Travel vlogs can be LOTS of fun to watch, or they can be kinda boring. The trick to making better travel vlogs is to switch up the type of shots you are offering to your viewer as you tell your story.
In this video, I’m going to show you six COOL shots you can create to make better travel vlogs. These shots will add some exciting visual variety and make more visually dynamic travel videos overall.
WATCH THE VIDEO ►MAKE BETTER TRAVEL VLOGS: 6 COOL SHOT IDEAS
Or, you can read on to learn about six different shots I suggest!
1- ESTABLISHING SHOT
The first main shot that works great in any vlog is the establishing shot.
This is usually at the beginning of a video or after a change of location.
Its purpose is to establish sense of place, although it could also establish the mood, the weather, or similar overarching details.
Establishing shots are often created using a drone to really give you a birds eye view of an area.
Another of my favorite establishing shots is the classic road footage. It’s easy to capture and it can really generate excitement as you arrive at a place.
You can also grab exteriors of buildings, shots of signs, entryways or even written materials like tickets to really show exactly where you are and what you’re doing.
2- CLASSIC VLOGGING SHOT
While the establishing shot is a filmmaking classic, the classic vlogging shot you see right here is very much not.
However, this ‘talking head’ shot is the cornerstone of what makes a modern day vlog- especially for YouTube.
This type of shot should be balanced out with the other shots, and used to TELL your story.
Maybe you would talk about where you are, what you’re doing, how you feel, and what you really want your viewers to know.
If you’d like to see the current vlogging setup I use for these shots, that is quite awesome and affordable for new vloggers check out the video below. I walk you through my camera, my vlogging mic, and the hand grip that is working out best for me.
3- THE POSED CANDID
The posed candid is definitely one of my favorite shots to add to a travel vlog. It’s really just you, and maybe your friends, just doing your THING while cameras are rolling.
Of course it would be great to have a videographer follow you around and get these shots for you but most of the time you’ll have to find another way.
One great way is to simply set up a tripod and let the camera roll.
Of course, for complete examples of this you’ll have to watch the VIDEO.
But since you’re probably not toting an actual tripod you can also use a gorilla grip to attach to a variety of places.
I’m also a big fan of this clamp grip as it gives you some additional options for attaching to things.
4- TIME LAPSE SHOTS
Time lapses can be used to create the posed candid, OR for the establishing shot.
Some of the newer Canon cameras have a built in time lapse mode which is super simple to use. GoPro cameras classically have this as well.
Otherwise, on Sony cameras I believe you have to set up what is called Interval Shooting.
You can shoot a time lapse of road footage for even more effect of movement,
or when used with the posed candid style it will really show a lot of action and even progress in doing something..
Perhaps most popular thing to time lapse is the movement of weather, because nature is such a beautiful thing. Sometimes it can be so subtle, until you see it moving quickly in a time lapse.
5- THE SELFIE TWIRL
The selfie twirl is a fun shot that can really give your viewers of sense of how you’re experiencing a place. It’s generally just a sweeping twirl of your face along with what you’re seeing all around you. It works best when you have visually interesting objects above or below you.
To create this interesting shot for travel vlogs I generally either use a wide angle GoPro, or a monopod to extend my camera as far out as possible.
THIS super sturdy monopod is strong enough to hold my Canon M50, and it also works great with my Canon G7x, or GoPro.
Watch the video for examples of the selfie twirl!
6- MACRO/ CLOSE UP SHOTS
Lately, I’ve become a huge fan of close up and macro style shots.
It’s great to first show a wider shot of a place, then really come IN to highlight some of the smaller details.
This will give your viewers a deeper overall experience… along with that nice visual variety so they can actually FEEL like they are in a place, rather than just looking in from afar.
There are actual Macro lenses on the market which will really amplify small things, but generally as long as you have a camera with a large aperture lens, and a decent minimal focus distance, then you can get some nice close up shots.
The examples of Ella in the video were shot with the Canon G7x which has a great 1.8 aperture.
I also have THIS LENS on the M50 that I LOVE for this purpose. It’s what I used to shoot the beautiful close ups of the flowers in the video. Amazing right!
And I can use it on my Canon M50 thanks to THIS lens adapter.
These close up shots also work really well when paired with slow motion effects. If you do want to shoot slow motion you’ll want to shoot at 60 frames per second, or an even higher frame rate if your camera allows it.
Of course then you’ll want to fit it into a 24p timeline, which will give you nice, smooth slow-mo without a stutter.
Of course not all macro shots need to be in slow motion and not all slow motion shots need to be macro, but using either one of these interesting styles will add a nice effect to your vlogs.
And that’s it!
If you aren’t using ALL of these different types of shots in your travel vlogs, I suggest you try them to see what works for you.
Leave me a comment and let me know which type of shot is your favorite to see or use in travel vlogs, and also what other types of videos you’d like to see here on AMaeTV
If you’re not a yet a subscriber I’d love to have you join us on YouTube!
You can also join my Facebook group I created for Travel Filmmakers called Travel Film Friends
I’ll link to that below and also some additional free resources and videos I suggest you check out in order to really level up your travel vlogging skills.
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6 Cool Shot Ideas to Make BETTER TRAVEL VLOGS
