Last week I shared with you some of my favourite travel vloggers. Since then I’ve been chatting to them to find out what if they have any vlogging tips to share with us.
They’ve come back with some brilliant advice with practical tips and insider secrets that you can only gain through years of travel vlogging.
Dan from This World Rocks
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Jenna from Wander the Map
The one aspect we feel is the most crucial to think about while shooting video is camera stabilization. Think about it–no one wants to get motion sickness from watching your video!
Some easy ways to keep your camera stable are as simple as using a tripod or setting your camera down on a flat surface. Another way to keep you camera still without additional tools is to use your camera strap to apply tension–when you support your camera through the strap and your body, your shots will be smoother than just simply hand holding your camera. Also, using tools such as a steady cam or shoulder mount can help improve the quality of your shots as well.
Sonia Gil from Sonia Travels
Cailin from Travel Yourself
Nadine from Hey Nadine
Mark from Migrationology
Be in your videos. Ok, let me expand. People may find your travel videos by searching for a place or a thing, but people will keep watching your videos because of your personality. Through videos, viewers get to know you and can connect with you, in my opinion, much more so than through writing. I’m not saying your entire video should just be of you talking to the camera, overlaying video clips is a good idea, but you should still show yourself and be the unique voice of your videos.
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Booker from Booker Travels
If you’re traveling with multiple people, have everyone film. We usually travel as a 3-person crew, and while we have a professional camera as the “mother camera,” we also use a second DSLR, a go-pro, and even smartphones with filters to film our activities. Although you can put different filters and looks on your footage in post, different camera formats add great layers to your material, and having the camera work be a group activity makes filming fun and more experiential on the go.
Also, on a conceptual level, immersing yourself in the local culture makes every trip unique; whether it’s staying at a local home or going to a local market, make yourself open to meeting people, trying new things, and seeing a hidden side of that place through your experience. This goes for everyone, not just video bloggers, but when you become a part of your surroundings you are able to pick up on details of that culture that not many outsiders see, making your video stand out from the rest.
If you’d like to read more travel vlogging tips, check out this post on the Travel Massive blog by Greg Brand from Travizeo: Video Tips from Travizeo There are some really useful tips here!
If you have any more tips of questions, let us know in the comments below.
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Great tips – thanks for sharing them. I have a whole batch of videos to put onto my YouTube channel, some to edit and some to even film, so all of these suggestions will most definitely be of help. I particularly think the short and snappy tip from Dan is great. I started to watch a video this morning – from the profile and title it seemed like it was going to be really cool, but 2 minutes in I got bored of waiting to find out if it was going to be! Thank again for sharing these tips.
Thanks so much for these tips! I tend to keep my videos between 3 – 5 minutes in length. Sometimes I go overboard but that’s because there’s just so much to talk about!!! When it gets to 6 minutes, I have to make a judgement call if it’s something I can slice in half and make it a 2 part series.
These are excellent tips! I will make sure to think about all of these things in future videos 😀
So many great tips! Thanks for sharing ours as well! Keeping clips short and sweet is such a good one to remember–sometimes less is more!
Thanks for sending your tips over! I love that each vlogger has suggested doing something completely different.
Yes, I definitely agree with the short clips. It can be so tough to cut down your own clips but short and sweet is the best way.
My favorite tip is from Nadine! I get self conscious taking pictures and videos where others can see me and I miss great opportunities! I MUST get over that.
This is great article! Thanks for sharing!
That’s my favourite tip too. I hate being on camera and I hate it even more when people are watching me filming but sometimes you’ve just got to get over it. Anything for a good shot, right 🙂
I’ve learned it’s also important to record longer clips. Hold each shot for at least 10 secs. It’s always good to have extra (useable) footage than not enough. You don’t want to come back to the editing room and realize your most important 5-second scene is shaky or out of focus.
Also, shoot at different angles (high, low, medium, wideshot/establishing shot, close up) to give your overall video depth and layers.
Yes, that’s true. I’ve been told before to record for an extra 2 seconds on either side of the clip to make it easier to edit.
Also loving the different angles tip, thanks Cristina!
This year I will be travelling the world doing one thing every day that scares me. I’ll be filming every day and uploading weekly vlogs – check it out!
Love the tips… I can definitely agree on the tip about posting shorter videos!!! its so hard… I am trying to keep mine short atm but its am finding it a major struggle! Practice makes perfect I guess though!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SdKWXLHD8Y
Love them all! They’re all unique in their own ways and hey, maybe next year we’ll make the list!
Sweet, thanks for the recommendations and tips. Raj and I have literally just started our own Youtube channel so these are all great to hear.
Off to go check out your recommendations!
Great tips – I reckon Mark and Nadine are right! We’ve just got to get in the shot…
Awesome tips to consider. Thanks for sharing. <3
Wow !
Thanks so much for these tips! I tend to keep my videos between 3 – 5 minutes in length. Sometimes I go overboard but that’s because there’s just so much to talk about!!! When it gets to 6 minutes, I have to make a judgement call if it’s something I can slice in half and make it a 2 part series. !
Wonderful. Thank you so much, its really great vlogging tips. I was in search of such information. Thanks for sharing.