How To Vlog on a Phone? 10 Quick Tips!

Most YouTubers use various types of devices to record their vlogs.

Nowadays, vlogging has been a creative way to run your pocket dry. You need various types of equipment if you want to deliver high-quality content. From expensive cameras to tripods, microphones, lighting options, the budget is high.

For making vlogs you can use any type of video camera. However, most of the time, if you are a beginner, you might not want to break your bank account, right?

Well, in this article, you are going to find out all the required information on how to vlog on a phone and 10 great tips that might help you be a great vlogger with a piece of budget equipment.

Can You Use Your Phone for Vlogging?

Yes, you absolutely can use your smartphone for vlogging and YouTube videos. 

Here’s the deal:

Almost all of us use smartphones daily a lot. It is also easier to start filming the vlog with the device that is always in your pocket, right?

Some vlogging cameras, like DSLR, are big and bulky, suitable for on-set shooting, but for vlogging, you could grab your smartphone and enjoy the quality.

Besides, you can save a lot of money, especially if you are a beginner. Moreover, it delivers decent video quality and other high technology features just like other popular cameras.

Most smartphones can record full HD video at 1080p resolution.

Guess what?

Some of the budget mirrorless cameras can’t even do that, unfortunately.

One of the pieces of advice would be to try vlogging with your phone as an experience and if you like it, then you can update your equipment to a more professional one. Who knows, maybe being a YouTuber is not your cup of tea.

10 Tips on How to Vlog on a Phone

Now you know that you could use a smartphone for vlogging, we have some tips for you on how to vlog on a smartphone in general.

With a little bit of practice and a few of our tips, you can make a high-quality and professional-looking vlog.

1. Use a tripod

If you can, try to use a tripod for vlogging while you are making videos on your smartphone. A tripod is usually a 3-legged mount that stabilizes the image while you are shooting.

Besides, you don’t need the most expensive one. Usually, you can get an entry-level tripod for up to $30.

Also, If you love to film or create more representative-type videos, then we suggest choosing a gimbal for help.

It is a really amazing gadget that improves your video quality as well!

2. Find good lighting

Whenever you are shooting your vlog on a smartphone, the lighting can be a challenging part of the adjustments that you need to make.

While you are vlogging indoors, try to use any kind of light source, like a ring light, or buy a lighting kit.

Besides, try to use fluorescent bulbs, they are more likely to be similar to daylight.

3. Don’t forget to use an external microphone

Another very important tip is to have an external microphone to deliver high-quality audio to your vlog.

Smartphones have good sound recording, but when shooting outdoors, the extra microphone would not hurt.

You don’t need to buy the most expensive microphone that you can find. For smartphones, the lavalier or clip-on small microphone is more than enough.

4. Switch to the airplane mode

If you are not expecting any important call or a message, always be vlogging in airplane mode while using your smartphone.

It will not only save you some battery life but blocks all the calls and notifications that might interrupt your video.

5. Hold the smartphone in a horizontal position

Here’s the main part:

Always orient your smartphone in a horizontal position.

It will provide a nice angle for your vlog unless you want to have black bars on both sides of the video.

6. Pre-record your video

Always pre-record 5-10 seconds of the video footage to see if you are happy with the angles, lighting, and audio.

You don’t want to get frustrated when you have been vlogging for 30 minutes and you are not happy with the footage that you’ve taken.

7. Frame the vlog

Frame your vlog with the rule of thirds. Set the grid, which looks like tic-tac-toe and try to put yourself in the middle.

In this way, you will be sure that you are in focus and the background is slightly blurry.

8. Try to avoid video editing on the phone

Try to avoid video editing on your smartphone. If you are vlogging with your smartphone, you could add some additional effects, but it is way more comfortable to edit a video on a computer and software for that.

9. Consider the quality

Consider the quality of the camera. Sometimes, smartphones have even better camera quality than a usual mirrorless camera.

For example, the iPhone 12 and 13 PRO has incredible front and back camera, which provides amazing quality that you won’t find in any usual pocket-sized camera.

10. Have some free memory space

Make sure that you always have some free memory space on your smartphone. Don’t forget when you are finished filming your vlog to transfer video files to your computer.

Recommended Smartphones

For now, we share with you some smartphones that are perfect for vlogging.

If you want to find a full list of the best phones for vlogging – read our review below.

Apple iPhone 12 PRO

This phone, from our perspective, is currently the best option for both: creating video material – vlogs, taking photos and using it every day.

It has an incredible camera and some of the software features make this smartphone super high-class.

iPhone 12 PRO has quad main 12 MP cameras that deliver optical image stabilization and video resolution 4K at 24/30/60fps or 1080p@30/60/120/240fps.

One of the greatest benefits that the 12 PRO model has is bright colors while shooting.

Besides, the camera adjusts quickly, even if you are going to be shooting your vlog in the dark, it doesn’t strike.

If you don’t know if it is worth start vlogging on the phone, this model will easily answer this question.

Asus Zenfone 7

This phone model is a bit different from everyone on the market in that it has a flip-screen triple camera that vloggers are used to having with their daily cameras.

The best thing is that the front camera is capable of filming in 8K at 30fps.

That’s incredible!

In general – a superb smartphone that looks like that is dedicated to YouTubers and vloggers.

According to your budget, you can choose between Asus Zenfone 7 and 7 PRO versions.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

Again, not the newest smartphone from the Samsung brand, but this is one of the most popular and best choices when it comes to a budget smartphone for recording videos and vlogs. 

Yes, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is released and it is amazing, but for a price, you can definitely choose Note 10+.

Besides, the 12 MP / 2160p@30/60fps amazing main camera has a stunning front camera of 10 MP / 2160p@30fps, which is most of the time being used by vloggers.

This smartphone with full HD quality is more than enough for people who want to start recording their first video on YouTube on the phone.

TCL 10 PRO

Well, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money and your budget is tight, you can purchase for a lot of people unknown smartphone TCL 10.

I bet that 8/10 haven’t heard about it.

Well, we haven’t reviewed it in detail, but we can say that for that price, you are getting an amazing smartphone with a quad camera and 4K at 30fps video resolution.

According to the price, the TCL 10 PRO is the perfect phone for people who are looking for a budget-friendly device.

Recommended App for Vlogging on Phone

Now you probably know all the key points on how to vlog and film the video footage for your vlog, right?

But here’s the kicker:

If you decide to create your first vlog on YouTube on a phone, you should think about installing some great applications that could help you in the future.

YouTube Studio

This application is a must-have for YouTube vloggers who are using iPhone or Android phones.

If you are most likely to upload your vlogs to the YouTube platform, the YouTube Creator Studio app can be very helpful.

This powerful app gives you the ability to control your uploads, see your video analytics, follow comments and subscribers in real-time.

In other words, this application should be on your phone and it doesn’t depend on the device you are vlogging with.

Anyway, we highly recommend reading our guide about the 10 best vlogging apps. We have listed the full list of recommended video editing apps if you are going to film a video on your phone.

Conclusion

We hope we have revealed the secret of how to vlog on a smartphone. You don’t need to worry about spending all of your money if you want to start vlogging right now.

If you have a great smartphone with high camera quality, you are all set. All you need to do is to follow simple steps when it comes to creating a great vlog.

After you can purchase some additional equipment that can turn your vlog into a more professional one.