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How to Shoot Good Video on Your Phone

Shooting with your phone is the easiest way to capture product or process video to use in ExpandShare.  Here is a quick guide to getting the most of your phone’s video capabilities.


Shoot Horizontal

First -- when shooting video with a phone, make sure you hold your phone horizontally. This will ensure that your video has a higher resolution and will display properly on TVs and computer monitors.


Stabilization

Next, use a tripod or some other method to stabilize your phone to reduce camera shake. Camera shake can be distracting and lowers the quality of video. There are adaptors for attaching an iPhone to a tripod. However, if you don’t have a tripod -- don’t worry -- handheld footage will work. Just make sure to:


Use your body to move the phone instead of just moving your hand or arm -- this will help avoid shake, and


Keep the phone close to your body.


Or, rest your elbows on a hard surface to capture smooth movements.


Lighting/Background

Be aware of what’s in the background -- you want to make sure it goes along with your product. And, make sure the area is clean and not too busy so the product stands out from the background and doesn’t get lost in it.


Make sure your product is well lit -- this will help keep your video from looking grainy. If you don’t have access to expensive lights, find a room with natural lighting, like near a window. Or, use a desk lamp to provide more light.


Then, use the phone to make small lighting fixes. Tap on the screen to select your focal point and adjust the brightness. If you tap and hold, it locks the focus and brightness which keeps it from automatically refocusing due to natural lighting changes.


Extra Tips/DOs and DON’Ts

Don’t use the pinch zoom function on your phone. It creates grainy, and lower quality footage. Instead, physically move your camera closer to the subject when you need close up shots.


Make sure the lens is clean by using a microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints or dirt that may make the footage appear blurry.


Have an extra hand to help show the use of the product so the viewer can better understand it, and last,


Quality footage can make your product stand out from the rest.

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