So how has it happened that a confirmed camera-shy newbie, has decided to get out there and start vlogging with my iPhone?
Well, last week I hosted the very successful Blogging Mums Club conference, an online blogging conference, in which a lot of fabulous presenters shared lots of great information for the participants. I must admit I was really envious of all the great presentations and wished I was more confident in doing video
I may have been just the host, but I still learned a ton of things myself and came away from the week buzzing with ideas to improve my blog.
The main thing that struck me is that webinars are fantastic – the speakers were amazing and it’s just such a great platform to get your message across. However, if I do want to build up to doing full webinars myself, I need to, first of all, get over my fear of video and get out on camera a bit more.
I was particularly taken by the talk from the wonderful Mi Elfverson of the Vlog Academy. She showed us how to get started with vlogging using a smartphone, what other kit you need and gave some really good tips about getting more confident on camera.
So here is one of my first attempts at a video from my newly revitalised YouTube channel:
My technique still needs a bit of work (and the dog needs training a bit too), but I think it’s not bad for a first attempt away from my desk.
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What do you need to start vlogging with iPhone?
It’s perfectly possible to start vlogging with an iPhone these days> I’ve done a few videos using the camera and sound system on my PC, but the lighting and quality aren’t great, the scenery is a bit boring and monotonous. How much more fun to get out there with some portable kit…
Camera
I will be using my trusty iPhone 6s to start my vlogging career – the camera is perfectly good enough for what I need
Tripod
I already had a basic photography tripod hanging round in the loft a bit like this one:
I added to it a tripod grip for my iPhone, which came with the dinky little remote control, you see me waving about in the video above, to switch my camera on and off at a distance
And hey presto, I’m good to go!
If you don’t already have a tripod there are lots of tripods that are set up just for phones like this one
Microphone
Once I got the camera and trips set up, I bought myself a basic lapel mike, which in this video allows my voice to be heard quite clearly despite a mad dog barking in the kitchen behind me.
I’m really pleased with this microphone – the sound quality is good and the cable is very long indeed so I could get miles away from the camera and still be heard.
What else do I fancy?
So there you have it – at minimum expense, I am set up to start vlogging with my smartphone. I’m sure that if I do end up doing a lot of vlogging I will want to upgrade my kit even more before long – the next thing I have my eye on is a stabiliser so I can walk around and shoot video with a hand-held selfie stick.
Mi recommended a light in her video too – to start off with I’m just going to go where the natural light is good, but this LED light seems like a reasonably cheap way to start, when the natural light gets low later in the year.
So that’s my basic vlogging set up- now all I have to do is get out there and practice – so much more fun than sitting at my desk. Here’s another one:
Is this the start of a love affair with smartphone vlogging? You will just have to wait and see….
