Smartphone camera
Thanks to smartphones, recording video has never been so easy or effortless.
Everyone has a powerful video camera in their pocket: a smartphone. And with a little practice and access to a few key tips, even you - yes, you - can start recording great footage, vlogging, or even record an indie film or documentary using just your smartphone.
Thus, in an effort to help you capture whatever it is you want in the best way possible, We have rounded up some tips.
Tips for recording better video with your smartphone
Landscape
Nothing ruins great footage like having two black vertical bars along both sides of your video. To avoid this amateur mistake, make sure to use landscape orientation and not portrait orientation while recording.
Not only does landscape make your video seem more aesthetically pleasing in general, it’ll also make it more enjoyable to watch when viewed on a widescreen or television. Plus, you’ll capture more in the actual video.
So just remember: never hold your phone vertically while recording, unless you really like or want those vertical black bars included (or if you’re recording purely for Instagram Stories).
Zoom
Nothing is more gross than digital zoom - just ask any professional photographer. Most smartphones unfortunately feature digital zooms, which are just software tricks that’ll make your subject appear closer but not without copious amounts of pixelation.
In order to zoom in while recording without losing the crisp, vivid quality you desire in videos, you’ll have to get closer to your subject (or use an accessory, but more on that later). In general, you should always get as close as you can, especially for tight shots on faces.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily apply if you have a smartphone with more than one camera on the back. Often times, one of the extra lenses is a designated “telephoto” lens, designed to give you an optical zoom effect, zooming in without losing detail. In this instance, tapping that “2x” button on your iPhone XS, for example, would be fine.
