Travel Vlogging Guide for Beginners: 7 Simple Tips

Keep videos short and sweet

When creating their first travel vlog, one of the most common errors is taking excessive footage. We all want to pack as much valuable content into our episodes as possible, but this means we inevitably cut out important details about locations and people we met. Keep your videos short and don’t try to push all of your information into a five-minute video if it would be more effective as a 2-minute clip. This will make it easier for viewers to engage with your travel vlogs and you’ll have an easier time editing the footage down too.

Get close with your camera

One of the essential elements of any good travel vlog is giving us great visuals without taking up too much screen time. This means getting as close as possible to whatever you’re filming. In many cases, this may mean physically moving towards your subject before setting up for a shot – even if it makes you feel awkward or silly. There’s nothing worse than watching an amateur travel vlog and seeing blurry, faraway images of people walking along beaches or up mountains.

Capture life’s little moments

You may think that the most exciting thing about your trip was bungee jumping over a gorge, but unless you made it into a short highlight video, no one wants to see footage of you gearing up for the jump and cheering when you succeed. Instead, look out for the small things: the funny joke shared between two strangers on the street; unusual architecture in an old town; or tasting exotic foods at a market stall. These everyday scenes are where we find absolute joy and excitement when we’re traveling.

Be consistent with your camera angles

Just as you won’t see a Hollywood director choosing to film every scene from eye level, try not to turn your travel vlog into a series of boring shots from ground level. This is particularly true if you’re leading an audience through a place that they’ve probably already seen dozens of times before on Google Maps or Google Earth – it can get tedious quickly!

Keep things quiet when filming inside

The idea behind creating travel vlogs is that you give viewers an insight into your experiences that they can’t get from looking at photographs or watching pre-recorded videos. This means not making a racket when you’re recording and trying to keep your voice down when you’re in enclosed spaces like hotel rooms, museums, and restaurants. Not only will the people around you appreciate it, but it’ll make for better quality audio in your travel vlogs too.

Keep things simple with lighting

Lighting is such an important element of film-making (and photography) that many filmmakers avoid shooting indoors unless natural light streams through windows. But this isn’t always possible when we’re traveling and may mean missing out on great shots of sunsets at beachside restaurants or dramatic sunset portraits. How do we solve this problem? Use your phone! The iPhone camera now has a tremendous low-light mode, which means you don’t need to make the sacrifice between filming inside or out.

Keep an open mind about editing

One of the biggest bugbears people have with travel vlogs is seeing too many jump cuts and fast edits in amateur videos. Jump cuts are when you abruptly cut from one long scene to another, for example, cutting out part of a walk up a hill because you didn’t like how it looked or couldn’t get access to better filming spots along the way. This may work if done correctly, but more often than not, we find it disorientating and confusing. Avoiding this pitfall means keeping enough footage to create more cohesive, informative videos that’ll delight your audience. Be sure to add music to your video to make it more engaging and entertaining!

Make a plan

Before you even leave, it’s helpful to have some outline or storyboard for your video. This will help you stay on track while filming and make the editing process smoother.

Pack light

This may seem obvious, but it’s always tempting to pack everything but the kitchen sink when we’re going away. Resist the urge! Not only will carrying excess weight make traveling harder, it’ll also mean you have less space for equipment and camera gear.

Bring enough power supply and storage

This is especially important if you’re using a DSLR or action camera because these devices can eat up batteries and storage space incredibly quickly, mainly if you’re recording in 4K.

Learn your equipment before you leave

If you’re asking people to subscribe to your channel and watch your videos, then it’s important that they look good. That means learning how to use your equipment so you can get the best footage possible. This way, editing will be much easier, too, because your shots won’t need to be changed or repositioned.

Research the best time to shoot in advance

This one is significant if you’re filming in places with seasonal weather changes – think mountains during winter or deserts during summer. Knowing when the weather is most likely to be at its best will help you order your day and get the shots that make your travel vlog captivating for viewers.

Don’t hesitate to ask other travelers for help

One of the great things about traveling is meeting new people, so why not make use of this while you’re making your travel vlog? Asking locals and other travelers for tips and advice is a great way to get good content, and they may even be able to help you with filming and equipment.

Make a backup plan in case of technical problems

Technology is great but it does like to let us down sometimes when we’re in the middle of nowhere with no signal. Make sure your phone is fully charged so you can still get full use out of it even if something terrible happens to your camera or gear.

Try different angles and perspectives

Pretend the camera isn’t there when you film, then edit the footage afterward. Still, this method might not be perfect for every type of shot because some shots work better from a particular angle and adding different angles and perspectives can make your videos more engaging.

Shoot an extra-wide shot for each location

Shooting a little wider than normal when you’re beginning to film creates good variety in your shots, making the video much more interesting to watch. Plus, it’s always worth having extra footage to play with when editing.

Take plenty of time to shoot your intro

You don’t want to rush the beginning of your travel vlog because this is where you’re going to hook people, so take plenty of time and try out a few different things before you settle on an intro that meets your needs.

Try panning and zooming

Although these techniques might seem a little bit too complicated for beginners, they can be a great way of adding a more professional feel to your travel vlogs, making them much more engaging for viewers.

Use stabilizers whenever possible

This one really depends on the camera you’re using and whether you can physically attach it to a stabilizer, but stabilizers are great for adding extra stability to your shots which makes the video look much more professional.

Don’t force it!

No matter how much time and effort you put into filming a travel vlog, if you don’t have something interesting to say, there’s no point, so make sure you take plenty of time to plan your travel vlogs but don’t force anything because that’s when bad videos happen.