5 Tips for Shooting Great Smartphone Videos

With the holidays almost upon us, there's no better time to take videos of family and friends. With the proper techniques and tools below, you can master the art of shooting videos with your phone and proudly feature them in your Real Life Films home movies for years to come.

1. Turn that phone sideways! 

Vertical video has its place on specific social sites, but if you want your videos to display well across all devices, videos in landscape mode look better. (Otherwise, if you do film vertically, you'll wind up with those black frames on the sides of your video...and that's never a good look.)

2. Pay attention to light

Find a location where there is plenty of light, and make sure you are directly facing the source of the light. One trick to help you "find your light" is holding your hand out in front of your face, spinning 360 degrees, and then stopping when your hand has the best light on it. That light is now coming from behind you, so turn around before you start filming.

3. Steady does it! 

A shaky video can distract your audience and make watching it back a chore. A simple technique for holding steady is to keep your elbows close to your body. It will help to stabilize you as you capture the special moment. 

4. Avoid zooming

 Zooming in while filming a video can be tempting, but any little move or bump you make during that action can be exaggerated and result in a bad-looking video. If you need to be closer to your subject, move physically closer to it or stay as still as possible.

5. Put your phone on airplane mode 

Many people forget or don't think to put their phones on airplane mode before filming. However, doing so prevents you from getting pop-ups or notifications while filming - phone calls, text messages, Facebook notifications, etc. Not only are those things distracting, but the sounds from those notifications could wind up in your video. Play it safe by switching on airplane mode before pressing the record.

Use these tips to create videos you’ll want to use in your family stories!