Equipment Checklist: What You Need to Shoot Video in Your Home or Office
If you’ve ever thought “I wonder if I could do this a different way with what I’ve got lying around my home,” you’re probably scrappy.
Whether you’re scrappy or not, when you’re first starting out with something, it can be helpful to not sink a whole lot of money into the venture. What if you hate every minute of doing it? What if you find out you’d rather not do it or prefer to pay someone else to do it? What if you love it and find it super easy?
It’s easier to try something out, experiment, and explore when you haven’t invested a lot of money into equipment.
With that in mind, here’s my beginner’s guide to the equipment you need when you first start making your own videos.
Great videos don’t require tons of equipment and that allows you to dip your toes before committing hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment.
Let’s dive in!
Note: there are affiliate links in this blog post. If you purchase something from this list, I will get a small amount of income from it without additional charge to you.
You don't need a whole lot of equipment to start making videos. Here’s my scrappy beginner’s guide to the equipment you need when you first start making your own videos.
Camera
The most important thing you need to shoot videos is a camera. And most smartphones nowadays come with awesome cameras. So look no further than the phone right next to you.
Do you need something that shoots 4k (which is a very high quality camera setting)? No, probably not. Would it be helpful and give you outstanding footage? Sure, but you can get excellent footage if you plan ahead and pay attention to background, lighting, and audio.
Don’t feel insecure about only having a smartphone camera to record! Lots of video professionals work with just their phone cameras.
An amazing tool can only do so much.
Seek out knowledge about how to shoot with what you have on hand.
Instead of investing in an expensive camera or high-end smartphone, use what you have and take online courses or watch YouTube videos to learn how the pros use their smartphones to shoot. These lessons will help you more than having a high-end tool because you’ll be able to figure out what you like and how to make things look good.
Nowadays, most smartphones can shoot video in high definition. So check what frames per second (or FPS) the camera can shoot - 25, 30, or 60 FPS are all fine settings to use. 25 or 30 FPS is good for typical shoots and 60 FPS is great when you know you want to slow down the footage during editing. Also, you’ll want to shoot 1920x1080p for horizontal videos (16:9) or 1080x1920p for vertical videos (also called 9:16).
If you can’t afford a smartphone with a great camera, you can always use your laptop camera, tablet, or webcam (here’s a good option for high quality) in a pinch. Just know the quality may not be as good as a smartphone so you may need to adjust your expectations. Try to not let that deter you - remember: it’s more about what you have to say than the quality level of your camera!
For example, I shot my videos on this site with my phone (Samsung S21+ 5 G) and was pleased with how much range it gave me. I spent a lot of time on strategy and scriptwriting so I was clear about messaging, too.
Lights
The best lighting is natural lighting, but often you’ll find yourself shooting indoors or away from a big picture window. All hope is not lost!
If you’re recording a stationary object or someone sitting in one place, I recommend a simple ring light. You can get an inexpensive one from Amazon with a tripod, which will do the job nicely.
Depending on where you’re shooting, you may need to set up other lights - sometimes a table lamp can be enough to get a little bit of extra light in the area.
In the past, I’ve put regular daylight bulbs in a metal clamp lamp and used that as lighting behind me to make sure my curls get the love they deserve on camera. You think I’m not serious, but I am. #curlyhairproblems
Having some extra lights around to play with while you’re setting up is tremendously helpful.
Audio
If I’m watching a video which has great visuals but bad audio, I turn it off immediately. I’m not putting my ears through that! And I doubt many others will undergo that unless the information is life-changing and can’t be found anywhere else.
While our smartphones have good enough mics for a selfie video with your face close up, you’ll sound a million times better with a lavalier microphone.
A lavalier microphone usually clips on to your shirt (like this for Android or this for iPhones) and can be wired or wireless. They typically range between $15 and $25.
One tip for use: make sure your shirt or jewelry don’t rub against the mic or your hands don’t hit it when you gesture. Those noises can’t be edited out and are really distracting.
Other Items
These are nice-to-haves, but aren’t very expensive and will make your life easier while shooting video.
A tripod or some way to stabilize your camera - shaky footage is fine for social media, but smooth footage will give you a better, longer-lasting video. If you don’t have a tripod, you sometimes can place your phone on a stand and a table to prop it up.
A way to view your script - you can print it out or handwrite it, but I prefer using a tablet or laptop for my scripts. It just needs to be something that’s easy to read and handy to move around when you forget your line.
A teleprompter or teleprompter app is a next step up if you have longer scripts or find it too difficult to memorize scripts.
Gimbal - what a tripod does for still shots, a gimbal does for movement. If you need to shoot a lot of movement (e.g. walking, hiking, dancing, etc.), a gimbal will help you get those smooth, flowy camera shots that you desire.
I’ll be honest - I don’t have one of these because I don’t have a lot of movement in my videos. However, it’s on my list for a future purchase. Here are some options for smartphones: this one or this one.
As you get more advanced, you may decide to invest in better lighting, teleprompters, additional cameras, or background screens. However, you don’t need all that to start and the more equipment you buy, the more you have to set up and take down as well as store and maintain.
Keep it easy on yourself at first and find out what you like and what you actually use. As you go along, you can create a wish list for yourself with additional equipment that will take your videos to the next level.
Video Equipment Checklist for Beginners
Camera
Your smartphone or
Webcam
Lights
Ring light
Other portable lights
Audio
Clip-on lavalier mic (wireless or wired)
Other items
Tripod or stabilizer
Something to read your script - tablet or print-out
