I’ve asked a few times on my Instagram if anyone was interested in starting vlogging. And a lot of times I have people reach out who are interested, but almost always they say that they don’t know what to vlog. I think that this can be one of the most daunting things to think about when starting a vlog or YouTube channel. In today’s post I want to talk a bit about how you can use video to create a story, document your every day, and ultimately store these memories for you to relive and rewatch in the future.
On my husband and I’s vlog channel we post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and sometimes coming up with new content can be hard. Our vlog focuses a lot on memory keeping and capturing things just to retain memories, but not every day do we have something that we would consider extravagant or super entertaining and fun going on. We love that we have our vlog channel so we can document things like Christmas and Purdue Mom’s Weekend and when we got a new kitten, but having something to vlog in the standard day-to-day can be hard.
That being said, I think the every day boring vlogs are the most important to document. While your “normal” vlogs might not stand out as much as these other “big event” vlogs, they’re still going to be great memories. In 10 years you will be able to look back and see what you did on a normal day.
Start each vlog with a good morning clip.
Pick up the camera while you’re getting ready, plop it in a tripod on your dashboard while you’re driving to work, or give a quick update before you head into the office. No matter what, you’re going to want a nice welcoming greeting in your vlog when you’re trying to outline the story of your day.
For me, I have the freedom to work from home. My good morning clip isn’t always in the morning, but it’s always a friendly greeting to whomever is watching the vlog. Each good morning clip is going to change from person to person based on what you are doing, what kind of story you want to tell that day, and who your vlog audience is.
Show what you’re doing at work.
So after you’ve said hello, and you’ve laid out the foundation for the start of your day, the next step is to show what you’re doing. This is my favorite time to insert montage footage of me getting stuff done whether that’s at work in my office, doing stuff at my house, or running errands around town.
If you work in an office setting this does not by any means need to be invasive or intrusive on your coworkers at all! My previous job was in a health care business that focused a lot on privacy, and not once did I ever come close to breaking any of those standards. Honestly, I can probably say that not a one of my coworkers knew that I was recording during my work day. This is because I did simple and discrete clips like a montage of me typing, clips during my lunch break, or private moments when I was away from my desk.
Structure your vlog around your to-do list.
When you feel like you have nothing to vlog usually you still have a list of to-dos or other things that you have to accomplish that day. Whether it’s as simple as just picking up the house and doing the dishes, or as busy as running to the store and meeting with people about work, you can bring a vlog camera along and take the viewer through your day.
If you’re brand new to vlogging, be sure to check out my Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Vlogging ebook. Click the button below to sign up for my email newsletters and receive the ebook for free!
Understand that it’s okay to film too much.
When you feel like you have nothing to vlog, often times we gravitate towards vlogging everything because we just don’t know what’s good. This is exactly how you learn! Pick up the camera, vlog everything that you can, because in the end you can decide which clips go together to create the story you want. The more footage you have, the more options you have when it comes time to edit your vlog together. And then, later on when you become better and better at knowing your story and what you want to film then you will begin to film less and less but make better stories with just the footage you are capturing.
Right now, one of the most important parts for a beginner is just picking it up and getting used to the camera. Most likely the reason you think you have nothing to vlog is because you’re not used to the camera, talking to it, and understanding how to set it up to capture the moments of your every day. Life is worth filming, so you just have to get comfortable with your camera in order to start filming your life.
Errands are some of the best things you can film.
It’s you getting out of the house, moving, and being out and about. And a lot of times that’s all we do in our daily lives is run the necessary errands. This is also a perfect time to touch on vlogging in public. It’s definitely weird. This goes hand in hand with getting comfortable in front of your camera, but also adds another element of getting comfortable in front of your camera in front of other people too! When you’re out running errands or out in public in any way, there’s often fun things you want to vlog but you’re scared in front of other people. I totally get this!! And I’m not saying that vlogging in public is something that you have to do, but I want to offer reassurance that it really gets better the more you do it and the more comfortable you are with your camera.
My biggest tip for filming in public would be to look at the camera. Don’t look at the people around you! As soon as you make eye contact with someone who is thinking you’re a weirdo is the moment that you yourself will suddenly feel like a weirdo.
So, in conclusion, vlogging is all about just getting comfortable with the camera, sharing your every day (even if it’s as simple as sharing what’s on your to-do list), and taking the viewer along with you as you fill them in on the story of what’s going on. Obviously things like when my little sister goes to prom, or when we go to Chicago for the marathon are going to be “more fun” to vlog. Those things are big ticket items that definitely making memory keeping fun to do, but don’t forget that it’s important to document the average days too. You want to remember what life was like when you were 25, so don’t forget to store those memories by vlogging!
When you’re vlogging, just remember to vlog what you want to see. Yeah, you’re making content for a viewer, but if you don’t enjoy your story first then they can’t follow along either. Vlogging when you have nothing to vlog is all about just sharing the highlights of your day that you want to remember.
