Many experts make these mistakes and lose their audience. But they are easy to avoid - I have put together a selection of tips that will help you record high-quality expert video even at home. 

“I don’t need makeup, I want to look natural”

Pimples, skin spots, bruises under the eyes, oily sheen - the camera can amplify all this, and the expert in the frame will not look the best. Of course, such imperfections can be removed at the post-production stage, but it is much easier to get rid of them with the help of loose powder, foundation and concealer.

Light natural makeup in women, familiar in everyday life, looks faded and inexpressive on the video. The camera "eats" about 30% of the color, making the face flat. Therefore, the “I’m already beautiful” setting does not work in the case of video - if you want to look good in the frame, use high-density makeup and don’t be afraid to overdo it.

Another gross mistake is the complete lack of makeup in men. If there is oily sheen on the skin, it will intensify many times over in the frame due to lighting conditions. 

The Right Thing:

Always use makeup and remember that if makeup looks “too much” in the mirror, it will be just right in the frame. Be sure to make a short test video to see how the camera "sees" you!

Achieve an even skin tone, hide spots, dark circles under the eyes.

Give preference to matte textures, avoid glitter, highlighters, shimmering powder. 

Watch for oily sheen during filming, especially if they are long. Powder the T-zone if necessary.

“I'll dress brighter so that they immediately notice me”

A common mistake is the wrong choice of costume. Any clothes with a small pattern (plaid, stripe, etc.) on the screen will ripple. Too bright fabrics can give unwanted reflections - for example, a bright blue sweater will give the face a dead shade. Flesh-colored fabrics look even worse on video, as they create the effect of a “naked expert” in the frame. Choosing beige trousers, you risk getting negative comments in the spirit: "Where did you forget your pants?".

It is better to refuse things with a deep neckline, and if you have chosen a shirt, leave a maximum of two top buttons unbuttoned. If you shoot close-ups, a too open neckline in the frame will look vulgar.

If you're nervous before filming or going on air, you're bound to start sweating. Ordinary deodorants may not cope with this problem, and sweat stains will be visible on clothes in the frame.

In addition, too tight clothing is not suitable for filming. Firstly, the camera always visually adds a few kilos, and secondly, a tight shirt can form ugly folds even on the owner of an athletic figure, and the camera will emphasize these folds. 

The Right Thing: 

Choose plain, neutral colors that are free of frills, beads, sequins, and small prints.

Discard satin fabrics - because of the lighting, they will shine too much in the frame.

Use special liners for armpits.

Give preference to loose-fitting suits. 

“I can’t shoot standing up for 5 hours, I’d rather sit in my favorite chair.”

Sitting in a large easy chair, you relax. Together with you, the audience relaxes, it becomes more difficult to keep their attention. And if you are nervous, you will tighten even more, because in a sitting position you cannot relieve tension by shifting from foot to foot, taking steps forward or to the side.

Clothing that looks great on a standing person may form folds on a seated person. When you sit in a deep easy chair, the stomach visually enlarges, the chest is deformed. To shoot high-quality video while sitting, you either need to be well versed in the filming process, or have a team of specialists who will constantly monitor how you look in the frame.

How to do it right: 

Shoot while standing.

If you can't shoot standing up, use a chair, but make sure your back stays straight. Sit closer to the edge, do not lean on the back. It is better to shoot a video close-up from the chest, if there is no operator who will constantly monitor how your stomach looks in the frame. 

“I look better at the window” 

Light plays a very important role in filming: if it is not thought through, the video can turn out to be too faded or too bright. The most common mistake is to shoot with your back to the window in daylight. Your face in this case will be heavily darkened.

Due to lighting errors, the volume of the face can also change. Due to the harsh, incorrectly set light, deep shadows will appear. It visually ages, and in the worst case, you will look like a character from a horror movie. If you intend to use hard shadows in the frame and at the same time do not want to look repulsive, you can not do without a director of photography.

How to do it right: 

Choose soft lighting - use softboxes, LED lamps, especially ring lamps. If your light fixture is hard, cover it with a piece of paper or a thin white cloth.

Do not shoot video while sitting with your back to the window. 

Don't use a chandelier as your main light source or you'll get ugly shadows under your eyes and nose. 

“We should put more books next to us. And put a couple of vases, it’s more beautiful. ” 

Shelves with souvenirs piled up in a heap and bookcases full of books overload the picture, you can get lost in their background. There should be no effect of a cluttered interior - make sure that nothing extra gets into the frame.

How to do it right:

Remove everything unnecessary from the background.

If there is no suitable place for filming in the apartment, use a special solid background. You can buy a backdrop on a spring - it's easy to unfold before shooting and just as easy to remove after them.

If possible, create a background that matches your profession. For example, hangers with clothes can be placed behind the stylist’s back, and for filming a video about an illustration, pencils, albums, and paints can be placed on the table. 

“I have a great microphone on my laptop, because I call my mom on Skype every day.”

If you want to lose viewers in 5 minutes, use the built-in microphone on your laptop or smartphone. With such a recording, extraneous noise will definitely get into the video, which will annoy people.

If the audience can still put up with a poor-quality picture (many can even listen to you when they are cleaning or riding in public transport), then the audience will not forgive bad sound. No one will read the accompanying text or watch presentations. If you are hard to hear, the sound is booming or rattling, it will not be tolerated for long. 

The Right Way:

Buy a quality lavalier microphone. There are good inexpensive models costing from 3000 rubles (Aputure Deity V.Lav or Boya BY-M1) - you can start with them. No buttonhole and do not plan to buy? Use a headset - in any case, it will help to record better sound quality than the smartphone's built-in microphone.

Get rid of the echo in the room. If you cannot use special soundproof materials, cover smooth walls with textiles, put pillows.

Make a test recording to make sure that there are no unnecessary sounds: the shirt does not rustle, the chain does not ring, the beads do not knock and you do not hear what is happening outside the window.

“I am an expert, I know everything, why should I prepare in advance?”

One of the most dangerous mistakes is a person’s confidence that he will be able to go live or record a lesson without preparation. I've been working with experts on set for over 19 years and I can tell you for sure - even professionals often get nervous before recording and forget what they need to say. 

Exceptions are possible, but only if you have worked with the material for a long time, have repeatedly held offline events and keep each lesson in your head from beginning to end. An example from the practice of Videoset-insta is the case of makeup artist-stylist Pasha Kondrashin. We recorded his online course of 30 lessons in the studio in 10 hours without prior preparation: the expert did not stray, did not use a teleprompter, he did not need more than two takes. But the secret of success is that Pasha has a huge teaching experience. His example is an exception to the rule. In most cases, experts cannot speak in front of the camera without preparation - they get lost, forget the material, jump from one topic to another, make awkward pauses.

How to do it right: 

Write down the abstract of the speech in advance. Make cheat sheets. Think through everything in detail: metaphors, examples, and even jokes.

Don't memorize the text. Try to keep the video natural, as if you are explaining the topic to your friend.

If you worry so much that words fly out of your head, use a teleprompter. There are many convenient free and shareware applications for computers and smartphones on the Internet. 

"I'm against editing, it kills naturalness"

Montage is obligatory. Even those experts who are constantly involved in filming allow pauses and reservations. For a beginner, the number of errors increases significantly. They are not scary at the recording stage, but leaving them on video would be disrespectful to the audience.

How to do it right:

Be sure to mount the video. If you do not have the skill of editing, you can contact a video production studio or a freelancer. If you are ready to edit by yourself, but don't want to learn complex programs, try working in the Movavi editor. It is inexpensive and suitable for beginners. On your phone, you can make simple editing of short videos in inShot, VideoLeap, etc.

Remove pauses at the end and at the beginning of the video - at the moments when you turn the recording on and off. 

Do not stop recording if you get lost or mixed up the words. Pause and repeat the sentence again, and then at the editing stage you will only have to cut out the unsuccessful fragment.

Cut long pauses in your edit, especially if you have a habit of filling them with “uh” or “mmm” sounds, so the audience will be much more pleasant to listen to you.

“Well, I can’t upload the same video everywhere!”

One video for YouTube Shorts, the second for VK Clips, the third for Yandex Zen, the fourth for TenChat stories, the fifth for your landing... It may seem that if each site has its own video format requirements, then there is nothing left but re-record each time. This is not true. If you make a new record for each site, you will spend a lot of time and effort. Solving the problem with the difference in formats can be much easier - immediately record a video that will be easily adapted to different platforms.

The Right Way: 

Shoot videos in landscape format (16:9). The expert should be in the central third of the frame - this way the video can be easily turned into a vertical one.

Record video in the highest possible resolution so that you can crop it without significant loss of quality. 

Pause between blocks of meaning to use them to create shorter formats. For example, the video “5 Ways to Get Rid of Camera Fear” can be broken into five short videos and uploaded to VKontakte stories.

“Maybe it’s better without a video at all?”

The saddest mistake is to completely refuse to record video. Unfortunately, many people are terrified of the camera. Some people put off participating in online conferences, recording expert videos, holding webinars and going live for years, while others never dare to do so. 

Being afraid of the camera is normal. In the practice of Videoset-insta, there were cases when the experts panicked so much that they could not read their own text from the teleprompter - and the producer came to the rescue. He stood near the camera and began to ask questions on the topic, so that instead of a monologue in front of an invisible audience, the expert would have a dialogue with a living person. Use this trick if you are very scared - let someone close help you on the set.

Video is a unique tool. It helps the viewer to get to know you better, increases trust. Don't give up on this tool just because you're afraid of the camera.

How to: 

Don't know where to put your hands? Take a pencil or a mug with you to the shooting - it calms many people when they have the opportunity to hold an object in their hands. 

Don't know where to look from excitement? Stick on a red arrow that will point to the lens. So you definitely won't get confused.

Are you afraid that trolls will attack the chat during the broadcast? Invite a moderator who will protect you and the audience.

The voice trembles and breaks, the throat dries? Do articulation exercises before recording a video and be sure to take a bottle of water with you to the set.

Do not refuse to record a video, even if you are very scared. Videography is a skill that comes with experience. Everything here is like swimming - once you have learned this skill, you can no longer lose it. And if you take the risk and overcome your fear, you will be ahead of your competitors who are still afraid of the camera. Try to make a video, following my advice - and let everything work out for you!