No matter what industry you work for, or whether you are a student, professional, star or teacher, you would have at least once in your lifetime, taken a video of something, either yourself or of someone else or your dogs and cats playing, for that matter. Whatever it may have been, what are the chances you manage to do it like a professional? Did you know almost 60% of the videos uploaded online are made by amateurs?
Below we will give you some pro advice from those who have been there and got the t-shirt! We believe you can never be perfect, but we can still try. The advice below will get you into an expert space to shoot videos of yourself more appealingly.
According to the ‘Wistia’ website, sometimes it can be difficult to get the right angle or the lighting, and even the right background can make or break a video, click here to find out more. If you want to know how to do it by yourself in the best way possible, look no further than this resource.
Let’s jump right in.
1st Tip: The Background
One f the most important elements of any video or image is the background. You will need an appropriate place to shoot your videos, and ideally, a quiet room will do the trick. Set up your camera gear, either on a pod or on your computer screen, but you can do this anywhere in your house or office, it doesn’t matter.
When making a video you don’t necessarily need that “studio” look; with a few ideal things, you can recreate it where ever you are. For instance, grab a couch, and place a stand next to it with a plant, or do it in front of your bookshelf the possibilities are endless!
Dressing the site is the first and most prioritized part of shooting a video yourself. Remove too much clutter that will shift the focus away from you. If you are looking for a permanent spot to do your thing, make sure you can control the lighting, that way you can shift between a consistent look throughout your videos or a more experimental one with different shadows in the background.
2nd Tip: The Equipment
If you have a camera with face detection – perfect! If not, it’s not a train smash, famous artists or social media stars use one without this feature. Face detection, which is mostly found in any Pentax, canon, or Fujifilm cameras uses algorithms that look for the shape of a person’s face: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a1857/4218937/ once it finds this it automatically adjusts the exposure and focus to provide the best results possible. It keeps away from the faces that are far in the background and hones in on the one that needs to be focused on.
Another significant aspect to consider is if you shooting a video on your own and you can’t see yourself on the screen, how to make this work. Unless you have a camera with a flip-out screen, this may be difficult to do, so you should look into downloading a software similar to Zoom, where you will be able to see yourself. Otherwise, use an extra display for your laptop and plug it right into your camera.
3rd Tip. The Beginning of The End
Lastly, have fun! No one likes a stiff person sitting in front of the camera just talking. Take a page out of the bbw cams (Big Beautiful Women cams), these women laugh, smile, giggle, are playful, and entertaining and keep the viewers wanting more. Don’t be boring, that’s all we’re saying. And change the set up for some shoots also, have a different backdrop, add some modern touches, some artwork in the back, or some appealing looking objects on your desk or bed.
Wear clothes that voice your brand. For example, wearing all black in front of a Jackson Pollock painting may just get some heads turning, with all the colorful paint splashes in his works. The rule of thumb is, if the first 6 seconds of your video is boring, very few will watch it.
You are the one shooting the video and you will be the talent in all of them, so optimize as you see fit. If it’s more comfortable to sit on a bed and do it, perfect! If you would rather sit on your desk and place a laptop on it, go for it!
Try and psyche yourself up for the shoot, as there is no director in the room with you, you need to convince yourself to do it and do it well. Take a walk around the room, play some music to get you in the mood, loosen up, do some yoga, or stretches beforehand if it helps get you there.
You will need to do a few retakes perhaps, and when you have the right one, make sure you keep it. You can even use any online software to edit the video and make it look more professional, or if you are going live, try one of the filters most live video programs offer, to enhance your features or add some spark to the scene.
And that’s about it – your primed and ready for action! Don’t think too much about it, and just do you! You will soon get the hang of it, and even enjoy it, and so will your viewers!
