 Want to learn how to become a freelance videographer? We're gonna tell you how today on the journey in today's world video is king or queen Exactly. Everyone wants video to be part of their content creation Whether that's for their social media their blog or their website Yeah, and did you know video is protection makeup almost 80% of all internet traffic this year So no matter who you are you have to have videography as a part of your skill set Now there's a lot more to being a freelance videographer than just having your phone or shooting some video, right? So nowadays everyone has their phone. They can record high quality video or take, you know, those great photos in portrait mode But what's gonna set you apart? How are you gonna actually make money from this? So the first question is what kind of education or training do I need, right? So there's two different ways you can go with this, you know I went to school and learned a lot about different photography Videography those type of skills. So that's one route you can take or you can take a different route where you know You don't necessarily have to go to college and get a degree in that There are a lot of different other options you can do. I know you kind of dabble in videography So whenever you were first starting out, you know, it wasn't through a college Degree where you learned those types of things. How did you really teach yourself the different tips and tricks? Yeah, I think it was a combination I'd really like to get like just hands on it and just try and figure things out Failed a lot, but then also looking at what other people are doing, especially with those courses Like I took a couple on you to me and then I followed a couple people on youtube that really helped out a lot Peter McKinnon being one of them. He's a pretty famous youtuber in the video sphere And he has like incredibly quality videos where he just explains his processes or teach you different things And it's helped me out a lot, especially with my transitions and just creating different b-roll Footage and creating the videos themselves love a good transition But I think that the main thing here is just getting that hands on practice So however you learn the basics really you're not going to truly get it until you get out there You start practicing shooting different videos things like that. That's the best way you're going to learn how All right, another question that you need to ask yourself when becoming that freelance videographer is what equipment should we be using? Yeah, you know at the very least of course you need that high quality video camera, obviously But what else do you need? Yeah, so I think it's going to vary there are lots and lots of things you can buy when it comes to videography and camera and equipment accessories the list go on and on and on But just starting out you really want to go with the basics You don't need thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of equipment to be a freelance videographer I know there are plenty of people that do videography gigs with their phone or some pretty basic beginner cameras I know with me just starting out. This is more of a hobby, but I have A couple things here. I have a little cheapo tripod. I think I got for like 20 bucks just something to prop it up and It's really lightweight easy to take along with you. That's why I got it It's one of the travel ones and I just throw my backpack and it's good to go Then I got a beginner camera just a rebel t7i. It was as pretty inexpensive compared to a lot of other cameras Pretty good quality You're gonna need some type of mic You can either go a couple of different routes. You can go maybe like a lavalier mic where it's hooked up I know if you're a reporter you might have had a ton of those And nowadays they actually have lavalier mics that attach to your phone So if you're recording video on your phone, obviously the audio is not going to be great through your phone So that's a lot better for like interviews or things like that where you want to get better actual better quality audio and then on top of my camera here I have what's called a shotgun mic. This is really important when you're just doing a footage on the go or out and about It's very directionally focused So it's going to capture the audio right in front and hopefully Not all the background noise and accessories that might be going on And then moving on to lenses lenses probably going to be the most expensive part of Being a videographer lenses can get pretty costly with just how many different variations there are and how many different things And focal lenses and apertures all these things get confusing and most importantly expensive I have on here just a Canon 28 millimeter prime lens Now there are a couple different lenses that you can get They're starting with that just the standard zoom lens. That's what most people get you can zoom in and out on your Your subject move it around make it nice and easy And then I have a prime lens on mine. These are a little bit more crystal clear and have a bit better quality But the downfall is I have to get up if I want to zoom in and it's right in your face and It might not be the best in most situations So check out those lenses. You don't have to spend a fortune Sometimes just the standard kit lens would work for you If you're just starting out and two more really important things that you should definitely get Backup batteries and backup sd cards or memory cards just in case There is nothing worse than getting to a shoot and you're ready to go And you realize that your battery is about to die or you don't have enough memory to record anything And my battery is actually dead. This is the dead camera not prepared not prepared Another important thing to have is that great lighting right as Lizzo said you need that bomb lighting So one of the ways that you can do that even without purchasing any equipment is getting that natural sunlight in So if you go in front of a window that way the light is coming in on you You get that really great lighting that looks amazing. You know youtubers who do makeup tutorials They know all about that you got to have the great lighting to really make you stand out Yeah, the more natural light you can get the better and now if maybe you're in a dungeon that does not have any windows You're going to need some lighting equipment. There are ring lights that are pretty cool Especially if it's just face shots that you're doing. Yeah, and there's also soft boxes that you get There's plenty of kits that you can probably get on amazon for relatively cheap or your local camera shop And then they're like 10 bucks those clamp lights from hardware stores Super inexpensive way to get some awesome lighting The more lighting that you can get that isn't harsh and just overpowering the better You don't want just a dark shot And now if you're outside and you get that bit of lens flare on your camera the sun's directly on there Uh, what's another thing you get that's pretty inexpensive. It's just a lens hood They're pretty cheap on amazon or your local camera shop Just goes right on the end of the lens and it blocks that sun So as neely mentioned earlier, you know start out with the basics, you know And then once you're growing you're making a little bit more money You can splurge on some of the really cool things to set you apart So I know whenever someone uses a drone and gets that aerial footage Like that is such a wow factor and really makes your videos Stand out like whether that's you know a travel video or like wedding videos They tend to use that even real estate agents and like home inspection Now they're using you know these drones to help get that full aerial area coverage And so you never know I mean there's a lot of money that could be made just by knowing how to operate and use a drone Now the next question like really once you're getting used to Filming and editing and putting it all together is how do you really break into the field? And I think you can do that a couple different ways Now if you want to shoot weddings Maybe you'll go to different weddings and shoot for free or find different people that are already shooting and ask to Just shadow them and shoot some videos and give them from some free shots Or maybe you want to go to like a public speaking event Or a conference and just film and then provide it to them for free and even add it to your own portfolio It's going to take a lot of what I call sweat equity is Just giving yourself a way for free but building up your portfolio so you can get those bigger fish Yeah, so start out with networking and then move on to you know It honestly you're probably going to have to either volunteer your services or offer them for really cheap So you can reach out to people that you know your friends family Who may need these services just to get started get that hands-on experience Or you could even offer to trade your services So I mean say an accountant is wanting some video of him you could offer that and in exchange He does your taxes for you. It's a win-win. All right. So the next step to becoming a freelance videographer is branding yourself I mean you've already gotten your feet wet. You're ready to go. I mean you could just use your name But that's boring, you know create this brand for yourself and your identity, right? So some things to think about would be like what's your niche audience going to be right? What type of videos are you actually going to you know shoot? Yeah, and I think branding yourself not only as just yourself But as a company really adds like a next level of professionalism and legitimacy for your business for your brand Yeah, and there are a lot of different elements that go into your branding, right? So you want to start out with your website, right? That's one thing to think about The next thing would be social media, right? All of these pages really work together and create your brand And now with the website and with social media and in your name All these different things can house your portfolio I know a lot of people will go and put part of the work on social media, especially instagram and youtube They're very visual video heavy social media platforms Then your website itself you can direct all that traffic to the website to really check out more about you And maybe even hire you. Yeah, I mean your portfolio is really the most important part, right? Because that's what people want to see they want to see what your work has been like in the past I know some of the best ways that I've seen videographers show up It'll be on like facebook, right a really popular wedding video gets shared or things along those lines All right, our last question and this is the important one. When can I start making money? Yeah, it's all fun and games until you can't pay rent See the reality is you're going to have to start small making little or no money Remember we talked about volunteering your time and building up that portfolio Now you never know. I mean you could start off with a bang be really lucky And you know just gain a lot of traction really quickly But you know most likely you're probably gonna have to start out small Build that portfolio build those clients really spreading that word of mouth and then grow from there Yeah, and I think you really have to figure out different ways to to stand out There are a ton of videographers out there. There's a ton of people competing for the same jobs You might be so what can you do to stand out from the crowd? Now one person I follow a lot is Jesse driftwood What really caught my attention with him and he's he does these crazy just super high quality daily instagram stories of Just his life right like there's different little videos I showed you one earlier with this cool transitions and it was just him opening up a window But he made it into like this giant scene and that really stands out versus everyone else So if you can do something just super unique and super just amazing to watch That's how you stand out. We really hope this helped you really understand how to break in to becoming a freelance videographer And just most importantly get you inspired make sure you like this video add a comment below And don't forget to subscribe to our channel and ring that bell so that you'll know whenever we upload new videos This is the journey ceiling