How to Up Your "Video" Game: Camera Basics
Video Transcript[Instructor] Make sure your lens is clean. Make sure your camera is horizontal, always. Use the volume button on the side of the phone, so when you're holding the phone sideways, it's like you're holding a camera. Or you can use earbuds. Plug your earbuds and press the volume button to take pictures or videos also. Camera distance. Cellphones, laptops and webcams have a very wide angle lens, so positioning yourself is important. Too far and you become too small to see. Too close is even worse because you end up distorted and scary. How do you adjust? By moving your chair. Make sure your camera is at eye level. Dress up your background. Use grid lines to help create balance. One of the best ways you can make sure you have a straight, level or balanced photo is to turn on grid lines on your camera. It will superimpose a series of horizontal and vertical lines based on photography's rule of thirds. That means an image should be broken down into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. So, you'll see nine squares on your screen. Place your main point of interest in the center of all nine squares and your photo will be perfectly balanced. Use a tripod, if available. But if no tripod is available, always use both hands holding your phone. Lastly, look into hacks for your phone. There are a ton of hacks online, ranging from sunglasses on the lens to cut down on brightness or get a cool effect, using a lens from an old laser pointer, or putting a pair of binoculars in front of the lens can be a great macro lens hack, and these are just a few of the many, many phone hacks.