If you lot shoot a lot of videos only are rarely happy with the results, you aren't alone. Most people would love to know how to make meliorate videos.

Fortunately, it's non that hard. Whether you're recording something to publish online or simply to capture memories to keep and share, these simple tips will assistance you make better videos.

Read on to discover how to brand your dwelling videos look more professional person.

1. E'er Use the Back Photographic camera

This may seem similar an obvious rule, only it's piece of cake to forget. The rear photographic camera on a telephone is better quality, has a college resolution, and offers more than features within the app. It will almost always give you meliorate results.

Practice you need some tips for recording yourself? Okay, in many cases we'd however recommend using the rear camera, with your phone propped up on a desk or wall. If y'all prefer the handheld approach then you tin utilise the front end camera, but feel complimentary to rotate the phone and so y'all shoot in landscape manner.

video recording yourself tips

If you're speaking straight into photographic camera make certain you look into the lens, not at the screen. Otherwise your video will make it seem similar you're looking over your viewer's shoulder.

2. Stability and Focus

In that location are two large requirements for making a corking video: belongings the camera still, and keeping information technology in focus.

Many phones, cameras, and camcorders have built-in image stabilization. This helps keep your video steady, but you need to know its limitations. IS works meliorate when you're holding the camera still to begin with---shooting while walking can easily result in unwanted camera milkshake.

If you want to shoot smoothly while moving, encounter our guide to the all-time iPhone gimbals to notice your ideal device.

Without IS, hold your device with both easily when recording video. Use a tripod or makeshift alternative to go on your camera all the same---fifty-fifty a bag of rice tin serve as a bully DIY stabilization device.

3. Record in Mural Manner

The uncomplicated first step to learning how to brand professional videos is to remember to shoot in landscape way---turn your telephone on its side.

shoot video in landscape

Vertical, or portrait, videos are fine if you're merely ever going to wait at them on your telephone. The moment you attempt to lookout man information technology on a TV, laptop, tablet, or almost any other device its ill-fitting orientation will spring out as a surefire sign of amateur hour.

And besides, you can fit more than into the frame in mural mode. This means less need to constantly pan left and right, which in turn leads to a classier looking finished product.

4. Add a Grid

The only matter worse than watching a video recorded in portrait mode is watching a video taken at a wonky bending. Calculation a filigree lets you apply your background every bit a betoken of reference to ensure that your recording is always straight.

Virtually devices have this option, available via a setting you may demand to enable within your camera app.

rule of thirds grid video

The grid helps you align your video against a line in the background to ensure yous're recording straight videos.

Information technology aids limerick, also. If you're recording people, position their eyes in level with the height grid line.

Photo enthusiasts volition know this as the Dominion of Thirds, which helps yous frame items inside your shot amend. You can read more about this in our guide to the essential photography tips for beginners.

five. Lighting

While it's easy enough to lighten dark or underexposed photos, dark or underexposed videos bring a number of bigger problems:

  • It's hard to brighten video without degrading the quality and introducing dissonance.
  • The photographic camera finds information technology harder to focus in depression lite. It might even continually migrate in and out of focus.
  • If you're using Auto way, as y'all're probable to exist when making a homemade video, the photographic camera will reduce the frame charge per unit when filming in poor light. This results in jerky video that you lot won't be able to fix.

What's the solution? As a full general dominion, effort to make sure that your subject is illuminated past a bright source of calorie-free that'southward ideally behind you. Use your smartphone'southward flashlight but as an absolute concluding resort.

If you want to shoot regularly in low low-cal you might need to upgrade your gear so you tin can employ fast lenses and total manual controls.

half dozen. Experiment With Angles

It'due south natural to but hold upwardly the camera and offset shooting. Even so if you desire to make professional person videos at home you need to experiment more with the angles you lot use.

Instead of shooting everything at eye level from 1 spot, endeavour taking a wide shot then moving closer to your subject to shoot a close-upwards. Then edit the 2 shots together. Or hold the camera over your head to capture the activeness from above. Or crouch downward and shoot upwardly.

Have some fun trying to find what works. You don't demand to brand every shot completely dissimilar, but a scrap of diverseness can piece of work wonders.

7. Zoom With Your Feet

When yous desire to get a close upwardly view of something, it'southward tempting to accomplish for your camera's zoom button. But this can come with bug. Most smartphones only offer digital zoom, which can degrade the quality of your prototype. Plus, the farther y'all zoom the more than probable your video is to become jerky, even if you're using image stabilization.

So what do you exercise if y'all desire to get closer to your subject area? Zoom with your feet. Stop filming, move closer to the subject field, and start shooting once more. Simple!

8. Use Effects (Just Don't Overuse Them)

Video furnishings are the equivalent of photo filters. They look nifty when they're used properly, but you tin can easily overdo it. Nonetheless, most cameras and smartphones offer a few options that can add some pizzazz to your videos.

Timelapse

iPhones have a groovy timelapse feature built into the default Camera app, but apps like Lapse It permit you emulate this effect on Android. Attempt using information technology at a fourth dimension where y'all tin can use all (or most) of the above rules.

Timelapses work brilliantly if yous can steadily position your photographic camera for a prolonged time over an surface area that's constantly changing---for example, on the top of a bridge to capture a sunset or star trails.

Tiresome Move

Slow movement can add together drama to a video, or expose detail that'south normally lost in fast moving activeness. Proceed it curt, though. Video normally plays back at xxx frames per second, then a clip shot at 120fps volition last four times longer than the real world speed.

Cinemagraph

Cinemagraphs are a like a cross between a video and a photo---near of the paradigm is still, autonomously from one or 2 choice parts that are moving.

A lot of smartphone camera apps offer this feature, or you tin can download an app like Cinemagraph Pro on iOS or VIMAGE on Android to try it out for yourself. The upshot can be very impressive.

9. Acquire Basic Video Editing

Serious video editing is beyond the scope of this article, but a little bones editing tin help make your videos look more professional person.

We have guides to the best free video editing apps for Windows, the best video editors for Android, and the best iOS apps to edit videos. Apart from letting you remove unwanted parts from your video clips, these tools allow yous merge multiple clips and photos, add a soundtrack, video filters, and create mini-movies worth sharing.

But trimming the start and end of a prune will oft improve it massively, as will splitting a longer clip into several shorter ones and trimming the fatty from those. This is especially true for something you lot want to share online.

Even amend is to use multiple shots rather than capturing everything in one go. Go on them to around five to x seconds each, and run up a few together in an editing app when y'all're washed.

10. Cheat With the Editing

Not everyone has the patience and skill to carefully edit multiple clips into a montage. Thankfully in that location are free apps that do this for you. Apps similar Google Photos and GoPro's Quik (bachelor for Android and iOS) are superb.

google photos auto edit videos

All you need to practise is select the media files you lot want, select one of the gratuitous background tracks, and add a theme. Both apps then run up your videos together to create a montage, saving you valuable fourth dimension and making you wait like a pro in the process.

How to Make Better Videos

It isn't hard to brand professional looking videos at dwelling. None of these tips require whatsoever nifty technical ability, and with a little practice you'll exist shooting awesome videos in no time at all.

So where do you become next? Well, first, recall that sound is an equally important function of the process, so check out these tips to help you tape better sound.

Then take a look at the almost popular types of YouTube videos to help get your creative juices flowing.

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