I’ve taken a lot of videos of my son, and his friends.
I have gone through a lot of tapes on my DVCam, and showed my videos to lots of folks, and have gotten some feedback, which I am happy to pass on to you all.
If you have more suggeestions for my tips list, please let me know.
1) Always stay wide with your lens. This makes your camerawork less shaky. If you need a closeup, just walk up to the subject. This makes your focusing easier. SSince the microphone is on the camera, this makes your audio clearer and better.
2) Keep the camera at the kid’s eye level, even if this hurts your back. This makes your shots more intimate.
3) Keep rolling, don’t turn the record on and off, on and off. This way you won’t miss any magic moments. Videotape is cheap, don’t worry about it.
4) Try to shoot with the light behind you, so the light falls on the faces of your subjects. Backlit subjects look terrible.
5) If you have to zoom, do it slowly.
6) Label your videotapes or DVDs carefully so you know what is what. Otherwise you can lose track.
7) Turn off the TV or the radio or the fans, to reduce extraneous noise. Sound is important, you want to hear your baby’s gurgles and speech.
Any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them.