Selfies, mostly still images, are the rage these days. They are a great way to communicate on social media.
Video selfies are also an effective method of communication, as well as education.
I recently returned from a two-week trip to southern India, where making video selfies was a big, and fun, part of the trip. The image on the left that opens this article shows me making one of those video selfies. I’m at an elephant training camp where the elephants are trained by the forest service to work in the forest hauling logs.
I made two types of video selfies on this awesome adventure:
Educational:
Early Morning Elephant Bath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozVw_HVRzCA
Stone Temple Slide Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw81pmF2tEQ
Quick Tips on Street Shooting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9tdbyQVFiA
Entertaining
Here Comes the Sun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxBOVg1pKHc
Quick Shoot at the Sri Rangam Temple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF2ozHtJeD4
Here are my 7 quick tips on making video selfies:
- Get a camera with good (actually make that great) image stabilization and good audio. When making videos, audio can actually be more important than video. All my video selfies were made with my Canon Powershot G5 X.
- Shoot at the wide-angle setting of you zoom lens. The wider the setting, the steadier the videos. At the setting, set the focus point on you. On the G5 X, that’s done with a tap on the screen.
- Hold you camera very steady with your arm fully extended. That position will show some of the all-important background. Use a small tripod socket handle to hold your camera,
- Turn the flip-out screen around so you can see what’s in the frame, but be careful not to look directly at the screen. Rather, look at the lens. Wearing sunglasses can hide where you are looking.
- Hold your camera slightly above eye level, which will reveal more the background.
- Keep your videos short and sweet, under a minute. Planning you video ahead of time will save you time with do-overs.
- In iMovie (which I use) or your video-making program, add some still photos, which will add some interest.
Have fun making your own video selfie, but always remember: know your audience. Share your video selfies with those who are interested in your subject matter.
Canon Explorer of Light Rick Sammon is a long-time friend of Adorama. Visit with Rick on his web site: www.ricksammon.com.
