"2024 Approved Create Standout Videos with These Top 7 Free Thumbnail Builders"
Create Standout Videos with These Top 7 Free Thumbnail Builders
Top 12 Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers - Filmora
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features :
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features:
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features:
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features:
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features:
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features:
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features:
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features:
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features:
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features:
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features:
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features :
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features:
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features:
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features:
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features:
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features:
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features:
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features:
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features:
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features:
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features:
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features :
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features:
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features:
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features:
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features:
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features:
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features:
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features:
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features:
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features:
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features:
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
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Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features :
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features:
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features:
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features:
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features:
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features:
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features:
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features:
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features:
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features:
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features:
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Crafting Charismatic Videos with DIY Camera Setups
4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
A big part of being a YouTuber involves talking to the camera. How you set up your talking-head shot depends on many factors, including how much space you have, what kind of look you’re going for, and how many people you want to fit in one frame. Here are four ways to set up your talking-head shots for YouTube.
Table of Contents 1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up2. Medium Vlog Set-Up3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up |
---|
How to Set Up Your Talking Heads Shots for YouTube Video [Infographic]
We’ve summarized the key points about setting up talking head style video shots with the Infographic below. It is welcomed to share on social media.
How to Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots for YouTube [4 Ways]
1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up
Don’t have a lot of space to set up your camera and lighting equipment? No problem! You can be within an arm’s length away from your camera with a close quarters wide-angle vlog set-up.
With this set-up, you’re going to need a camera with a wide-angle lens, a tripod, a camera-mounted shotgun mic for sound, and a ring light for light.
Set your camera on the tripod and mount the shotgun mic directly on the camera shoe (the electronic bracket on the top of the camera). Inside the circular space of your ring light, position your camera right in the middle of it so that you can shoot your video through it without getting any part of the lighting equipment in your shot.
In the video above, Sean Cannell demonstrates this set-up. As you can see from this example, the wide-angle lens is able to squeeze in a lot of what’s in front of the camera into the shot.
Objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame will appear more stretched out as the wide-angle causes distortion and enhances perspectives.
If you look closely into Sean’s eyes, you can also see a specular highlight in the shape of a circle. Many people like the way eyes look against a ring light.
2. Medium Vlog Set-Up
If you have more space and want to shoot a more professional-looking talking-head shot with more realistic perspectives, a medium vlog set-up may be a better alternative for you.
For this set-up, you’ll be using a slightly longer standard/normal lens (like a 35mm or a 50mm lens) attached to your camera which would be set on a tripod. Since this longer lens will show less of the surrounding areas as it “zooms” closer into whatever is in front, you will need to sit further back, away from your camera.
Now that you’re further away from your camera, a camera-mounted shotgun mic may not be the best mic for you. For better sound recording, you’ll need a shotgun mic fixed on a mic stand that is set up like a boom mic, positioned just outside of your camera frame.
At the 39 second mark of the above video, electronic music producer deadmau5 is positioned right in the center of this particular set-up.
You can see from how even the background and couch looks across the entire camera frame that there is no distortion or enhanced perspective.
It appears that, to the right of deadmau5 (camera left), there is a key light and to his left (camera right) there may be a fill light for additional lighting. Behind the couch, there’s also a background uplight to create depth between the subject and the background. At the 1:30 mark of this trailer video, you can briefly see how the Masterclass camera crew set up their shot.
3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up
If your talking-head shot has got to include two people, you can use a similar set-up as the medium vlog set-up detailed above.
If you look back at the 39-second mark of deadmau5’s Masterclass trailer, you can see that there’s a lot of space to the left and right of deadmau5. Now imagine the same shot but with two people.
With two people, though, you’ll want to set up your mic slightly differently. Rather than using a directional shotgun mic with a narrow area of sensitivity, you’ll want to use a directional mic with a wider area of sensitivity.
4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up
If you want to read over a script but still make it appear like you’re looking straight into the camera, you’ll need to use a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
For this set-up, you’ll need all the same equipment as the medium vlog set-up, but you’ll additionally need a teleprompter placed in front of your camera equipped with a long telephoto lens.
You will have to sit much further back away from your camera for two main reasons. Firstly, you want to be able to fit yourself in your much more zoomed-in camera frame (effect of the long telephoto lens). Secondly, you want to be far enough that the camera cannot detect your eyes reading from left to right. You’ll want to be around six meters away from a 17” teleprompter monitor or around four meters away from a 10” teleprompter monitor.
In the above video, Jared Polin uses a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
In the video, he says there’s about 8 feet (2.4 meters) between himself and his lens. At the 1:15 mark of his video, Jared demonstrates how this set-up works.
It is difficult to know whether the movement in his eyes is caused by not being far enough from the lens or from his horizontal nystagmus condition in his eyes.
Looking to find the right lights for your video recording set? Check out our Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Tips for Making a Talking Head Video Better
To make a talking-head video more interesting, you can add some background music to the video, apply some interesting texts or elements. Filmora has built-in royalty-free music tracks and sound effects as well as text templates , filters and motivating elements. Download the free trial version below and release your creativity.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
A big part of being a YouTuber involves talking to the camera. How you set up your talking-head shot depends on many factors, including how much space you have, what kind of look you’re going for, and how many people you want to fit in one frame. Here are four ways to set up your talking-head shots for YouTube.
Table of Contents 1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up2. Medium Vlog Set-Up3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up |
---|
How to Set Up Your Talking Heads Shots for YouTube Video [Infographic]
We’ve summarized the key points about setting up talking head style video shots with the Infographic below. It is welcomed to share on social media.
How to Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots for YouTube [4 Ways]
1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up
Don’t have a lot of space to set up your camera and lighting equipment? No problem! You can be within an arm’s length away from your camera with a close quarters wide-angle vlog set-up.
With this set-up, you’re going to need a camera with a wide-angle lens, a tripod, a camera-mounted shotgun mic for sound, and a ring light for light.
Set your camera on the tripod and mount the shotgun mic directly on the camera shoe (the electronic bracket on the top of the camera). Inside the circular space of your ring light, position your camera right in the middle of it so that you can shoot your video through it without getting any part of the lighting equipment in your shot.
In the video above, Sean Cannell demonstrates this set-up. As you can see from this example, the wide-angle lens is able to squeeze in a lot of what’s in front of the camera into the shot.
Objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame will appear more stretched out as the wide-angle causes distortion and enhances perspectives.
If you look closely into Sean’s eyes, you can also see a specular highlight in the shape of a circle. Many people like the way eyes look against a ring light.
2. Medium Vlog Set-Up
If you have more space and want to shoot a more professional-looking talking-head shot with more realistic perspectives, a medium vlog set-up may be a better alternative for you.
For this set-up, you’ll be using a slightly longer standard/normal lens (like a 35mm or a 50mm lens) attached to your camera which would be set on a tripod. Since this longer lens will show less of the surrounding areas as it “zooms” closer into whatever is in front, you will need to sit further back, away from your camera.
Now that you’re further away from your camera, a camera-mounted shotgun mic may not be the best mic for you. For better sound recording, you’ll need a shotgun mic fixed on a mic stand that is set up like a boom mic, positioned just outside of your camera frame.
At the 39 second mark of the above video, electronic music producer deadmau5 is positioned right in the center of this particular set-up.
You can see from how even the background and couch looks across the entire camera frame that there is no distortion or enhanced perspective.
It appears that, to the right of deadmau5 (camera left), there is a key light and to his left (camera right) there may be a fill light for additional lighting. Behind the couch, there’s also a background uplight to create depth between the subject and the background. At the 1:30 mark of this trailer video, you can briefly see how the Masterclass camera crew set up their shot.
3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up
If your talking-head shot has got to include two people, you can use a similar set-up as the medium vlog set-up detailed above.
If you look back at the 39-second mark of deadmau5’s Masterclass trailer, you can see that there’s a lot of space to the left and right of deadmau5. Now imagine the same shot but with two people.
With two people, though, you’ll want to set up your mic slightly differently. Rather than using a directional shotgun mic with a narrow area of sensitivity, you’ll want to use a directional mic with a wider area of sensitivity.
4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up
If you want to read over a script but still make it appear like you’re looking straight into the camera, you’ll need to use a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
For this set-up, you’ll need all the same equipment as the medium vlog set-up, but you’ll additionally need a teleprompter placed in front of your camera equipped with a long telephoto lens.
You will have to sit much further back away from your camera for two main reasons. Firstly, you want to be able to fit yourself in your much more zoomed-in camera frame (effect of the long telephoto lens). Secondly, you want to be far enough that the camera cannot detect your eyes reading from left to right. You’ll want to be around six meters away from a 17” teleprompter monitor or around four meters away from a 10” teleprompter monitor.
In the above video, Jared Polin uses a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
In the video, he says there’s about 8 feet (2.4 meters) between himself and his lens. At the 1:15 mark of his video, Jared demonstrates how this set-up works.
It is difficult to know whether the movement in his eyes is caused by not being far enough from the lens or from his horizontal nystagmus condition in his eyes.
Looking to find the right lights for your video recording set? Check out our Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Tips for Making a Talking Head Video Better
To make a talking-head video more interesting, you can add some background music to the video, apply some interesting texts or elements. Filmora has built-in royalty-free music tracks and sound effects as well as text templates , filters and motivating elements. Download the free trial version below and release your creativity.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
A big part of being a YouTuber involves talking to the camera. How you set up your talking-head shot depends on many factors, including how much space you have, what kind of look you’re going for, and how many people you want to fit in one frame. Here are four ways to set up your talking-head shots for YouTube.
Table of Contents 1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up2. Medium Vlog Set-Up3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up |
---|
How to Set Up Your Talking Heads Shots for YouTube Video [Infographic]
We’ve summarized the key points about setting up talking head style video shots with the Infographic below. It is welcomed to share on social media.
How to Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots for YouTube [4 Ways]
1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up
Don’t have a lot of space to set up your camera and lighting equipment? No problem! You can be within an arm’s length away from your camera with a close quarters wide-angle vlog set-up.
With this set-up, you’re going to need a camera with a wide-angle lens, a tripod, a camera-mounted shotgun mic for sound, and a ring light for light.
Set your camera on the tripod and mount the shotgun mic directly on the camera shoe (the electronic bracket on the top of the camera). Inside the circular space of your ring light, position your camera right in the middle of it so that you can shoot your video through it without getting any part of the lighting equipment in your shot.
In the video above, Sean Cannell demonstrates this set-up. As you can see from this example, the wide-angle lens is able to squeeze in a lot of what’s in front of the camera into the shot.
Objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame will appear more stretched out as the wide-angle causes distortion and enhances perspectives.
If you look closely into Sean’s eyes, you can also see a specular highlight in the shape of a circle. Many people like the way eyes look against a ring light.
2. Medium Vlog Set-Up
If you have more space and want to shoot a more professional-looking talking-head shot with more realistic perspectives, a medium vlog set-up may be a better alternative for you.
For this set-up, you’ll be using a slightly longer standard/normal lens (like a 35mm or a 50mm lens) attached to your camera which would be set on a tripod. Since this longer lens will show less of the surrounding areas as it “zooms” closer into whatever is in front, you will need to sit further back, away from your camera.
Now that you’re further away from your camera, a camera-mounted shotgun mic may not be the best mic for you. For better sound recording, you’ll need a shotgun mic fixed on a mic stand that is set up like a boom mic, positioned just outside of your camera frame.
At the 39 second mark of the above video, electronic music producer deadmau5 is positioned right in the center of this particular set-up.
You can see from how even the background and couch looks across the entire camera frame that there is no distortion or enhanced perspective.
It appears that, to the right of deadmau5 (camera left), there is a key light and to his left (camera right) there may be a fill light for additional lighting. Behind the couch, there’s also a background uplight to create depth between the subject and the background. At the 1:30 mark of this trailer video, you can briefly see how the Masterclass camera crew set up their shot.
3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up
If your talking-head shot has got to include two people, you can use a similar set-up as the medium vlog set-up detailed above.
If you look back at the 39-second mark of deadmau5’s Masterclass trailer, you can see that there’s a lot of space to the left and right of deadmau5. Now imagine the same shot but with two people.
With two people, though, you’ll want to set up your mic slightly differently. Rather than using a directional shotgun mic with a narrow area of sensitivity, you’ll want to use a directional mic with a wider area of sensitivity.
4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up
If you want to read over a script but still make it appear like you’re looking straight into the camera, you’ll need to use a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
For this set-up, you’ll need all the same equipment as the medium vlog set-up, but you’ll additionally need a teleprompter placed in front of your camera equipped with a long telephoto lens.
You will have to sit much further back away from your camera for two main reasons. Firstly, you want to be able to fit yourself in your much more zoomed-in camera frame (effect of the long telephoto lens). Secondly, you want to be far enough that the camera cannot detect your eyes reading from left to right. You’ll want to be around six meters away from a 17” teleprompter monitor or around four meters away from a 10” teleprompter monitor.
In the above video, Jared Polin uses a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
In the video, he says there’s about 8 feet (2.4 meters) between himself and his lens. At the 1:15 mark of his video, Jared demonstrates how this set-up works.
It is difficult to know whether the movement in his eyes is caused by not being far enough from the lens or from his horizontal nystagmus condition in his eyes.
Looking to find the right lights for your video recording set? Check out our Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Tips for Making a Talking Head Video Better
To make a talking-head video more interesting, you can add some background music to the video, apply some interesting texts or elements. Filmora has built-in royalty-free music tracks and sound effects as well as text templates , filters and motivating elements. Download the free trial version below and release your creativity.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
A big part of being a YouTuber involves talking to the camera. How you set up your talking-head shot depends on many factors, including how much space you have, what kind of look you’re going for, and how many people you want to fit in one frame. Here are four ways to set up your talking-head shots for YouTube.
Table of Contents 1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up2. Medium Vlog Set-Up3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up |
---|
How to Set Up Your Talking Heads Shots for YouTube Video [Infographic]
We’ve summarized the key points about setting up talking head style video shots with the Infographic below. It is welcomed to share on social media.
How to Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots for YouTube [4 Ways]
1. Close Quarters Wide-Angle Vlog Set-Up
Don’t have a lot of space to set up your camera and lighting equipment? No problem! You can be within an arm’s length away from your camera with a close quarters wide-angle vlog set-up.
With this set-up, you’re going to need a camera with a wide-angle lens, a tripod, a camera-mounted shotgun mic for sound, and a ring light for light.
Set your camera on the tripod and mount the shotgun mic directly on the camera shoe (the electronic bracket on the top of the camera). Inside the circular space of your ring light, position your camera right in the middle of it so that you can shoot your video through it without getting any part of the lighting equipment in your shot.
In the video above, Sean Cannell demonstrates this set-up. As you can see from this example, the wide-angle lens is able to squeeze in a lot of what’s in front of the camera into the shot.
Objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame will appear more stretched out as the wide-angle causes distortion and enhances perspectives.
If you look closely into Sean’s eyes, you can also see a specular highlight in the shape of a circle. Many people like the way eyes look against a ring light.
2. Medium Vlog Set-Up
If you have more space and want to shoot a more professional-looking talking-head shot with more realistic perspectives, a medium vlog set-up may be a better alternative for you.
For this set-up, you’ll be using a slightly longer standard/normal lens (like a 35mm or a 50mm lens) attached to your camera which would be set on a tripod. Since this longer lens will show less of the surrounding areas as it “zooms” closer into whatever is in front, you will need to sit further back, away from your camera.
Now that you’re further away from your camera, a camera-mounted shotgun mic may not be the best mic for you. For better sound recording, you’ll need a shotgun mic fixed on a mic stand that is set up like a boom mic, positioned just outside of your camera frame.
At the 39 second mark of the above video, electronic music producer deadmau5 is positioned right in the center of this particular set-up.
You can see from how even the background and couch looks across the entire camera frame that there is no distortion or enhanced perspective.
It appears that, to the right of deadmau5 (camera left), there is a key light and to his left (camera right) there may be a fill light for additional lighting. Behind the couch, there’s also a background uplight to create depth between the subject and the background. At the 1:30 mark of this trailer video, you can briefly see how the Masterclass camera crew set up their shot.
3. Two Person Vlog Set-Up
If your talking-head shot has got to include two people, you can use a similar set-up as the medium vlog set-up detailed above.
If you look back at the 39-second mark of deadmau5’s Masterclass trailer, you can see that there’s a lot of space to the left and right of deadmau5. Now imagine the same shot but with two people.
With two people, though, you’ll want to set up your mic slightly differently. Rather than using a directional shotgun mic with a narrow area of sensitivity, you’ll want to use a directional mic with a wider area of sensitivity.
4. Long Teleprompter Vlog Set-Up
If you want to read over a script but still make it appear like you’re looking straight into the camera, you’ll need to use a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
For this set-up, you’ll need all the same equipment as the medium vlog set-up, but you’ll additionally need a teleprompter placed in front of your camera equipped with a long telephoto lens.
You will have to sit much further back away from your camera for two main reasons. Firstly, you want to be able to fit yourself in your much more zoomed-in camera frame (effect of the long telephoto lens). Secondly, you want to be far enough that the camera cannot detect your eyes reading from left to right. You’ll want to be around six meters away from a 17” teleprompter monitor or around four meters away from a 10” teleprompter monitor.
In the above video, Jared Polin uses a long teleprompter vlog set-up.
In the video, he says there’s about 8 feet (2.4 meters) between himself and his lens. At the 1:15 mark of his video, Jared demonstrates how this set-up works.
It is difficult to know whether the movement in his eyes is caused by not being far enough from the lens or from his horizontal nystagmus condition in his eyes.
Looking to find the right lights for your video recording set? Check out our Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Tips for Making a Talking Head Video Better
To make a talking-head video more interesting, you can add some background music to the video, apply some interesting texts or elements. Filmora has built-in royalty-free music tracks and sound effects as well as text templates , filters and motivating elements. Download the free trial version below and release your creativity.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
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- Title: "2024 Approved Create Standout Videos with These Top 7 Free Thumbnail Builders"
- Author: Kevin
- Created at : 2024-05-25 14:25:01
- Updated at : 2024-05-26 14:25:01
- Link: https://youtube-videos.techidaily.com/2024-approved-create-standout-videos-with-these-top-7-free-thumbnail-builders/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.