Photo: Rodnae Productions
How to shoot a professional video tutorial? Here's what you need, from shooting tools to the best lighting for a realistic result. Makeup tutorials go crazy on the web: many makeup and beauty enthusiasts reveal their techniques and secrets to looking your best. Or they review the latest products released on the market. Very followed by millions of followers, they have created a real genre.
But how to make a makeup tutorial video correctly and professionally? In addition to acquiring video editing and shooting knowledge and skills, we recommend the appropriate equipment to bring out an optimal result. From cameras to video tutorial lights, here are the best components for your shooting kit that you can easily buy on the web.
What do you need to shoot a makeup video?
How to shoot a beauty video tutorial correctly? First of all, pay attention to the color temperature of the lights: there must be no intrusive dominants. Nowadays, most lamps intended for this purpose have a dimmer to regulate them, so buying them should not have problems. Even if we do not go into the deepening of the video post-production phase, even at this level, it will be possible to intervene: if we are not entry-level video makers but already experts, then we will be able to use color charts and spectrophotometers for the monitor of the computer.
However, we will also be able to give rise to a much faster workflow to manage using the smartphone for filming. The lights for video tutorials will always help us, even during any direct streaming of interactive makeup tutorial sessions. As for the devices with which the recording will be made, a good image quality certainly does not hurt. As well as their ability to make stable shots: we can use photographic tripods or external stabilizers of various kinds.
In addition to the lights for video tutorials, with a neutral color temperature and better if from the wide diffusion surface of the lighting (to avoid sharp shadows on the face), we also recommend that you take care of the movie's audio. There are practical and fairly inexpensive wireless microphones that can add even more value to your content.
Photo: Ady TeenagerInRO
• Fujifilm X-T4 mirrorless digital camera
The first device we will need to shoot a makeup tutorial is undoubtedly the one to record the video itself. At this juncture, the choice can be very personal, and the market is full of very valid tools capable of producing high-quality files. Even a smartphone could be fine: you will understand almost intuitively how to shoot a video tutorial using the most comfortable device for you from the point of view of handling and speed of sharing.
• Huawei P30 Pro
With a smartphone, you will already have all the footage of your makeup tutorial ready for sharing online on the device itself. If you want, you can still download the sequences and post-produce them from your computer or use applications directly from your mobile device. It will also be very easy to create live streams. The rules on how to shoot a quality video tutorial are the same: equip yourself with a shooting device capable of churning out images with a good definition. In the field of smartphones, now more and more video phones, and one of the best that can be recommended is the Huawei P30 Pro.
• Manfrotto MTPIXIEVO-BK table tripod
How to shoot a makeup-themed video tutorial comfortably? Generally, by setting up the mini-set directly on your dressing table. Whether you are using a lightweight camera or a smartphone, you will need support on which to attach it and with which, if necessary, you can make movements while shooting. A suitable, high-quality, and really smart accessory could be the Manfrotto MTPIXIEVO-BK table tripod.
• BOYA portable stabilizer for smartphones
Suitable for a makeup tutorial, to be placed on the top, and for a thousand other occasions "on the go,": it is the BOYA portable stabilizer for smartphones. It is a video rig designed for those who record videos with the phone, equipped with a universal clamp for any smartphone, and grip with a padded handle and wrist strap.
• SYNCO G1 (A1) Wireless Lavalier Microphone
How to shoot a good video tutorial which also has great audio? Using an external microphone, not the one built into the camera or smartphone. For this purpose, the SYNCO G1 (A1) Wireless Lavalier Microphone comes to the rescue. The system uses a frequency range of 2.4 GHz, made stable and free of interference by Syncoder technology. Easy to use, the microphone connects automatically through TX and RX.
• Neewer 18 ring LED light
Finally, the lights for video tutorials could not be missing. We have talked about it several times in our blog. The best for a makeup tutorial is the ring lights. Of the latest generation and with a decent value for money, here is the Neewer 18" ring LED light. Among the pluses of this product is the possibility of managing its parameters also via a smartphone app.
6 tips to help you record the best makeup tutorials
YouTube became a space to share what you know how to do with those who don't. That's why tutorials have become so popular, especially makeup tutorials. Only, unlike the rest, this type of video has a different format because you have to ensure that every detail can be seen well. But you have nothing to worry about! Here we gather some tips that can help you record a good makeup tutorial and thus become the next most popular beauty vlogger on the Internet.
Photo: Estée Janssens
Plan ahead
We know that it seems tempting and easy to turn on the camera, grab the products and start applying makeup just like that. But the truth is that it is a severe mistake to start making a video without planning. Ideally, before recording, you know what you are going to do, what you will say, how you will apply it, etc. Thus you can save time and you will feel less nervous because you will be more organized.
You can make a small script in which you write what you are doing step by step and why you do it that way. It is important that you have all this clear. Remember that putting on makeup and teaching someone else how to do makeup are two totally different things.
Lean on the voiceover
It's all a matter of taste, but the most comfortable thing for makeup tutorials is to record the video first and then the audio. This way, you can concentrate on doing the makeup well without fear of making a mistake in what you are saying. The script we told you above can also facilitate this voiceover process, which you can record with a microphone or your cell phone.
Take care of the background of your video
If you are going to start being a beauty vlogger, you must know that every detail counts. Not only in your makeup but in the aesthetics of your video as well. That's why you should pay special attention to the background you use. Generally, YouTubers in their tutorials apply an effect called depth of field, when you focus only on the person's face and anything behind it is blurred. But you can also use a solid color or textured background, and everything will depend on your style and what you want to convey.
Photo: George Milton
The lighting
In any video, lighting is very important. It is one of the things that YouTubers recommend the most for those who are just starting out. But this is more than essential for makeup artists because it will be the only way in which the colors you are using can be seen well. You can use artificial lighting (lamps, light rings, etc.) or also take advantage of the natural light that enters any window in your house.
Add some detailed shots
In general, YouTubers only record their faces while they put on makeup. But you can take some close shots so that the details of the makeup can be better appreciated. You can achieve this with a zoom lens that allows you to zoom in just by turning it. When you're editing, you add those shots to the video right before you use them in the tutorial so your followers can see exactly what kind of cosmetics you're applying.
Save the end result
When you finish doing your makeup, take a shot showing the final result of the look. Alternatives, you can design a makeup poster to make the video more attractive. But don't add it to the last part of the video. Use them at the beginning so that anyone who sees it knows at once what kind of makeup you'll be doing and they don't have to wait until the end.
Lots of love,
Liz