How to Film Yourself Like a Pro
Need to film yourself using your phone, laptop, or camera for website content, social media posts, a corporate video, or an online seminar? Whether you’re recording a video resume, conducting a virtual interview, delivering a presentation, creating a tutorial, or sharing a product review, don’t worry—this ultimate guide is packed with top tips to help you film yourself like a seasoned professional.
As the demand for online video content continues to grow, more people are turning to their phones and laptops to create high-quality videos. With today’s advanced camera technology, it's easier and cheaper than ever to shoot professional-looking content from the comfort of your home or office. But before you hit record, ask yourself: Why am I filming this? Who is my audience? The answers to these questions will guide your approach and ensure your video resonates with viewers.
No matter what you’re filming, there are a few key points to keep in mind to ensure your video is of the highest possible quality:
Lighting: Good lighting is essential for a professional-looking video. Start by choosing your main light source, known as the key light, which will illuminate your face. Natural daylight is usually your best bet. Position yourself facing a window, either directly or at a slight angle. Facing the window head-on will give you even, flat lighting, but if you turn slightly at an angle from the window, you can add a bit of depth and a more interest tone to your face. This makes your image immediately look more cinematic.
Avoid harsh direct sunlight that makes your eyes squint, and do not mix multiple light sources with different colour temperatures as key lights, such as natural daylight from a window, cool bright overhead ceiling light, or a warm desk lamp behind the camera. However, a lit table lamp in the background will give you good background light and a nice composition, even if it is a different temperature from your key light source. Also check if any shadows fall onto your face or body, and if so, adjust your lighting and position before you start recording your video.
Background: Check what can be seen in your background. Remove clutter and personal items and try to make your background as neutral as possible so that it does not distract the viewer and keeps them focused on you and your message. If you are promoting a brand or product, you could place it in the background or add other relevant props to make your background relevant to your video.
Sound: For crisp audio, try to minimise or eliminate any potential ambient and background noise or echo. For example, turn off fans and air conditioners, close windows and doors to eliminate any potential outside sources of noise. If there is an echo, try to choose a space with soft furnishings such as thick curtains and carpets, these provide good soundproofing which will reduce echo.
Your Look: Consider your look and outfit. What do you want to convey with how you look and what you wear? Ultimately you need to be as comfortable as possible, but is it for corporate use or for something more casual? A few things to keep in mind about your wardrobe are to avoid bright white, black, and small, tight, and busy patterns as they may play tricks with the camera and cause visual effects on your video that can’t be edited out. Solid colours are the safest option for filming, so focus on choosing colours that suit you and the purpose of your video – for example, pastels and muted colours for corporate and vibrant colours for more casual videos. Avoid visible branding and logos, unless of course they are integral to the video’s content.
When you have perfected these four elements, then it is time to look at the more technical side of filming yourself.
Framing: For the best and most natural framing, always position your camera at head height and roughly at eye level. This is to replicate how you would interact with a person in real life, which is face-to-face. If you place the camera too low, the angle is not flattering to your face and also makes it seem like you are looking or talking down on viewers.
Horizontal vs. Vertical: Decide if you are filming in horizontal or vertical mode (landscape or portrait). If in doubt, film in horizontal mode in the highest resolution possible, because this is the most versatile option in terms of editing as it can also be cut into a vertical version providing multiple use opportunities on various outlets and platforms. However, the mode you choose to film in largely depends on what format you are shooting for. If it is for social media platforms, vertical (portrait) mode is usually the way to go. If you are filming the material for someone else, always ask what mode and format they need the video to be in.
Stable and Level: If filming on your phone, it is tempting to use the selfie mode because you can see what you are filming. However, do not use this feature as you will achieve the best results using your rear-facing camera. The camera on the back of your phone is more powerful and has better filming capabilities thus giving you a higher quality image. You can always ask a colleague or a friend to help and control your phone while you film, or other connected devices like smartphones or smartwatches can also be used to monitor the picture. Secure the phone well so that it is stable and level and stays in this position throughout filming. You can also buy a simple smartphone holder, clamp or lightweight tripod to help secure your phone.
Check Your Focus: There are multiple dedicated apps available that can give you better control while filming, but you can achieve great results also with your normal phone camera with a few simple tricks. For example, you can select the gridlines feature on your screen to check you are level and centred, and you can lock your focus and exposure to make sure these remain stable throughout your shoot. Keep in mind that if you lock these features you must remain in the same position and distance from your camera while filming, otherwise you will need to refocus. However, the autofocus feature on smartphones today is quite good, so you can relatively safely use this automated feature too.
Resolution: Shoot in the highest resolution you can. If you are able to choose on your phone or laptop, ideally you should film a minimum of 24 frames per second. The majority of online videos are 25 to 30 frames per second, and most devices have those frame rates as a standard setting.
Microphone: If possible, use a separate microphone for higher quality sound. Wireless microphones, Bluetooth headsets, and even wired mics and headphones are widely available for smartphones and laptops today. But if this is not an option, make sure you are as close as possible to your filming device so that you can capture clear and crisp audio – a good rule of thumb is to have the device within a metre of your face. If filming on your laptop, it is advisable to record a second audio track on your phone at the same time because your laptop microphone could pick up the device’s fan noise in the background.
Double Check: And finally, double-check everything and make sure your camera lens is clean. Don’t start filming until you are completely happy with how your shot looks. Once you have filmed your video, check the material and the quality of the sound immediately and if required adjust framing, lighting or your microphone and film again while you have everything set up so that you get your perfect take.
Hope our tips help you create more professional-looking videos. However, the best results can be achieved by using a professional company to do the filming for you, so if you have a project that you need help with or any questions, get in touch with us. Strawberry Heights is a dynamic full-service video production company with years of experience and cutting-edge equipment. We offer videography, photography, cinematography and aerial drone services in Cyprus and beyond.
For more great tips on how to look good on camera, check out our blog post Video Interview: How to Ace a Talking Head Interview.