How to start vlogging with a phone

Nowadays, YouTube has practically replaced TV for many people, and everyone knows that video content helps a lot in promoting your personal brand. Many users want to start their own channel to share their experience and promote themselves. However, they think that it may be too difficult or they need expensive equipment to do this.

Fortunately, it’s not like that at all! You can start with minimal investment. For example, the first videos can be shot on a smartphone camera. There are bloggers who shoot all their videos on iPhone, and the quality of the videos is not inferior to those shot on expensive cameras. Plus, some models, like iPhone XR, can shoot in high resolution keeping the sharpness of details and the vibrancy of colors.

So, if you’re interested in how to make a vlog using your phone, we have a few tips just for you!

Equipment: Build Your Own Vlog Kit

Smartphone blogging itself doesn’t necessarily require you to buy additional tools and gadgets, but depending on the way you shoot videos, some of them can make things a lot easier for you.

For example, to stabilize the smartphone during the shooting, you’ll need a monopod or tripod. Or, if you plan to record videos outdoors while moving, use a selfie stick instead.

If you record videos indoors and don’t want to show the surroundings, you can shoot against a solid background, like a wall. However, sometimes it happens that there is no empty side in the room and you would have to move a lot of things in order to start shooting. In such situations, chroma key backdrop will help out a lot. If you can’t spend money on it right now, no problem – it can be replaced, for example, with a solid color blanket.

In terms of lighting, the best and most budget option is the LED selfie ring, which will provide you with even, eye-pleasing light. By the way, some models of these rings are sold with a built-in phone holder, so you can save on a tripod!

Last but not least, you may need a good microphone for situations in which you would have to stand slightly away from the phone. You can also use a lavalier microphone instead of a stationary one when you want to show something and have to hold it with both hands.

Video shooting tips

Depending on the model of your smartphone, different settings will be available. To get the best results, try adjusting the following ones:

  • Resolution. Choose a higher resolution (like HD 720p or FHD 1080p) to get the best quality from your finished clip.
  • Exposure. Increasing this value brightens the image, but reduces the sharpness of details. If there are dynamic scenes in the frame, it’s better to disable automatic exposure.
  • Try to not use autofocus and adjust it manually to control the shooting process. This is especially important when there is little light in the room.

Typically, smartphones offer several optimal presets for video shooting. If you don’t want to bother with manual settings, try using these presets at first – some of them may give you exactly the look you wanted to have.

Another thing, phone position, may seem unimportant. However, the difference between holding your smartphone vertically or horizontally is very significant. Home TV screens and personal computer monitors are oriented horizontally. Therefore, the video being shown must be wider than it is tall. Shoot videos when your phone is in a horizontal position.

Of course, it’s not the case when you want to make a video for a platform where the vertical position is used by default.

Video editing

Sometimes during shooting, there are moments when you stutter, something distracts your attention or, if you have a long script, you need to turn the page and skim through the text. Of course, you can leave these moments if you want, but more often such instances are cut out for a better viewing experience.

Usually, it’s easier to edit videos on a PC, since there’s a wide range of software to choose from depending on what you want to do. But you may wonder, if you can make videos with a phone with no problem, then there have to be some editing apps to help with vlogging? There are, and quite a lot of them, so you can edit away from your computer whenever you want!

Moreover, downloading apps is not even necessary – if you just need to cut out some fragments, make a color correction, add subtitles or music, you can simply use online video editing tools. In the end, it all depends on what you want to change, so try different methods to find the perfect one for you.