love to capture sweet moments {iPhone Videography 101}

You guys know I love capturing sweet moments through photos…most of the time with my iPhone, but lately, I’ve been taking TONS of videos. I want to show you some basic tips that have helped me capture candid moments. Here it goes:

1. How to hold your iPhone:

You want to make sure your phone is held horizontally. It seems basic, but it really makes a world of difference. By holding it horizontally, you will avoid the big black bars on each side of the video when you hold the phone vertically. These show up when you publish on YouTube {important to know when your video goes viral!} You will also get a much larger image, which means small details will be shown even better.

Holding iPhone vertically

Holding iPhone horizontally

2. How to get a clear picture:

When you tap the subject on the screen of your iPhone it will bring it into focus. A little square will appear and as soon as it is locked in, you will have a focused picture. Sometimes my phone will be a bit finicky, so I have to tap a couple times.

As you can see, the focus box will disappear once the subject (flower painting) is focused.

You can also tap and hold on what you want to focus. “AE/AF lock ” will pop up indicating the focus has been locked. This way, if you move your phone out of the area you were taking video of, it will automatically focus when you move it back into that area. This is also great for pictures!

3. How to add effects and filters to your video:

I’ve found some great iPhone apps, but my favorite is the 8mm app. There are a ton of fun effects you can do with this app. It’s only $2.99 and so worth it. I’ll share a few basic tips.

To get started you can either upload a video or record straight from the app. The knob in the right-hand corner flips through some awesome effects that can make your video look like it was shot with a real 8mm camera or with dads old video camera. There are 10 different filters to choose from.

In addition to normal audio recording, you can choose to shoot your video with muted or with the camera reel sound. I love this! It makes my video feel like the original silent films. So much fun to play around with!

I love recording family time and the seemingly insignificant moments in life. What do you like to take videos of?