How to Shoot Video (Part I): Visuals
If you already know how to make a good photograph, you're closer to making a good video than you think. But there are a few things worth learning first.
I spent years learning how to make photographs before I really started exploring video. And while I was comfortable working with cameras, lighting, and composition, video introduced a completely different set of challenges.
Suddenly, I wasn't just thinking about how a single image looked. I had to think about how those images worked together over time.
How does the movement feel? What happens when the lighting changes during a shot? Why does something look beautiful on the camera screen and terrible when you start editing it?
And why does something as simple as changing your shutter speed make your footage look completely different?
If you've found yourself asking any of those questions, this is a good place to start.
This is Part I of my three-part introduction to shooting video with a DSLR or mirrorless camera. We're starting with the visuals: understanding what your camera captures and how to make deliberate creative decisions.
Video Is More Than a Moving Photograph.
At its most basic level, video is a series of images played back over time. Add sound, editing, and thoughtful storytelling, and those individual frames can become something much more compelling.
But before you get excited about buying a gimbal or making everything look cinematic, focus on capturing footage that actually helps tell your story.
A good place to begin is understanding the difference between A-roll and B-roll.
A-Roll.
A-roll is usually the footage that carries your primary narrative. Think interviews, explanations, or the main action in a scene.
If I'm producing a short film about a business owner, their interview might be the foundation of the story. It's what gives the audience context.
B-Roll.
B-roll gives the audience something to see while the story unfolds. It helps establish a location, demonstrate a process, and add context.
If that business owner talks about craftsmanship, I'd rather show their hands working than spend five minutes watching them describe it.
A-roll helps tell the story. B-roll helps you see it. And while those definitions aren't absolute, they're a useful way to start planning your footage.
Frame Rate: How Motion Feels.
Let's start with something you're probably already familiar with: photographs.
Video is created by capturing a series of individual frames and playing them back in rapid succession. The number of frames recorded every second is called your frame rate, or FPS.
This affects how motion is sampled and displayed. It also determines how much slow motion you can create when recording at a higher frame rate than your final timeline.
| Frame Rate | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| 24 FPS | Narrative filmmaking and cinematic-style projects. |
| 30 FPS | Online video, interviews, and general production. |
| 60 FPS | Smooth real-time motion or 2.5x slow motion on a 24 FPS timeline. |
| 120 FPS | High-frame-rate capture or 5x slow motion on a 24 FPS timeline. |
These are starting points, not creative restrictions.
The right frame rate depends on what you're shooting and how you intend to deliver it.
If I'm producing something with a more traditional cinematic feel, I'll often start with 24 FPS.
If I'm filming something that needs slow motion, I'll record additional footage at a higher frame rate and play it back on my normal timeline.
One important distinction: frame rate and motion blur aren't the same thing. A single still photograph can't demonstrate temporal smoothness by itself. The blur you see within a frame is primarily influenced by its exposure time, which brings us to shutter speed.
Resolution: More Detail, More Flexibility.
Resolution determines how many pixels your camera records in each frame.
The higher the resolution, the more spatial detail your footage can potentially capture.
That can give you more flexibility when editing, especially if you need to crop, straighten, or reframe your shot.
But here's something I wish more photographers understood: resolution and image quality aren't interchangeable.
A beautifully lit, properly exposed 1080p recording can look considerably better than poorly captured 8K footage.
Give Yourself Room to Reframe.
Imagine filming a commercial in 4K and delivering the final project in 1080p.
You may have enough extra resolution to crop closer to your subject without needing to reshoot the scene.
That's incredibly useful when you want both a wide and a tighter composition from the same setup.
Of course, higher resolution also means managing larger files and, depending on the recording format, a more demanding editing workflow.
Shoot for what the project actually needs, not because the largest number on the camera's spec sheet sounds impressive.
If your camera and computer can comfortably handle 4K, it's a useful format for many professional projects. Full HD remains a practical option, especially when delivery requirements and file sizes matter more than additional cropping room.
Exposure: Same Fundamentals, Different Priorities.
If you're coming from photography, the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO should feel familiar.
But when shooting video, there's an additional consideration: how those settings affect the continuity of your footage.
You still need to control exposure, but you also want motion to look the way you intended.
Depth of Field.
Aperture controls the light passing through the lens and influences how much of your scene appears in focus.
A wide aperture can isolate your subject. A smaller aperture can help keep more of the scene sharp.
Motion Blur.
Shutter speed determines how long each frame collects light.
Slower exposures introduce more motion blur. Faster exposures produce a sharper-looking frame.
Signal & Brightness.
ISO influences the recorded brightness through the camera's imaging and signal-processing system.
Higher settings can introduce more noise and may change dynamic-range performance.
Why I Usually Start Near Double My Frame Rate.
When you take a still photograph, you're generally free to choose whatever shutter speed works for the image you're creating.
With video, shutter speed also determines how much motion blur appears in every frame.
A practical starting point is to choose a shutter speed close to twice your frame rate.
| Recording | Shutter Starting Point |
|---|---|
| 24 FPS | 1/50 second |
| 30 FPS | 1/60 second |
| 60 FPS | 1/125 second |
| 120 FPS | 1/250 second |
These are practical approximations of a 180-degree shutter using common camera settings.
They're not rules that you can never break. Sometimes you want a fast, sharp, aggressive look. Other times you may want additional motion blur.
But before experimenting, understand what a more conventional shutter setting looks like.
If you're shooting outdoors at 24 FPS with a shutter speed of 1/50 second and want to keep your aperture wide, you might quickly find yourself overexposed. A neutral-density filter reduces the amount of light entering the lens without forcing you to change your intended shutter speed or depth of field.
White Balance: Consistency Matters.
If you've ever photographed someone beneath a mixture of daylight and artificial lighting, you already know how complicated color can become.
White balance tells your camera how to interpret the color of the light in a scene.
And when recording video, keeping that interpretation consistent can save you an enormous amount of frustration in editing.
Imagine recording an interview in a room with a large window. A cloud passes overhead, the room becomes slightly darker, and your camera decides it's time to change the white balance.
Now the person's skin tone looks different in the middle of the same recording.
That can be a headache to fix.
For controlled environments, I generally prefer a fixed Kelvin setting or a custom white balance. That helps prevent the camera from making unnecessary color adjustments during the shot.
Automatic white balance still has its uses, especially when conditions are changing quickly. The important thing is knowing when you want the camera making that decision and when you don't.
Picture Profiles: Know What You're Recording.
Picture styles and picture profiles influence how your camera records contrast, color, and tonal information.
Depending on your camera, you might encounter settings such as Standard, Neutral, Cine, S-Log, or HLG.
And if you've spent any time watching filmmaking tutorials, you've probably heard someone tell you that you absolutely need to shoot in Log.
You don't.
Log recording can be incredibly useful, but only when you understand what it requires and why you're choosing it.
Shoot for the Workflow You Actually Have.
If you're filming a straightforward project that needs minimal editing, a standard-looking profile may be exactly what you need.
If you're producing a commercial with a deliberate grading process, a Log workflow might make sense.
But shooting flat-looking footage doesn't automatically give you a more professional image.
Your exposure, white balance, recording format, and color management still matter.
Start with a workflow you can execute consistently. Then explore more advanced profiles when the project calls for them.
There's no single list of "native ISOs" that applies to every camera. Base ISO values and recording behavior depend on the specific model and picture profile you're using. Before copying someone else's settings, check the documentation for your camera.
A Simple Camera Setup Checklist.
At this point, I know I've thrown quite a bit of technical information at you.
The good news is that once you understand what each setting does, getting ready to record becomes relatively straightforward.
Here's how I'd approach a basic video setup.
Start with your intended delivery frame rate, such as 24 or 30 FPS. Record higher frame rates when you specifically need them.
Select a recording format that fits your project, computer, storage, and delivery needs.
Begin near the 180-degree shutter guideline unless the scene calls for a different motion effect.
Decide how much of the scene you want in focus and expose accordingly.
Use an appropriate ISO for your camera and profile. Add lighting or ND filtration when needed.
In controlled scenes, use a fixed color-temperature setting or custom white balance for consistent footage.
Record using a look and workflow you understand and can finish properly.
Confirm focus, exposure, audio, available media space, and that your camera is actually recording.
The Essential Video Settings Cheat Sheet.
I've put together a visual reference covering the settings we've discussed throughout this article.
Keep it somewhere you can refer to when you're preparing for your next video project. The examples are guidelines; specific camera profiles, lighting conditions, and delivery requirements may call for adjustments.
When I first started photographing people, I spent an enormous amount of time thinking about the technical side of photography.
The aperture. The lens. The lighting. Where to place everything and which settings to use.
And while those things mattered, eventually they became second nature.
That's when I could spend more time focusing on the person in front of my camera and the story I was trying to tell.
Video is no different.
Start simple. Learn the fundamentals. Make mistakes. Review your footage. Figure out what worked and what didn't.
Then get out there and make something better.
You don't need a Hollywood production budget to start making compelling video. You just need to understand what you're trying to create and learn how to use what you already have.
Watch the Original Lesson.
Want to see the fundamentals in practice? Here's my original walkthrough on shooting video with a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
The Next Two Parts.
Understanding how your camera captures an image is only the beginning. Next, we'll get into creating movement and capturing the sound that brings everything together.