How to shoot the best video on your smartphone
Release your inner Spielberg
By David Nield
We all wield the miniature computers in our pockets to shoot endless photos…but what about video? While many of us do capture clips — spurred by improving camera quality, increased storage capacity, and the rise of “stories” formats on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram — the quality of these videos still tends to be low, with uneven lighting, variable audio, and a shaky frame.
However, a few smart tricks and well-chosen accessories can make all the difference to your phone video. Whether you’re recording a few seconds of footage for your friends or putting together a professional reel to share more widely, our advice will have you shooting like a pro in no time.
Dive into your settings
As you do when you snap photos, your first step should be to tweak the settings on your phone’s default camera app. Just what that app is, and what settings it offers, will vary depending on the device you own and the software it runs.
Recent versions of stock Android come bundled with the Google Camera app. For this option, you should increase the resolution of your footage as high as possible and enable video stabilization, if available. Access these settings by tapping the…
