1. Get the phone off your hand
The biggest improvement costs almost nothing. A small tripod, a phone clamp or a stack of books at eye level beats holding the phone at arm's length. It steadies the picture, frees your hands and stops the "arm in shot" look.
Place the lens slightly above eye level and about one to two metres away. Closer than that, the wide selfie lens makes faces look distorted.
2. Use the front camera so you can see yourself
The back camera is sharper, but you cannot see what it sees when it points at you. Use the front camera when you need to check your framing as you go, or use the back camera with a second screen such as an Apple Watch showing the live view.
3. Face the light
Sit or stand facing a window, not with your back to it. Soft daylight from in front is the most flattering light there is, and it is free. At night, one lamp in front of you and slightly to the side does the same job.
4. Get closer to the microphone
Viewers forgive soft video long before they forgive bad sound. The phone's microphone is best within about a metre. If you have to be further away, a cheap clip-on microphone makes a bigger difference than a better camera.
5. Start recording without touching the phone
Pressing record and then walking into position leaves a messy start. Use a self-timer, a watch remote or a voice command instead. In Lookout you can say "Hey Lookout" to start, or start and stop from the Apple Watch app while you are standing in the shot.
6. Film yourself and what you see at the same time
Most "film yourself" advice assumes the camera only points at you. Often you want both: you talking and the thing you are talking about. That used to mean two phones or flipping the camera and losing moments.
On an iPhone XS or newer you can record the front and back cameras together. Lookout does this in one take: the back camera on the view, the recipe, the match or the road; the front camera on you. Nothing is switched, so nothing is missed.
7. Check before you commit
Record ten seconds, play it back with sound, then record the real thing. It catches bad framing, a noisy fridge, a dark face and a missing microphone before they ruin the take.
Quick checklist
- Phone on a stand, lens just above eye level
- Facing the light
- Within a metre of the microphone, or a clip-on mic
- Do Not Disturb on, so a call does not stop the recording
- Enough free storage
- Ten-second test first