Don’t give up!
You took on the new year resolution for your business to do more video, however you’re not sure how to get comfortable in front of the camera. We’re here to help you stay accountable to your goals and not fail in your resolution like so many people already have.
YouTube videos can take many forms, from slick professionals with their millions of subscribers, to a small business owner uploading their first video to help promote their business. If you fall closer on the spectrum to the latter, you’re like most people and you haven’t been on camera much, or at all before, and you’re concerned about how you’ll present when making a video. People say they get nervous when they’re featured on camera, but why is that?
Do multiple takes
After all, you may the popular phrase: ‘All the worlds a stage’, and as a small business owner, you most likely spend every day making a first impression. Whether you’re meeting and greeting at a sales event, or speaking or presenting at a business meeting, you’re like a “one take wonder” every time! Making a video is actually even easier than those scenarios, because you can always do a second, or third, or tenth take. Plus you can fix many “mistakes” in post-production editing to make you look flawless!
Prepare for your video shoot
When you’re making your own video, you have all the time you need to prepare, and execute your strategy to make a great video. Take some time to write down and plan your idea for the video, write the script, and set everything up to look the way you want it. Once you’re in place to shoot your video, take a deep breath, roll your shoulders back, and do your best to make the best possible video that you can, but remember, there’s always time for a second take if you need it!
Continue to practice
Here are some more general tips that may help you to feel more comfortable in front of the camera when you shoot your videos.
Practice, practice, practice. Set up a camera in your office or living room at home and get really comfortable speaking to it. The more hours you’re in front of the camera, the less frightening it becomes. That being said, filming yourself is not the most important part of this step – now you have to sit down and watch yourself… the whole video, every minute. What is your best angle, what are your hands doing, what looks or sounds weird, how are your facial expressions, etc. Really analyze yourself and find your ‘presenting persona’ – then start practicing again to polish your technique.
Talk to a real person
You also may benefit by talking to a real person behind the camera. Talking to a lens can make it hard to keep your tone natural. Work with a real person, preferably a friend or colleague that you’re comfortable with to stand directly behind the tripod. Imagine you’re talking to what’s going to be your million-dollar customer, or just talk directly to the person standing literally behind the camera. If you are going to be talking to the person behind the camera, make sure that you are occasionally making eye contact with the camera lens so that it appears like you are directly talking to your audience.
It also helps to have the right equipment for your studio set up. So if you need equipment like a tripod, LED light, or microphone that’s affordable, visit our Equipment Page and look at the top for “start up” for video newbie friendly products and prices.
Hopefully these tips will help to empower you to make a video today – stay tuned to our own YouTube page for even more tips!
