Being a vlogger is one of the best professions in this world. A vlogger is one who creates video-based blogs on various subjects. I would definitely find it more entertaining to read video-based blogs than text-based blogs. Yes, a good camera is definitely one of the first things I would pack in my bag if I set out on my vlogging pursuits. What other things would I love to have as part of my packing list? Read on to know more about the items that should be part of any vlogger’s packing list – beginners or professionals.
Microphones
Imagine yourself in this situation – you enter into a website to read interesting content, but all that is presented to you is a piece of poorly-written, error-filled content. Don’t you feel cheated? Won’t you vow to yourself that you would never visit that site again? The same thing happens to your vlog channel if the audio quality of your piece is not great. I am a travel enthusiast, and I have visited many vlog channels only to come out sooner than I thought because the travel videos weren’t clear or because I couldn’t hear properly what the vlogger explained while he presented his piece.
This is why you need to pack a good quality microphone in your packing as one of the first items. Ensure that you do considerable research before buying microphones. I recommend you invest in good noise-cancellation microphones so that you can record your vlogs clearly and present professionally. This way, your content wouldn’t be marred by the jarring external sounds or disturbances as well
Cameras
One of the first things that have to be packed in a travel vlogger’s bag is the camera. While there are hundreds of varieties of cameras that you can find in the market, I would recommend you to look for weightless and mirrorless cameras. You don’t want to be travelling around with a mountain of equipment, do you? You need to be comfortable when you are travelling to various places, and a lightweight camera will do the trick for you.
Look for compact cameras with no mirrors, because these will give you superior image quality as well. Mirrorless cameras, especially, give you great company, when you are shooting in light-challenged environments. While they are not as small as the pocket or compact cameras, the mirrorless cameras still do a great job in offering you a wide range of features such as an interchangeable lens and large sensors! If you are not going to shoot your video in the nights, a compact camera might be a great choice for you.
Tripod
As a vlogger, I would want to securely place my camera on a stand while shooting pictures so that I get the focus, contrast and quality right. No vlogger would want to walk around carrying a camera (however compact it is!) in his hand. This is why the tripod becomes the next important and necessary item in a travel vlogger’s packing list. Expert vloggers have been advocating the use of gorillapods, because of the flexibility and durability they offer. With the right size of gorillapod in place, you can rest assured that your camera is nicely set. Hence, you may proceed to focus on the quality of audio, video and other aspects of your content to make it attractive for your target audiences.
Mobiles, memory cards, hard discs and the like
As you keep shooting your videos and interesting shots, you would want to keep moving them to an external hard drive so that it doesn’t occupy your laptop’s internal storage too much, wouldn’t you? Ensure that you carry your storage cards, card readers, backups of external drives, mobile, batteries, etc. so that you don’t get stuck anywhere in the midst of a video shoot. Ensure that all your electronic devices are fully charged, so that they can be trusted on, during contingencies. You should also carry good quality headphones with you so that you can use them while watching or editing your videos.
Lighting Kit
If you want your video blogs to be a hit among your target audiences, you have to ensure that you make top-quality videos. We saw in the previous sections how it is important to have proper audio and quality of the pictures in your content. Let me tell you something honestly from my personal experience – irrespective of the sound quality, I do get turned off when I see dark videos with shadows moving all over the place. The audio may be great and crystal-clear, but when the visuals don’t justify that quality, it is a major let-down for me. I am sure; you would also agree with me.
So, I would recommend that you invest in a lighting kit that is very basic and ideally designed for beginners if you are just starting out on your vlogging passion. With this kit, you will be able to position a couple of soft-light sources in front of you while shooting the videos. This kit will combine the natural light of the environment as well and help you create a good-quality video that is not only clear but bright as well. As you get more experience in your vlogging career, you may know better to use 1 or 2 or more soft-light sources, as per your requirement. However, in the initial stages, a basic soft-light source kit is essential for you
Apps and software that help in editing
What good is your vlog if it isn’t edited well? Gone are the days when you had to manually run and re-run your videos to edit them wherever it was needed. Today, with the advent of technology, it is quite easy to make your vlog quite presentable for final publishing, within a few hours of creating it. You need to make maximum use of the technology and download various apps and software that help you edit your videos with just a touch of a button. More often than not, the software that you use would also suggest options that you could for editing, to make your vlog look professional and attractive. Take some time to go through these editing options and apply the relevant ones on your vlog to see the difference!
