6 practical tips for filming yourself on a smartphone

It may sound obvious to say, but there’s nothing more frustrating than having your phone die just when you’ve started to find a rhythm. So it’s a good idea to plug your phone in a couple of hours prior to filming to avoid this problem.

Second to this is making sure that your phone has enough storage space. Do a little clean up on your phone before recording, deleting as many unnecessary files and unused apps as you can to help free up some space.

No matter how steady you think your hands are, they probably won’t cut it for filming a video. And there are few things that will reduce the quality of your video quite like wobbly footage.

At the bare minimum, put your smartphone on a table in a steady position where it’s unlikely to fall over midway through filming. Or if budget allows, it’s worth investing in a good tripod to keep your footage steady and clear. Or if you’re feeling up to the challenge, you could even try out one of these handy DIP tripod ideas…

Whilst a little bit of background noise is to be expected, there are several things you can do to keep your surroundings as distraction free as you can. If you’re indoors, keep the windows closed and turn off any air conditioning or fans that could disrupt your sound. And try to find as quiet a space in your house as you can, preferably without a barking dog within earshot…

If you’re filming outdoors, it’s a good idea to use an external microphone that plugs into your smartphone’s headphone input. They’re fairly cheap to buy – you’ll find anything ranging from about £10 upwards on Amazon – and make a huge difference to the impact of distracting ambient noise.

You don’t need to buy any bells and whistles for this step. It’s simply about choosing your surroundings carefully and getting the most out of your available space. Staying away from harsh sunlight is a must, so if you want to shoot outdoors then opt for an overcast day if you can. If you’re filming indoors, don’t sit in front of a lamp or window as this will make you appear as a silhouette.

Here’s a great video tutorial about creating the perfect indoor lighting setup:

Filming yourself can be an uncomfortable experience, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. But rather than trying to film it all in one take just to get it over and done with, it’s worth doing a practice run first. Even if what you’re planning to film for is a live stream, it’s still worth taking some time to do a quick run through or two with yourself first just to make sure you’re comfortable with your equipment and setup.

And finally, be authentic! It’s important to be yourself and be real with your audience, rather than trying to copy someone else in your delivery. You want your audience to trust you and being yourself is a key ingredient for achieving that goal.

Try to remember that although you’re looking at your smartphone, you’re really talking directly to your audience. So remember to smile and sound engaging, as you would in a face-to-face conversation. Don’t follow a script as this will sound staged and overly-formal. But if you’re worried about forgetting what you want to say then jot down your main points beforehand and have them somewhere to hand just in case you need them.

 

If you follow all the videoing tips we’ve mentioned above, your content will be off to a flying start.  But good editing can take your content to a whole other level. And this is where we come in…

As video production specialists, we can cut and trim your content to create a more polished video. We can also add captions and music to elevate the final output. If you’re interested in working with video marketing specialists to take your video content to the next level, get in touch with us.