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How to Make a Cooking Video – Overview
How to make a cooking video – Do you have a passion for cooking? Have you ever thought about sharing it through a vlog?
Like those cooking videos you see on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms but don’t know where and how to start?
Well, let me tell you, you don’t need to be an expert in video editing or in videos, in particular, to start and create cooking videos. Here are some tips and things that you’ll need to get you started.
5 Things You Will Need to Start Making Cooking Videos
1. First and foremost, you’ll need a camera. Ideally, 2 cameras. If you own a DSLR camera, that will be perfect.
A flip screen camera can give you a big advantage as you can easily see what’s being recorded in real-time. But if you don’t have it, no problem.
You can use your phone; just make sure the quality is great and make sure that you’re shooting at a 1080p setting minimum. Here is a handpicked list of the best cameras for cooking videos.
Canon 6D Mark II is one of the best cameras for making cooking videos.
2. You will also need a tripod. This will help you have a stable video while you shoot. Please don’t ask your family member to hold the camera for you. I mean, no one wants a shaky video. 🙂 There are tripods for DSLR, as well as tripods for phones.
3. You’ll need lights. One thing that discourages a viewer from watching a video is having dark, badly lit scenes.
Many Lighting Kits are available online if you’re serious about shooting at home. You can also do an inexpensive setup.
For light bulbs, you should get “soft” LED or CFL bulbs. Get a light stand as well, and overhead clip-on lights. If you want to use softboxes, you can do a homemade trick.
If you have a lamp, put wax paper over it so you can get a well-diffused light because the one thing you don’t want for these videos, especially for close-ups, is hard light Because you’re going to get harsh shadows you don’t want.
4. Mic, I think this is optional, but if you want to, you might want to get a boom that you can hang over what you’re cooking so it can pick up the sound.
Or you can just put music on your video when you edit it. Here is the list of the best microphones for cooking videos.
5. Video Editing Application. There is free software available. iMovie (free) for MAC, Windows Movie Maker (free) for PC, or Filmora Wondershare Editor (inexpensive and easy to use for beginners, for MAC & PC)
6 TIPS for the Production of Cooking Videos:
Once you’re equipped with all these, here are a few tips on making quality and helpful cooking videos that will do well online.
1. Camera Setup. If you’re planning to include yourself or the chef in the video, you’ll need to do 2 shoots. 1 is an angle focused on the chef.
And second, are close-up shots of the food being prepared and cooked. One of the most popular angles is the top view angle that you usually see online, such as the ones being done by Tasty.
If you make your edits seamless enough, it can look like the two shots are working together in real-time.
Or you can simply do a top view of everything, which gives your viewer a close-up look at everything that’s happening, and you can just add narration in the background of the video or a simple instructional text.
2. Have a clean and organized workspace. One of the biggest proponents of these videos is good set dressing. You don’t want a dirty cooking surface. You want cool, clean things to attract people to watch your videos.
3. Colors. Cooking videos feed the eyes of their viewers, and the goal is to make them crave and want to create your dish.
So, it’s important to keep the aesthetics of your ingredients and overall meal top of mind. If you’re creating a dish with very pale ingredients like creamy pasta, try garnishing it with herbs or shrimp, and use a colorful plate to put it on afterward.
Always correct the white balance before beginning to film. White balance ensures that all the colors being filmed are true.
The easiest way to do this is to hold up a white sheet of paper and adjust the white balance until the paper looks white.
4. What you wear is important. Don’t wear shirts with loud prints or white shirts as it mixes with the background. You want your viewers to focus on the food, not what you wear. Try wearing a bright but solid-colored outfit instead.
5. Remember that video of a moist cake being sliced, that burger oozing with cheese and mouth-watering patty, that gooey chocolate being drizzled on a dessert?
You need to have that. Make every shot as appetizing as it can be. You want people’s mouths to water when they watch your recipes being made!
6. Captions. I also watch cooking videos and one thing I appreciate the most is if the ingredients are written on the video.
Also, if you’re already typing in words to your videos, adding subtitles can be a big help, especially for those who have a hearing impairment.
Now that you have a good idea for making a cooking video, it is time to start creating. Grab your ingredients, prep your kitchen, and start cooking. But don’t forget to turn on that camera!
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