Elevating Your Video’s Visual Impact: YoutubThumbnail Design on macOS

How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail On Mac

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

As a Youtuber, the first thing you would want is to achieve is a high number of views on your videos. One of the most crucial factors that determine whether the video will be a success or not is the thumbnail.

You need to design an attractive youtube custom thumbnail as it can up your game and get you significantly more views. this calls for you to exercise your artistic skills to the best, to be able to create thumbnails that make it almost irresistible for the viewers to scroll down without watching the video.

However, if you are wondering how that can be achieved then fret no longer for this article will explain the simple process of creating youtube thumbnails easily. All you need is a capable thumbnail maker like FilmoraX that can do it all for you in one automagical flourish!

What is a Youtube Thumbnail?

A youtube thumbnail is a smaller version of the video, a snapshot that you choose as a preview of your video. A Thumbnail is extremely important because it is essentially the outer packaging of your video; its front cover.

Much like the cover of a book, a thumbnail has to be attractive so that it can tempt your potential viewers to stop and watch your video while they are scrolling on youtube.

thumbnails are a significant factor in determining the number of views a Youtuber gets on his videos.

If you don’t create a thumbnail then youtube will generate one by itself which may not be so enticing for viewers. The purpose of the thumbnail is to make your videos stand out among the rest so you need to pay attention to it!

How to make Youtube Thumbnails on Mac

You can easily create interesting thumbnails for youtube videos using a thumbnail maker likeFilmoraX . Here is a step by step guide:

1. Preview the video and choose the still snapshot

The first step in creating a thumbnail is to import the final video into the FilmoraX editor on your MacBook.

Then, use the thumbnail editor to play your video and choose the snapshot that you want to be appearing as your thumbnail.

You can easily choose the frame from the video or use the preview frame button to view the frames one by one!

2. Add text, shape, and image overlays

Once you’ve chosen the frame for the thumbnail, the next step would be to add text to it to catch the attention of the audience. You can also adjust the thumbnail size as per your requirement, however, the ideal size would be 1280x720 pixels with a minimum width of 640 pixels.

3. Add effects

FilmoraX has a wide range of effects that you can apply to your videos or pictures to make them look more attractive.

4. Save the thumbnail

After you are done with all the editing, the final step would be to save the youtube thumbnail by hitting the save button.

Once you save you’ll see how your thumbnail will feature on different platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

So, using this thumbnail maker you can easily create custom thumbnails for your videos!

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above-mentioned steps have given you enough insight and clarity on making creative and good youtube thumbnails. Using FilmoraX will further simplify the process for you with its amazing tools and features

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

As a Youtuber, the first thing you would want is to achieve is a high number of views on your videos. One of the most crucial factors that determine whether the video will be a success or not is the thumbnail.

You need to design an attractive youtube custom thumbnail as it can up your game and get you significantly more views. this calls for you to exercise your artistic skills to the best, to be able to create thumbnails that make it almost irresistible for the viewers to scroll down without watching the video.

However, if you are wondering how that can be achieved then fret no longer for this article will explain the simple process of creating youtube thumbnails easily. All you need is a capable thumbnail maker like FilmoraX that can do it all for you in one automagical flourish!

What is a Youtube Thumbnail?

A youtube thumbnail is a smaller version of the video, a snapshot that you choose as a preview of your video. A Thumbnail is extremely important because it is essentially the outer packaging of your video; its front cover.

Much like the cover of a book, a thumbnail has to be attractive so that it can tempt your potential viewers to stop and watch your video while they are scrolling on youtube.

thumbnails are a significant factor in determining the number of views a Youtuber gets on his videos.

If you don’t create a thumbnail then youtube will generate one by itself which may not be so enticing for viewers. The purpose of the thumbnail is to make your videos stand out among the rest so you need to pay attention to it!

How to make Youtube Thumbnails on Mac

You can easily create interesting thumbnails for youtube videos using a thumbnail maker likeFilmoraX . Here is a step by step guide:

1. Preview the video and choose the still snapshot

The first step in creating a thumbnail is to import the final video into the FilmoraX editor on your MacBook.

Then, use the thumbnail editor to play your video and choose the snapshot that you want to be appearing as your thumbnail.

You can easily choose the frame from the video or use the preview frame button to view the frames one by one!

2. Add text, shape, and image overlays

Once you’ve chosen the frame for the thumbnail, the next step would be to add text to it to catch the attention of the audience. You can also adjust the thumbnail size as per your requirement, however, the ideal size would be 1280x720 pixels with a minimum width of 640 pixels.

3. Add effects

FilmoraX has a wide range of effects that you can apply to your videos or pictures to make them look more attractive.

4. Save the thumbnail

After you are done with all the editing, the final step would be to save the youtube thumbnail by hitting the save button.

Once you save you’ll see how your thumbnail will feature on different platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

So, using this thumbnail maker you can easily create custom thumbnails for your videos!

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above-mentioned steps have given you enough insight and clarity on making creative and good youtube thumbnails. Using FilmoraX will further simplify the process for you with its amazing tools and features

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

As a Youtuber, the first thing you would want is to achieve is a high number of views on your videos. One of the most crucial factors that determine whether the video will be a success or not is the thumbnail.

You need to design an attractive youtube custom thumbnail as it can up your game and get you significantly more views. this calls for you to exercise your artistic skills to the best, to be able to create thumbnails that make it almost irresistible for the viewers to scroll down without watching the video.

However, if you are wondering how that can be achieved then fret no longer for this article will explain the simple process of creating youtube thumbnails easily. All you need is a capable thumbnail maker like FilmoraX that can do it all for you in one automagical flourish!

What is a Youtube Thumbnail?

A youtube thumbnail is a smaller version of the video, a snapshot that you choose as a preview of your video. A Thumbnail is extremely important because it is essentially the outer packaging of your video; its front cover.

Much like the cover of a book, a thumbnail has to be attractive so that it can tempt your potential viewers to stop and watch your video while they are scrolling on youtube.

thumbnails are a significant factor in determining the number of views a Youtuber gets on his videos.

If you don’t create a thumbnail then youtube will generate one by itself which may not be so enticing for viewers. The purpose of the thumbnail is to make your videos stand out among the rest so you need to pay attention to it!

How to make Youtube Thumbnails on Mac

You can easily create interesting thumbnails for youtube videos using a thumbnail maker likeFilmoraX . Here is a step by step guide:

1. Preview the video and choose the still snapshot

The first step in creating a thumbnail is to import the final video into the FilmoraX editor on your MacBook.

Then, use the thumbnail editor to play your video and choose the snapshot that you want to be appearing as your thumbnail.

You can easily choose the frame from the video or use the preview frame button to view the frames one by one!

2. Add text, shape, and image overlays

Once you’ve chosen the frame for the thumbnail, the next step would be to add text to it to catch the attention of the audience. You can also adjust the thumbnail size as per your requirement, however, the ideal size would be 1280x720 pixels with a minimum width of 640 pixels.

3. Add effects

FilmoraX has a wide range of effects that you can apply to your videos or pictures to make them look more attractive.

4. Save the thumbnail

After you are done with all the editing, the final step would be to save the youtube thumbnail by hitting the save button.

Once you save you’ll see how your thumbnail will feature on different platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

So, using this thumbnail maker you can easily create custom thumbnails for your videos!

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above-mentioned steps have given you enough insight and clarity on making creative and good youtube thumbnails. Using FilmoraX will further simplify the process for you with its amazing tools and features

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

As a Youtuber, the first thing you would want is to achieve is a high number of views on your videos. One of the most crucial factors that determine whether the video will be a success or not is the thumbnail.

You need to design an attractive youtube custom thumbnail as it can up your game and get you significantly more views. this calls for you to exercise your artistic skills to the best, to be able to create thumbnails that make it almost irresistible for the viewers to scroll down without watching the video.

However, if you are wondering how that can be achieved then fret no longer for this article will explain the simple process of creating youtube thumbnails easily. All you need is a capable thumbnail maker like FilmoraX that can do it all for you in one automagical flourish!

What is a Youtube Thumbnail?

A youtube thumbnail is a smaller version of the video, a snapshot that you choose as a preview of your video. A Thumbnail is extremely important because it is essentially the outer packaging of your video; its front cover.

Much like the cover of a book, a thumbnail has to be attractive so that it can tempt your potential viewers to stop and watch your video while they are scrolling on youtube.

thumbnails are a significant factor in determining the number of views a Youtuber gets on his videos.

If you don’t create a thumbnail then youtube will generate one by itself which may not be so enticing for viewers. The purpose of the thumbnail is to make your videos stand out among the rest so you need to pay attention to it!

How to make Youtube Thumbnails on Mac

You can easily create interesting thumbnails for youtube videos using a thumbnail maker likeFilmoraX . Here is a step by step guide:

1. Preview the video and choose the still snapshot

The first step in creating a thumbnail is to import the final video into the FilmoraX editor on your MacBook.

Then, use the thumbnail editor to play your video and choose the snapshot that you want to be appearing as your thumbnail.

You can easily choose the frame from the video or use the preview frame button to view the frames one by one!

2. Add text, shape, and image overlays

Once you’ve chosen the frame for the thumbnail, the next step would be to add text to it to catch the attention of the audience. You can also adjust the thumbnail size as per your requirement, however, the ideal size would be 1280x720 pixels with a minimum width of 640 pixels.

3. Add effects

FilmoraX has a wide range of effects that you can apply to your videos or pictures to make them look more attractive.

4. Save the thumbnail

After you are done with all the editing, the final step would be to save the youtube thumbnail by hitting the save button.

Once you save you’ll see how your thumbnail will feature on different platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

So, using this thumbnail maker you can easily create custom thumbnails for your videos!

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above-mentioned steps have given you enough insight and clarity on making creative and good youtube thumbnails. Using FilmoraX will further simplify the process for you with its amazing tools and features

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

From Everyday Snaps to Professional Videos - The Top 9 Mobile Filmmaking Gadgets

Smartphone Camera Accessories Vloggers Should Try to Improve Recording

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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