If you have a mirrorless or DSLR camera, kind of like this one, and
you want to know, how do I actually use this for YouTube videos?
Like how do I set it up?
What are the right settings?
How do I make sure that I look pro in my YouTube videos, even if I'm not a pro.
My name is Meredith Marsh and in this video, I'm going to show you the exact
settings that I use for a basic YouTube setup for a talking head video, I'm using
a Canon mirrorless camera, and this is the Canon R 10, but these settings are
going to work no matter what camera you're using, it's pretty universal.
Now I don't want to scare you with a bunch of camera jargon right off the bat so we
are going to dive into automatic mode and then i'll share a few tricks for manual
mode too because it's not as hard as it seems but the basic setup is the same
whether you're shooting in auto or manual.
So I'm going to get my camera set up here so that you can actually see the screen.
And I want to be very clear.
This is for YouTube beginners for getting started with creating
YouTube videos with a camera.
I'm only showing the basics.
I'm not going through every single menu item because this is all
very universal, no matter what brand camera that you're using.
So, first of all, you want to make sure your camera is in
video mode, not photo mode.
So at the top of my Canon here, you can see on my mode dial, I have it
set to that little video camera there.
Now, if you're using a Canon and your menu setup is similar to
mine, you have shooting mode here and you want to make sure that
it is set to movie auto exposure.
Not the one with the M that would be manual.
You want to make sure it's on auto and that way we have all of our
automatic settings set up here.
Then you're going to tap a movie record size.
So you have a few options here and these are important.
This is your resolution and your frame rate.
So if you're creating a basic YouTube video, a basic talking head
like this, I recommend sticking with 1080, 30 frames per second.
you can see, I have mine selected at FHD 29.97 and at the top it says we're
shooting in 1920 by 1080, 29.97 FPS.
That's a 30 frames per second.
And that's exactly where I want it to be.
So I'm going to choose okay down there at the bottom.
Now, if your camera shoots in 4k, which in this day and age, it probably does.
You can choose to shoot in 4k if you want to, your file sizes are going
to be a lot bigger and depending on the speed and the ability of your
computer, it may take longer for you to actually edit those videos.
That's why I like to stick with 1080.
Especially if you're just trying to figure things out.
Moving down here in the menu under sound recording.
If you're planning on using the embedded onboard mic of your
camera, that's fine, as long as you're not that far away from it.
If you're a ways from the camera it's going to, it's going to
try and pick up everything...
The wind, your HVAC, the dog barking down the road.
So, if you're going to vlog where you hold the camera in front of you
and it's going to be an arm's length away, it's probably okay for that.
Otherwise, you may want to use an external mic.
Like I use the DJI mic and it's a wireless mic that's attached to my camera.
So if you're going to use the embedded microphone, just go
ahead and put yours on auto.
But if you're using an external mic, you want this to be on manual.
Now I don't want to get into every single audio setting.
I do have a video for that, which I will link to down below.
But depending on the mic you're using, you're going to want to plug it in,
set it up, turn it on, try it out, speak in a regular voice and then
adjust the microphone settings to that.
That way it's not too quiet and it's not too loud because those things are
going to be really hard to edit when you get into your editing software.
It's better to record good audio when you're recording,
then try to edit it later.
The next setting I want to talk about is your white balance.
So I tend to leave mine on auto, even if I'm shooting in manual mode, it's
just always on auto white balance.
I've played around with white balance a lot, especially when my walls were
a different color, and I decided I'm not gonna mess with this anymore.
I'm just going to let the camera do its thing.
As you can see, I have some lighting in the back here.
I have a window over here that has a little bit of sunlight coming in today.
I have an Elgato keylight behind my camera.
That's giving me a nice blast of light here.
And then I have a lamp over here, and these are a little bit
more kind of on the orangy side.
I like a warmer tone for my lights.
So like I said, I just keep it on auto white balance and
let the camera figure it out.
And I don't have to worry about what my white balance is going to be if
I set up a different light or if the sun is shining differently that day.
And if this video is helpful so far, make sure to hit that subscribe button so you
can learn more about creating pro looking videos, even if you're not a pro, this
is a secret that can stay between us.
I'm going to move over in the menu to auto-focus.
The Canon cameras that I have always used have fantastic autofocus
where they focus on your face.
If you move around, if you move back or forward, it stays focused on your face.
If you're going to do a talking head video, you probably want that to happen.
So, depending on what your camera menu looks like, you want to make sure that
you have it set to track your face.
And I also have my eye detection enabled too, so that it can detect my eyes.
And then I want to move all the way over to the wrench menu here,
because there is a setting in cameras that really trips people up.
It's the video is system setting and there's a setting for NTSC
and there's a setting for PAL.
And if you're in the United States, you want yours to be set for NTSC.
If you're in the UK, you want it to be set for PAL.
If you're not sure which one you should be on, just Google it.
If you do switch it to pal, then you won't have the same frame rate options
as I do so I mentioned, I like to shoot at 1080, 30 frames per second.
You would have 1080, 25 frames per second.
There are so many different settings here in the camera.
this is just the basics.
You could from here set up your shot.
Get it framed.
Right?
Turn on your lights, get yourself in front of it and start
recording the way that it is.
Things like your ISO, your shutter speed, your aperture.
It's all going to set for you automatically because you're in auto mode.
If you want to take the extra step and move it into manual mode.
Now, a lot of people get a little freaked out talking about shooting in manual mode.
And if you're thinking like a photographer or if you've ever learned
about photography shooting in manual mode, It's a lot more complicated
for photography than it is for video, especially if you're shooting a
talking head video in your space.
And you don't really have to change many of the settings once they're set.
So in my menu over here, up in the top, I'm going to tap that little.
Video camera.
And I'm going to choose the video camera with the M next to it.
And that's going to give us a few more settings to work with here.
Inside of the video manual mode.
Welcome to the dark side.
I'm just kidding.
It's really not that complicated.
Everything we just talked about, stays the same.
Resolution, frame rate, sound recording, white balance,
auto-focus, NTSC versus PAL.
But now, as you can see here at the bottom of our touch screen, we have the ability
to change things like the shutter speed, the f-stop or aperture, and the ISO.
Plus you have this handy meter down here that tells you if
you're properly exposed or not.
Now, I think the best way for me to show you this in real time is to
record my self and my camera settings.
So you can see what this actually looks like for a talking head video.
All right.
So you should be able to see me here now.
I'm using a different camera than the one I was showing you.
And this is my main setup.
So this is a Canon m50 Mark 2, I have a Sigma 16 millimeter lens here.
It's a little bit of a fancy lens.
It's not super expensive.
But I'll explain why I use that instead of the lens that comes
with my camera in just a minute.
You can see my exposure meter here.
So you can see it's right there in the middle.
So everything is perfectly exposed the way that it is.
Of course it is.
I've set this up to record a YouTube video.
So how do we get there?
So right here, we have our shutter speed.
Your shutter speed should be basically double your frame rate.
So you have one 60th.
We have 30 frames per second.
So 30 doubled is 60 so it's one 60th.
Easy peasy.
Now this next number over here is your f-stop or your aperture.
And this can get a little bit confusing because it depends on the lens that you're
using and not so much on your camera.
So the lens I'm using here, the Sigma lens goes down to
an F 1.4, which is pretty low.
And the R 10 that I had out just a few minutes ago only goes down to a 3.5.
So if you're using a camera that you just bought off of Amazon or
Walmart or wherever, and it just has the lens that came with the camera.
It probably only goes down to 3.5 or maybe even 4.5.
Why does this matter?
There's a big difference between say an f-stop of 1.4 and an F stop of say 4.4
and it has to do with light and focus.
So the lower, the number.
The more light can come into your camera.
Light is what allows a camera to be a camera.
It needs lots and lots of light to make the image and an actually do its thing.
So particularly in a space where you're at home and you don't have a lot of
room for a bunch of studio lights.
You don't have a big budget for studio lights.
Having a lens that can go to those lower f-stops is really, really helpful.
The other thing that the f-stop does is changes your focus.
So a lot of people ask, how do I get a blurry background they're using their
phone, or they're using their camera with the lens that came with it and
they want their background to be blurry.
And I don't blame you.
I love, I love a blurry background.
I always like to say, if I can read the books behind you, then.
You're either too close to your background or you need to adjust your f-stop.
So, because I record here in my tiny office.
I want to create as much depth as possible because these shelves are right behind me.
I can touch them, but yet they're nice and blurry behind me.
So they look like I have a little bit more depth.
And the way that that's happening is because I have a lens that goes down.
Now I'm at 2.0 here.
If I were to go all the way down to 1.4.
That's a little bit too low.
The reason I know that is because it can probably, uh, focus on my nose.
but my hair and my shoulder and stuff will be out of focus.
So I want my whole body to be in focus.
So I like to be sitting right around two usually.
is going to depend on how much light you have.
What's going on in your background, how blurry you want it to be?
And the capability of the lens that you have Again, For
a talking head style video.
The last number that you're going to adjust the last part of the exposure
triangle, as they say is your ISO.
This controls how sensitive your camera is to light.
And I almost always have mine set to auto and sometimes the exposure
will fluctuate in my videos.
The thing is, remember, we're talking about how to look pro on
camera without actually being a pro.
If I was actually a pro I would black out my, my window so that
I could completely control the lighting situation in this room.
The problem with that is I'm not a vampire.
I like to have a little bit of natural light.
This isn't just a studio.
This is my actual office where I spend most of my day.
So I'm not going to black out my window.
That's why I keep it on auto.
If the sun moves, if the clouds move.
I let the camera and just kind of like do its thing, but usually
I would be down here around.
Uh, like 125 ish.
If I went any higher than that, like I'm at 160 right here.
It's probably a little too far.
No, it's right in the center there.
Eh, depends where I met in the frame, I guess.
So I'll just bring this back down to auto and we'll see where the camera puts it.
Is this making sense?
Your shutter speed doesn't change your f-stop depends on your lighting
and your whole setup situation.
And then the ISO is the very last thing.
You really want it to be the lowest number that you can.
To have the cleanest clearest image.
So try to be under like 400 under like 600.
If you get around to like 800 1200.
Then you might want to start thinking about getting some external lighting
sources or moving closer to a window.
Remember your camera needs to have that light in order to work and like
do its thing and work its magic.
So now you know how to great pro looking videos.
Without actually being a pro.
So you can grow your YouTube channel, look legit.
And if you're wondering about how to actually build your profitable
YouTube channel without spending forever, I set up a series over here
for you on how to do exactly that using the same systems and processes.
That I use myself and that I teach my clients and students.