Take Better Vacation Videos with Your Smartphone

Basic Tips

Keep these tips in mind when filming.

• Get close and record events as they happen naturally. Don’t try to have things feel too posed.

• Shoot outdoors or in a well-lighted area; avoid shadows. The best times to shoot outdoors are sunrise/dawn and sunset/dusk. Avoid high noon when the sun is directly overhead, casting unwanted shadows on your subjects. Avoid shooting where there is a lot of backlight, which can make your subject in the foreground too dark.

• Avoid noisy or windy areas.

• Shoot people, not just scenery. Select what you want to focus on (person in foreground or background, for example), utilizing the autofocus function on your phone or camera.

• Frame your subjects, including their heads and shoulders, leaving a few inches of headroom to account for movement.

• Try different angles, like a lower angle with a slight upward tilt. This opens up the scene, making the world look larger, brighter, and more inviting.

• Don’t move or jerk the camera too quickly; avoid zooming in/out and pan slowly. For a polished, professional feel, consider using a tripod with a phone adapter.

• To capture the natural sound, don’t speak over the video when you’re recording.

Advanced Techniques

Take your video to the next level with these tips and ideas.

• Establish the scene. Start your video with a wide shot to establish where you are and/or capture area signage when available. Avoid camera panning and zooming.

• To capture a long event like a sunrise or sunset, set your camera on a tripod and select time lapse and it will condense the longer event into a short clip.

• Select the slow motion setting on your smartphone and record short 10- to 20- second clips. Best to hold your camera completely still or use a tripod and let the subject or action move through your lens frame. This will give your final edit a very smooth and emotional impact.

Sharing Your Videos

Sharing your videos is half the fun. Here’s how to make it easy.

• Editing programs like Apple’s iMovie and other applications (often already on most computers or smartphones, or easily downloadable — often for free) make it easy to combine clips, and add music and titles.

• Edit each segment to be not more than a few minutes long — keep things moving.

• Post your videos on YouTube, Vimeo, or your own blog.

• Email the links to family and friends so they can watch them easily and in near-real time.
 
Now that you’ve got the tips, all you need is the perfect destination.