10 Things You Need To Know Before You Make Your Own Food Videos

 

Food videos are all the rage on Facebook! Tasty by Buzzfeed took Facebook by storm this past year and now it’s exploded. If you are a blogger and wanting to make your own food videos but are clueless on where to start, let me help you get started. I warn you that it’s intimidating at first. The learning curve is large, but it’s worth it. It does get easier.

Before you even get started on making your own food videos, you need to be aware that this process is way more time consuming than blogging and food photography. Just the thought of what you have to do to get ready may send you into a mini panic attack. There is no doubt that it’s a creative and meticulous process that will challenge you. When I first started blogging, I had no idea I would have to learn how to take good pictures and/or learn how to make videos. If you are on your own, it’s even more challenging because you are the recipe writer, executive producer, camera operator, food photographer, food stylist, and film editor. It is possible! I did it, and so can you!

REMEMBER THESE 10 TIPS BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD VIDEOS

1. Assess your camera equipment. What camera are you using? Do you have an iphone, ipad, DSLR with video capability? You need to know how to focus and adjust the settings on those devices. You will also need to have something or someone hold them for you while you film. If you have a DSLR, you will need a tripod and possibly an arm to get started. You can see my favorite food video equipment in this post.
2. Choose an video editing software to use. There are several out there that use PC or MAC or both. There are lower cost versions for people who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars that produce awesome videos. My personal favorite for someone starting out is Filmora. Check out my Best Video Editing Software for Food Videos to see the most popular.
3. Know your lighting. If you use natural light, look for the area in your home that has the best light at the best time of day. It depends on what direction your house faces and if you get more morning or afternoon sun. If you don’t have good natural lighting, you might want to look for a good lighting kit.
4.  Pick a simple, tried and true recipe as your first video.  If this is all new to you, pick a 5 ingredient or less recipe with very few steps. It won’t be so overwhelming when you are learning how to edit the video. I also encourage people to make a storyboard of the recipe so you don’t miss any steps and have thought through angles beforehand.
5. Keep kitchen equipment to a minimum. Use one piece of kitchen equipment for your recipe or none. Too many steps or too much equipment will make the process more complicated to learn. Having too much equipment can be confusing in the editing process. Just keep it simple in the beginning.
6. Make sure you have all of your ingredients before filming. I know this seems like a no brainer, but you might be surprised how often it could happen. I’ve been sure I had an ingredient on hand. I went to the pantry, and I didn’t have enough. I use a sheet pan method for my ingredients. I put them all on one sheet pan so I can access them in one place.
7. Go through your recipe once before filming. You will need to develop a flow. I have my camera set up and do pretend run throughs with bowls and ingredients to get the right angles and shots I want. I take notes and get a creative picture in my head for how I want it to flow. If you need help with that, I developed The Food Video Planner to help you map out your food video step by step.
8. Set aside an entire day to film your first video. WHAT?!!! A whole day?!!! Well, no less than 4-5 hours. There is a lot to learn! This time frame includes filming, editing, and publishing. Doing a start to finish product in one day can help you figure out where your weaknesses lie so you can work on those.
9. Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them.  It may take you a while to develop a look and feel to your video. You may end up filming a recipe more than 1 or 2 times. That’s okay. You are learning, and you need to embrace the mistakes that go along with the process.
10. Ask for feedback from friends and family who will be honest with you. Find someone who will give you honest feedback. It will only help you grow and make better food videos.

Check out my video taking you through this step by step!

Have any questions about making food videos? Let me know! Be sure to subscribe so you can follow along with my video series on youtube.

XO,