The internet is filled with a variety of fitness influencers. You have people from moms working out at home, to personal trainers trying to carve a place for themselves online, to fitness enthusiasts who make money promoting other companies’ products. They try out new kettlebells, workout bands, food lists, and so much more. One of the keys that sets the best above the rest isn’t necessarily the content, it’s the lighting and quality of their videos.
Those who have high-quality videos are more likely to have a large following than those who do not. That’s why it’s important to not only focus on creating good content through workout plans and more in the videos but to also focus on developing the best quality videos as well, which include great lighting. Fortunately, it’s possible to create well-lit videos without a large studio and tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of lighting. Here are the best lighting tips for fitness and workout influencers.
Don’t Video in Dark Rooms
It should go without saying, but you can’t get a good video in low light. The video will look grainy and distorted and this becomes a distraction when viewers are coming to see it. Have you ever watched a video from a fitness influencer? The lighting is almost always great unless they are shooting on location somewhere new. Shooting video in dark rooms shows a lack of experience with creating compelling content for internet audiences.
Try Portable Ring Lights
Fitness influencers don’t necessarily need a huge setup to get great lighting for their videos. The best ring light is not only bright, but it’s also portable. These lights are cordless and can be used to light up the influencer in almost any situation. Even if you must record videos at night, these ring lights do a great job of providing adequate light to any workout or fitness routine. Whether you are showing people how to deadlift or you’re giving them the steps to a new dance, they’ll see everything better when you use portable ring lights.
Studio Lights
Photographers often use studio lights to create indoor photoshoots. Videographers leverage similar principles to light their videos. Studio lights will give you the most control over the light so that you can create the right conditions for videoing your fitness and workout videos. Studio lights can be a bit cumbersome, especially when you add in diffusers and other accessories.
Use Natural Lighting
Natural lighting is perfect for fitness influencers. Stand in front of a large window or well-lit area and place your smartphone or video camera in front of the light pointing toward you for the best lighting. Natural lighting is often soft, yet it fills in all the dark shadows. Good natural lighting is easy to use and watching videos shot with it can make a big difference in the quality of videos.
Working out in a natural light environment or maybe at a scenic location at sunrise or sunset also helps reduce eye strain and glare that can come with other lighting setups. It ensures that faces are evenly lit and guarantees that colors in the video don’t get distorted from strange lighting colors.
Try Light Reflectors
Sometimes, you need to add something else to the mix to get the best lighting for fitness videos. When you’re an influencer, how you present your videos matters significantly. Reflectors help you to move from one place to another. If you have light coming in a window or from a light source like a ring light, but it doesn’t give the right feel to you while you’re in the video, you can use a reflector to bounce the light in different directions and different ways.
Get a Light Diffuser
Another way to manipulate lighting for videos is by using a diffuser. A diffuser helps to soften the light. These are great if the lighting is just too bright or if it feels like the light is coming from a flashlight. A diffuser helps to spread the light around more evenly, making your video subjects look more natural. This is great to help you create the feel of natural light, even if you’re using single studio light, a 3-light setup, or even on a ring light. A diffuser is essential when you want to soften the way the light hits a room.