Biggest Mistakes New Videographers Make

This video and blog post walk through the common mistakes that I made starting out as a new videographer. These are easily avoidable and I hope this helps you as you start your journey into learning video.

I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave your comments or questions below! if you prefer to read more about these mistakes and how to avoid them, you can find the full transcription of the video in the text below.

Video Transcription

Hey everyone. It’s Kelli here with She Learns Video and today I am going to be sharing with you some of the mistakes I made when I was getting started with video. I’m excited to share these and I hope that they help you to learn and grow if you are just venturing into the videography space, so let’s jump in.

MISTAKE #1 | TOO MUCH MOVEMENT

The first mistake that I made when I was starting out with video was adding too much movement to my films. So inevitably in every shot I was panning, tilting, doing some sort of pedestal or rack focus and I wasn’t just letting the scene play out in front of me. If you have subjects that are already moving in your frame, try to get creative with how you’re shooting it, whether it’s compositionally or adding subtle soft movements to those images. If you move your camera around too much, it provides not the best viewing experience for the people who are watching your films. And if you’re just panning back and forth in every single shot, you can almost make your viewer a little bit dizzy, so certainly avoid that and that’s one mistake I made that I don’t want to see you making.

MISTAKE #2 | NOT STABILIZING MY CAMERA PROPERLY

The second mistake I made was that I wasn’t stabilizing my camera properly. So when you are shooting handheld, make sure you’re utilizing a stretchy camera strap or some sort of additional image stabilization in order to make sure your videos are crisp and clear. I recommend using tools like a stretchy camera strap to mount the camera, utilizing the back of your neck and pulling your hands tight. I also like to use a tripod or a monopod, and then occasionally I will also use a tool called a gimbal when I want to get some of those creative shots and keep my camera balanced. Other ways you can create stability is just putting your camera on a park bench or a shelf in your home, any way that you can set it down and keep it stable will help you to create beautiful imagery without having shaky footage.

MISTAKE #3 | NOT INVESTING IN AN EDITING SOFTWARE

The next mistake I made was that I didn’t invest in the best editing software off the bat. So from the beginning I started out by using iMovie and personally, I think I used it a little longer than I should have. Once I was to the point that I was working with clients, I really feel like you need to start investing in some sort of editing software that’s going to serve you creatively and give you all the tools you need. I love tools like iMovie and DaVinci Resolve because they’re free. DaVinci has a lot of tools that even professional level videographers use so that can be a good one if you’re looking to be cost-effective, but also find an option that provides that professional level editing software. Personally, I use Premiere Pro and I absolutely love it. It has everything I need and only continues to provide value for my business.

MISTAKE #4 | NOT SHARING YOUR WORK

The next mistake I made was that I didn’t share my work enough in the beginning. I would put my videos out maybe on Facebook or Instagram, but I didn’t continue to repurpose that content and share it in more locations. Anywhere you can share a film, definitely do so. Publish it on all your social media platforms. Add it to Pinterest, Instagram, IGTV, Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, send it out in your email marketing newsletters, and really just try to spread the word as much as possible. Utilizing video on your website is an excellent tool for SEO, and it helps your clients to know that you’re offering this new service. Anytime you can share your work, definitely do so. I know in the beginning it can be really hard when you’re just first getting to know your skills and growing that videography work within your portfolio, but I promise the more you share it, the more people who will know about you and the more people that will want to hire you.

MISTAKE #5 | NOT VALUING YOUR TIME

The last mistake I feel like I made was that I wasn’t valuing my time. So video is going to take a lot more work than photography as far as time goes and the investment that you have to make in some of those tools and the software that you need to start creating films. This does take time, but I promise it will provide value in the longterm and help you to make more money and be more successful in your business. Value your time, get started, and I promise you will see so much success with video added to your business.

Okay, so those are the mistakes that I made when I was first getting started. If you have any other mistakes that you’ve learned from, definitely drop them in the comments below. I would love to hear from you and learn from you as well. We are always continuing to learn over here at She Learns Video, and I appreciate you watching. If you like this information, definitely subscribe to our channel and give us a like, a thumbs up, share with your friends, and go to shelearnsvideo.com for more information and to subscribe to our email newsletter.

---

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission % if you decide to buy through these links. This helps to support She Learns Video so we can continue crafting great content. Thank you!