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"How to Skip the Slip-Ups The 8 Must-Avoid Mistakes for New YouTube Stars"
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How to Skip the Slip-Ups: The 8 Must-Avoid Mistakes for New YouTube Stars
8 Mistakes People Should Avoid as a New YouTuber
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.
1. Failing to have a long-term vision
One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!
If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.
2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL
Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.
Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.
3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched
Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.
Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.
As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.
4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy
New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.
Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.
5. Making weak intros
After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.
New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.
To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”
6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers
An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.
Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.
7. Not promoting with social media
YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.
New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.
8. Spamming comments
Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.
But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.
Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.
1. Failing to have a long-term vision
One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!
If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.
2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL
Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.
Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.
3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched
Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.
Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.
As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.
4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy
New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.
Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.
5. Making weak intros
After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.
New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.
To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”
6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers
An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.
Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.
7. Not promoting with social media
YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.
New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.
8. Spamming comments
Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.
But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.
Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.
1. Failing to have a long-term vision
One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!
If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.
2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL
Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.
Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.
3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched
Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.
Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.
As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.
4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy
New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.
Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.
5. Making weak intros
After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.
New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.
To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”
6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers
An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.
Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.
7. Not promoting with social media
YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.
New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.
8. Spamming comments
Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.
But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.
Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.
1. Failing to have a long-term vision
One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!
If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.
2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL
Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.
Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.
3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched
Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.
Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.
As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.
4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy
New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.
Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.
5. Making weak intros
After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.
New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.
To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”
6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers
An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.
Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.
7. Not promoting with social media
YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.
New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.
8. Spamming comments
Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.
But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.
Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Crafting Journeys: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Travel Content Creators
How To Become A Travel Vlogger | The Ultimate Guide of Travel Vlogging
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CanonEOSM50 | ![]() |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | ![]() |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
GoProHero6 Black | ![]() |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM100 | ![]() |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS6D Mark II | ![]() |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonEOS RebelSL2 | ![]() |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
CanonEOS RebelT7i | ![]() |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM6 | ![]() |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | ![]() |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | ![]() |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | ![]() |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS80D | ![]() |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | ![]() |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
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1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
---|---|
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2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
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3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
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4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
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5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
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6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
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7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
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These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
---|---|
OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
---|---|---|
Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CanonEOSM50 | ![]() |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | ![]() |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
GoProHero6 Black | ![]() |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM100 | ![]() |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS6D Mark II | ![]() |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonEOS RebelSL2 | ![]() |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
CanonEOS RebelT7i | ![]() |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM6 | ![]() |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | ![]() |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | ![]() |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | ![]() |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS80D | ![]() |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | ![]() |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
![]() |
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
---|---|
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2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
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3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
![]() |
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
![]() |
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
![]() |
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
![]() |
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
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![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
---|---|
OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
---|---|---|
Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CanonEOSM50 | ![]() |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | ![]() |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
GoProHero6 Black | ![]() |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM100 | ![]() |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS6D Mark II | ![]() |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonEOS RebelSL2 | ![]() |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
CanonEOS RebelT7i | ![]() |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM6 | ![]() |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | ![]() |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | ![]() |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | ![]() |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS80D | ![]() |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | ![]() |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
![]() |
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
---|---|
![]() |
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
![]() |
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
![]() |
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
![]() |
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
![]() |
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
![]() |
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
---|---|
OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
---|---|---|
Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CanonEOSM50 | ![]() |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | ![]() |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
GoProHero6 Black | ![]() |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM100 | ![]() |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS6D Mark II | ![]() |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonEOS RebelSL2 | ![]() |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
CanonEOS RebelT7i | ![]() |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
CanonEOSM6 | ![]() |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | ![]() |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | ![]() |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | ![]() |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
CanonEOS80D | ![]() |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | ![]() |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
![]() |
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
---|---|
![]() |
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
![]() |
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
![]() |
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
![]() |
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
![]() |
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
![]() |
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
---|---|
OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
---|---|---|
Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
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- Title: "How to Skip the Slip-Ups The 8 Must-Avoid Mistakes for New YouTube Stars"
- Author: Kevin
- Created at : 2024-05-25 15:20:19
- Updated at : 2024-05-26 15:20:19
- Link: https://youtube-videos.techidaily.com/how-to-skip-the-slip-ups-the-8-must-avoid-mistakes-for-new-youtube-stars/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.