I love when my FYP serves me up exactly what I want. That's how it felt when Tess Gigone's videos graced my feed. From her home kitchen in Canada, Gigone takes a laid-back approach to home cooking, whether it's a simple lunch for her and her husband or an elaborate pavlova to bring to a family dinner.
And Gigone is my favorite type of influencer. Rather than pedaling products on TikTok Shop or pushing a certain lifestyle, she shares things that are genuinely delicious and joyful. Her easy-going videos have inspired me to try new recipes that have become staples in my weekly meal rotation.
Since first discovering Gigone two years ago, her following has exploded to 575.7K on TikTok, earning 33.2M likes in the process. Through her kitchen, we've seen Gigone make hundreds of delicious meals and watch her family grow. Now, Gigone has a one-year-old daughter and her own series with Food52, It's Fine.
In between her travels, I caught up with Gigone to talk about the essential products for her content creation. With her background in photography, she shared her favorite camera and all the tools she needs for filming.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
Rather than an extensive camera set-up, Gigone takes a simpler approach to filming her content. For her, there's no need for an external vlogging camera. All her filming is done on her smartphone.
"I film everything on my phone, which usually surprises people! Until recently, I was using an iPhone 12 Pro, but I just upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and I'm feeling very fancy about it," she says.
Adobe Premiere Pro
While some creators use TikTok or Reels' native editing tools, Gigone prefers editing on the computer: "For editing, I'm definitely a computer person. I'm not sure how anyone could edit on their phone — my thumbs are not that precise. Adobe Premiere Pro is my go-to software."
Octobuddy
With limited space in her kitchen, there's no room for a tripod. Luckily, an Octobuddy, the suction-cup phone attachment, is the perfect fix: "[My] most essential tool is [the] Octobuddy phone mount, which lets me film almost anywhere. Most of my videos happen in my kitchen, where I attach my phone to the window in front of me."
Boos Block
Speaking of the kitchen, with such limited space, the tools that Gigone keeps nearby while filming are also essential. "Since my kitchen is tiny, I try to keep the counter space clear when filming so I have room to actually cook. My Boos cutting board is always visible in my videos," Gigone says.
Fuji X100VI
Before (and while) her content started blowing up on TikTok, she worked as a photographer. While that path has taken a back seat to motherhood and content creation, in a recent video, Gigone unboxed the Fuji Film X100VI camera, and I wanted to know a little bit more about her purchase.
"I owned the Fuji X100V when it first released in 2020 and really loved it. I sold it when I was building up my professional equipment, but I've missed having it. Now that I've streamlined my gear, it felt like the right time to bring a Fuji back into my collection. It's a great balance of being compact enough to carry anywhere but still capable of professional-quality images," she says.
Liffner Sprout Tote
Gigone graciously squeezed in time to chat with Mashable in between traveling. As she's on the go, she's got to have all her essentials in one spot: "Having a one-year-old means my bag needs to fit practically everything. My current favorite is the Liffner Sprout tote, which balances function and style nicely."
You can find Gigone on Instagram and TikTok under the username @tessmadalyn.
