Top ten tips to make your Holiday Videos All Pro!

For all of you shooting videos of your holiday festivities or just in general, I wanted to give you some tips for making the best looking videos and making them watchable for everyone else.

1. STOP THE ZOOM: Yes we all like this feature but try to reduce the amount of zooming you do on your subject. It is ok to go in and out ONCE IN A WHILE, but try not to do it every 10 seconds, and try to minimize zooming in and out really fast. Nice and slow is pleasing. In and out too much and too fast makes your audience, well sick.

2. BE STABLE: Try to keep the subject you are shooting in frame without moving the camera in excess. Try to anticipate the movement of your subject. Many times your subject will leave frame and then come back in. This is much more pleasing than trying to follow someone's every move. Also an investment in a cheap tripod will improve the visual quality of your videos and again will make your audience extremely happy without making them sick.

3. WHITE BALANCE: Many cameras have this as an auto feature, but many people do not know that it is there or that they can adjust this feature. It is sometimes a switch called indoor or outdoor light. White balance is what your camera sets the color of white to. If you think of the light outside vs the light inside created from light bulbs the two are different because the light inside has a different color temperature. Make sure if you have a setting for inside CHANGE IT when you go in. Some cameras have a manual setting for this . If you want to manually set it place a white paper in front of the lens and press the white balance button and you will adjust to your new light. This will keep your videos from looking too orange inside, and too blue outside.

4. AVOID HARSH BACKLIGHT: Try not to shoot people in front of those patio windows or bright white walls. The camera will adjust to the bright light source and will make your foreground subject appear dark or silhouette and you can not see their faces. To fix this just turn around and use the bright light source to light your subject and you shoot with your back to the subject.

5. TURN ON THE LIGHTS: Turn on as many lights as you can to give your camera as much light as you can for exposure. Use whatever existing light you have. It will create better exposure and keep your videos from being grainy.

6. BE AWARE OF SOUND: You may want to turn off that music in the background or take the kids to a different room if you want to get good audio for your video. The micr0phones built in to the cameras these days are very sensitive and are made to pick up all the sound in the room. A good way to make sure your sound is recording properly is to wear headphones while you shoot. It will allow you to hear what the camera is hearing and not what your ears filter out while you are shooting.

7. LABEL AND SECURE YOUR MEDIA: If you use tapes, always label them immediately after you shoot. Tapes also all have a protection button on them that you usually click to the side to protect them from getting recorded over again. The last thing you want to do is record over that great moment you captured. If your camera uses DVD media then make sure you finalize your discs when done shooting. If your camera records movie files, then make sure you have transfered and backed them up before erasing your on board memory card or hard drive.

8. USE YOUTUBE: Learn how to use basic edit software and get your videos loaded on YOUTUBE or another video site. You can then email let people know your movies are available. Family from afar can enjoy seeing the event you shot and they wont have to be subjected to hours of video! You can post the best moments.

9. PROTECT YOUR GEAR: Make sure you have a nice case or something to protect your camera and your tapes or discs from getting destroyed. This will also allow you to store your tapes in a protected environment away from direct light and heat.

10. USE YOUR CAMERA AND HAVE FUN! By using that great camera you bought and sharing your videos with others, you will get better at making movies and your friends and family will begin to enjoy your movies as opposed to dreading them. Let others give you criticism and listen to their comments. Soon you too will be the king or queen of family videos!

Good Luck and I welcome any other comments or questions regarding this subject.
Have fun!