When it comes to filming I am by no means an expert. But after filming a fair few beauty tutorials over the years personally and through work I thought I would share 8 key tips I’ve learnt along the way. I know so many of you have been thrown into the deep end over the past couple of months when it comes to filming and putting yourself out there digitally so hope you find something useful…
LIGHTING
Lighting is key when filming any IGTV. Daylight is best on an overcast day when you are not in direct sunlight. However if I was to recommend 1 thing to buy when filming IGTV’s it would be a good LED light. This means you don’t have to rely on an overcast day to get the content. Not only does good lighting mean you get the chance to shoot at any time of day, you also get consistency across your videos if you are using the same lighting.
One thing to be careful of is mixing daylight with natural light. As my window is on the left of me when filming, if I keep my blind open blending daylight and LED lighting, it actually creates more shadows on my face than if I was to close the blind. So be sure to opt for one or the other.
ORGANISED LAYOUT
If filming a beauty tutorial… layout all the products you are going to be using in order of application with the correct brush next to it. This will minimize time when filming giving you a more fluent video.
PRODUCT SHOT
When holding up a product to show bring the product into the centre of the screen next to your chest first and then move inwards. If you instantly just hold the product up in front of the camera the product will look too overexposed and bright leaving you with a distorted image.
OUTFIT CHOICE
Opt for brighter plain clothing. When I used to do live TV with Bobbi Brown x QVC we were never allowed to wear black or patterns as it wouldn’t work best on camera. I don’t know the official reasoning, but I’ve always stuck to this, and find brighter neutrals definitely lighten the space when recording a tutorial allowing the makeup colours to really pop.
HAIR STYLE
I need to practice what I preach here as this is one I never remember… keeping your hair back out of your face with a hairband or up in a pony/top knot. Not only can you see your look and application techniques more clearly, playing with your hair can be distracting for the audience (as you will see from some of my video’s I’m teaching what not to do haha).
ADDITIONAL CONTENT
I always remember something Sam and Nic (Pixiwoo) told us on a content training day I did in my previous role… Never just film ‘one’ video! Take a before picture before you start filming, an after shot of the completed look, a flat lay of the products used etc. That alone will give you 4 pieces of content to share throughout the week in the time it takes to film a video.
STORY TELLING
Something I was always taught when presenting is the power of story telling. Similarly to the news is the best way I remember it. When watching the news it gives you the highlights at the beginning teasing you with what’s coming, then a deep dive into each story line, followed by a round up to close it off reminding you of what you’ve seen. When filming anything you want your audience to remember, not only does this 3 phase system encourage your audience to watch until the end, it gives structure to your videos making it easy to follow along and more enjoyable to watch.
SEXY SWIPE
In the words of the ultimate glow queen…Namvo! She came to do a session on a conference I was on in New York a couple of years back and she taught us all the ‘sexy swipe’. Taking your time with your brush whilst you are explaining the product rather than applying in short quick strokes. It’s much more calming to watch and allows you to see more product placement rather than slapping it on (which lets be honest is my usual go to… who’s with me?)
As mentioned earlier, I am by no means a pro at this so if you have your own tips or tricks you like to use when filming share away below…
Lots of love,
Ashley x
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Similar lighting linked that I use and my travel tripod I always take away with me if I’m travelling…