8 musts to avoid creating awful videos

This is your big moment. Don’t mess it up.

You’re freaking out, aren’t you? Well, fret not. Here are eight tips for shooting video that doesn’t suck:

1. Shoot during the day.

Natural lighting is your friend, especially if you don’t have a professional lighting setup, which most people don’t. Natural lighting will complement your skin and typically won’t make you look washed out or grainy.

Test different angles and different amounts of light from a window until you get a look you like.

2. Don’t shoot backlit or with a window behind you.

People want to see your beautiful face, and relying on a light source behind you will leave your face dark. The camera has a tough time figuring out what light source to focus on, and it will make the video hard to watch.

Simply turn the camera around so you’re facing the light source—and your lighting will probably be pretty good.

3. Be wary of shooting outside.

There will invariably be a plane, train, car alarm, that person who just can’t seem to decide whether they’re staying inside or outside. Background noise is an editing nightmare, so save your editor and yourself the headache.