Camera Ready with Val Brown

Has this happened to you?

When you look at your holiday photos you think everyone in the shot looks great except you because:

• Your eyes are shut
• You hate what you are wearing
• The camera angle is unflattering
• You have dark circles under your eyes because of bad lighting

I know I've experienced every one of these.

Worry not, there are some really easy things you can do to make sure you look your best in your priceless holiday photos.

On this episode of Camera Ready With Val Brown we'll cover:

• What to wear, or not
• Lighting, angles and tips to look slimmer on camera
• Makeup and hair

These are some really quick tips you can use before you step out the door for your next holiday event so you look awesome in your holiday photos, every time. ​

visualbridgecommunication.com/podcast

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We're all busy, whether we're running our own business, leading our team or building our career.

Taking time to figure out how to put on makeup for video seems like a huge time suck.

What about makeup when I'm on camera? is the question I hear most often behind what should I wear?

And it's a good one, because most of us don't spend a lot of time under hot lights or in front of a lens that can change our skin tone or highlight our less than flattering attributes.

If you could just learn a few basic makeup tips, to take the mystery out of how to you show up looking your best on camera whether you're indoors or outdoors or taking photos for your headshots. It would be so much easier to get your videos done.

Look great on video without spending a ton of time and effort on things that don't work.

Wouldn't It Feel Great To Know It's Not A Lot Of Work To Get Ready To Be On Video?

I want you to know that you can show up as you and that you KNOW how to look your best.

And that's what we are aiming for on camera, a look that's natural, easy to achieve and one where you feel amazing about how you look.

Think of your face as a painting where the elements are in balance with your best feature being the star of the show. Whether that's your eyes, cheekbones or lips.

On this episode of Camera Ready With Val Brown you'll learn:

• how your lifestyle will affect how you look on camera (yes ladies I know I covered this last week, AND it's that important)
• things to know about makeup and the camera
• some tips on keeping your look fresh throughout out your shoot.

If you missed last week's podcast covering on camera makeup tips for men, you can listen to part one here.

>>>You can listen to this week's episode, On Camera Makeup Tips Part 2 - For Women here or here. Or if you prefer, you can read the blog here.

Do you ever wonder if you should wear makeup or not on video?

You're just not sure how much to wear or what to use?

It's a question I get asked a lot.

Did you know that how you show up on camera is more than what you are wearing and your makeup?

For the next two weeks, I am going to share my Emmy award winning secrets about makeup for video - things I've learned over three decades producing television.

Today's podcast is part one of two where I share makeup tips for men and next week I'll cover makeup for women.

Before You Ladies Decide To Tune Out...

There's plenty of good advice that you can use in this episode too!

Lots of what I share in this episode applies to everyone and you'll learn best practices for men so you can help that special person in your life when they are doing video.

Here's what you'll learn on today's episode:

• the importance of lifestyle on how you show up on camera
• things to consider about your hair and hair color
• makeup tips for indoors and outdoors

I also included some affiliate links at the end of these show notes to a few products I mention if you want to check them out as a starting place so you can research for your preferences and needs.

Hope you'll tune in and feel free to share this with someone you think could benefit from this information.

Makeup Guide

affiliate links:

sunblock

dark circle reducer

blotting paper

We've all watched lots of videos where the background seems out of synch with the person speaking or there is so much going on you are focused on that and not the speaker.

And that's completely avoidable. In today's episode I'm going to cover a simple checklist to make sure your background is appropriate for the video you are shooting, no matter how much time you have to prepare.

I'm pretty sensitive to backgrounds and a lot of that is probably due to a some of the mistakes I've made in my career. I'll never forget I landed an interview with a well respected elected official and got the okay to shoot in his office. I was thrilled, because it was a really BIG deal.

We shot the interview and when I went back to the edit bay to review the tape, I was horrified. In my hurry, I had missed the fact that there was an object hanging on the wall that appeared to protrude from his head. There were no words. He looked like My Favorite Martian. Back then, painting out an object was not as easy as it today. And reshooting the interview was not an option.

From then on, I always took the time to make sure the shot I saw in my head was achievable in the time and space I had available and that there were no distractions in the background.

Learn the three essential things you need to pay attention to when you are choosing a background for your next video:

• Does it support your brand and topic?
• Do you have enough light?
• Are there any distractions?

In this episode I cover a simple checklist you can go over to make sure your background is appropriate for the video you are shooting, no matter how much time you have to prepare.

Reference: Episodes: 7, 19, 20

Ring light

Light Kit

Creating videos on the fly is something I get asked about a lot, whether its for your product or a business message or idea you need to deliver quickly and effectively.

And, as I was going through my morning ritual the other day I thought wow, wouldn't it be awesome to create a video ritual that would let you get clear about your message and make sure you look and sound great before you hit the record button. It would be something that was especially good for situations when you don't have a lot of time to think.

Having a quick framework to reference allows you to collect your thoughts and energy and show up with intention and confidence.

So I got to thinking about my morning ritual, one I got from Mel Robbins, the author of the Five Second Rule.

I created my own version of her morning ritual, Take Five, so you can gather your thoughts quickly and turn out great looking videos, every time.

For a refresher on how you can use Mel's five second rule to stop procrastinating and get your headshots done, listen to episode 21.

Here's my take on Mel's Take Five ritual, this one is for video.

On Camera Confidence is a result of working with your strengths and developing in areas where you are not as strong.

What Can I Do If I Don't Like The Way I Look On Camera? I Know It's Silly, But I Can't Help It...

During my career there have been times where I'm really sensitive about my appearance too. When that happens I have had to work to get that voice out of my ahead that always judges how I look. Like anything, some days I do a better job than others.

What I can share with you are some concrete actions you can take to start getting to the root of your on camera shyness.

And, you are not alone!

Today I'm going to share a Really Cool Tool To Help You Build Your On Camera Confidence

In episode one of this podcast, I shared with you a bit about what led me to do my graduate work in organization development or OD.

For those of you not familiar with this area of study, I think this definition supports our topic today.

OD is the practice of planned, systemic change in the beliefs, attitudes and values of employees for individual and company growth. The purpose of OD is to enable an organization to better respond and adapt to industry/market changes and technological advances.

And what we are talking about today is looking at the planned and systemic change in the beliefs attitudes that are keeping you from being confident on camera.

One of the first tools I use when we go into an organization to get a clearer picture of the current environment is a SWOT analysis, which is simply doing an inventory of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Many of you no doubt have used this in your business at one point or another to plan for the future or identify what's going on in the current environment.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to an organization and opportunities and threats are external.

The same goes for an individual SWOT analysis. Your strengths and weaknesses come form the dialogue going on inside you that guide your behaviors.

Opportunities and threats are what's going in the external environment that affect your business or industry.

What Does That Have To Do With Me Doing Video?

Everything! If you are constantly putting yourself down and focusing on your weaknesses and that's keeping you from doing video, guess what? that actually becomes a threat to your business.

Not doing video keeps you from thriving at the level you would if you did and you are missing out on a lot of opportunities. Kind of interesting how that works huh.

On today's episode learn how to:

• perform your own personal SWOT analysis
• leverage your strengths
• overcome your weaknesses

So if you're ready, let's dive in.

Resource: Camera Confident Worksheet

Learn more about the SWOT

Video is the fastest way for you to create a connection with your audience - the sound of your voice and body language allows your audience to connect with you instantly.

Using video lets your audience get a better sense of who you are. When they can see you, it helps you to build trust with them, and when done intentionally, you reinforce your brand.

When you use video, your personality and voice are center stage, and that's critical to building your know, like and trust relationship with your audience.

It's also a great way to showcase your expertise and share what you know that can help people live better lives and build better businesses. On today's episode learn:

• ​How to quickly organize your thoughts to keep viewers watching
• A really cool tip on audio
• The best way to position your camera

It actually goes back to the basics - the 3 p's Purpose, Plan and Presence. If you want a review, check out episodes 2,3 and 4.

Being intentional will save you from the shoot and pray and shoot and spray mindset and make sure you shoot and score with the audience you want to reach.

And at the end of this episode I have a very special challenge and opportunity for a select few of you who are chomping at the bit to start doing video as part of your marketing program so that in just 6 weeks, you can be on camera without looking awkward or like an amateur to your audience and peers. Check it out here:

How To Prepare For Your Next Photo or Video Shoot

Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisualBridgeCommunication...

Twitter: twitter.com/valbrown08

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valbrownvisualbridgeco...

When you create a video to tell a story, do you sometimes feel like you are shooting in the dark?

Or, because you're not sure what to shoot, you record everything and it makes it hard to edit?

Wouldn't it be great to know the secrets behind creating stories that connect with your audience?

Here's the good news, it doesn't have to be that way for you!

On this week's podcast I interview Emmy award winning documentary producer and director Kenneth Kebow about his secrets to Creating Stories That Connect.

Learn Ken's secrets including:

• the importance of using sound to make a connection with your audience
• how to help people you interview look and feel comfortable
• what you need to consider before you hit the record button

Ken is a friend, colleague and mentor who has been in the television business for more than 30 years. He's worked with Google, American Airlines, Ford, CBS and the United States Marines.

He's also been honored with numerous awards for his corporate and documentary work including The Whimsical Imagineer, which is about one of of the original Disney Imagineers, Rolly Crump. He also produced and directed a documentary about Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address with Academy award winner Richard Dreyfuss. They are both amazing pieces of work.

In part one of my interview with Ken he shared tips on how to create great looking videos on a budget. If you missed it you can listen here.

Interview with Emmy award winning documentary producer, and director Kenneth Kebow about how to create great looking videos on a budget.

Ken is a friend, colleague and mentor and has been in the television business for more than 30 years. Some of his clients include Google, American Airlines, Ford, CBS and the United States Marines. He has been honored with a number of awards for his corporate work as well as his documentary work which includes one on of the original Disney Imagineers, Rolly Crump, and another with Academy Award Winner Richard Dreyfuss in a documentary about Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Both are amazing pieces of work. At the end of today's podcast there will be a link where you can find out how to watch them both.

Learn his production secrets including:

• the importance of pre-production before you shoot
• how to help people you interview look and feel comfortable
• an inexpensive way to create high quality, branded backgrounds

References:Kenneth Kebow

We all use filler words. It's normal to pause in between thoughts and use uhms, ers, and other filler words.

It's when you use too many of them it interferes with your effectiveness in delivering your message.

It also makes your listeners work harder to get to the heart of what you have to say.

When filler words fill your delivery, they undermine your credibility and authority, make you sound less confident and distract from your message.

Used to the extreme, filler words become verbal white noise the brain has to filter out to get to the meat of your message.

When you are delivering a message about an important project at work, or your service that will change lives, that's a distraction you can do without.

Learn:

• Why we use filler words
• How they affect your credibility
• What you can do to stop saying uhm

It's a quick listen so you can put these tips to work right away.

Research: University of Missouri