lightroom. You can opt for Lightroom Classic, or the more cloud-friendly and streamlined Lightroom. It’s an amazing program offered by Lightroom that gives you so much control and power over editing your photos. On that same note, shoot in RAW formats, whether you are shooting with a D/SLR or an iPhone. Get the most out of the images you take. Take the time to learn not just how to take a good photo, but each of the components of the photo including exposure, aperture, iso, noise, saturation, color grading, and more. When you know how to edit a photo, you know how to create the look you and your client are looking for.

Learn the craft and be able to get the image as you want it straight in camera. Post production is great for final adjustment but if you can't get something that satisfies the client's needs direct from the camera then you didn't think through everything that needed to be done before you made the exposure.

There are many RAW editors on the market and in many cases this is sufficient to make a photo better but in many cases you need an editor like Photoshop. But most important is to learn to see what in the photo needs to be modified. Use luminosity masks and doge and burn where needed. And don't exaggerate. Too much color, too sharp, too much clarity, using HDR for example on portraits is not done. And always calibrate your monitor!

Work locally on a fast SSD and synchronize all your photos on a NAS system (Synology). Also make a backup from your photos to the cloud.

There are two other important factors to consider: 1. Legal and Ethical Considerations: In the world of photography, it is vital to understand copyright and usage rights. This protects your work and upholds professional standards. 2. Research: Photography is more than just capturing the 'right photo'. Staying on top of trends, engaging with the work of peers and seeking inspiration from various sources can improve your creative vision. Research can ultimately enrich the quality of your photography content.

Your brain. Simply put, you need to think. While you may not become a subject matter expert, you need to familiarize yourself with your actual subject. How is it to be displayed? Who is your client’s audience? All of the best equipment available won’t do the job if it doesn’t meet the actual needs of your client.

Photography is a reductive art. You take a nearly infinite number of options and reduce them to only those that best fulfil the needs of the final image. The amount of pre exposure thought that goes into creating good work is underestimated. To make better images, spend more time really thinking about what you are wanting to create before you even grab the camera.

Knowledge. The tools of any trade is worthless without knowledge. And the best way to get knowledgeable is to get an education.