With over 2.3 billion users worldwide [1], YouTube is one of the most popular video platforms for content creators, businesses and marketers. Growing a successful YouTube channel requires a good camera, lighting, video editing software and other equipment. So it may seem like you cannot start a YouTube channel on a budget, but that’s definitely not the case.
You can be successful on YouTube without fancy gear. When you put out good content, have an engaging personality, and use YouTube SEO, even with an average quality camera, you can turn viewers into subscribers. However, you will still need to have good equipment to record your videos.
The Essential Tools
A camera
When starting a YouTube Channel on a budget, you will need a good camera. Since you don’t have the money to get a high-end camera, you can use a smartphone or your laptop’s webcam.
Most people prefer to use a built-in smartphone camera. A mobile phone that produces high quality pictures and records in 4k is a great choice for recording YouTube videos. You can even experiment with these smartphone cameras by choosing slow motion and other video recording features.
You should consider using a webcam if you are going to create a presentation video where you are not the primary focus. Most laptop webcams do not provide good image quality, but if your built-in webcam can provide the required quality, then you should use it. And you can also buy a budget-friendly webcam (such as the Microsoft LifeCam Studio) if your desktop computer does not have one.
External Lighting
Having great lighting helps improve the quality of your video by eliminating shadows. Video content creators invest a lot of money and time to get the right lighting equipment to shoot their videos. Luckily for YouTubers, there are other ways to get the best lighting for your video. Natural lighting is free and works great.
You’ll be surprised at how many YouTube creators you watch get their good lighting by filming in front of a window or glass door. If you don’t have lighting equipment, find the best lit room in your home or office, and record facing the light source.
If you don’t have proper lighting, don’t shoot on cloudy days. But if you must, consider using desk lamps as alternative lighting sources. Keep one to your right, another at the left and one behind the camera. This is the right way to set up your additional lighting. Only use fluorescent lamps because bulbs that aren’t fluorescent may cast a glow that spoils the lighting. Also, consider getting a smartphone ring light that produces continuous lighting.
You should get the on-camera ring lights because they are ideal for macro and on-location videos. It’s also suitable for very low light conditions as it mimics daylight. Outdoor shooting is also an option, but you will need to get an external mic. You can use a white Bed Sheet or get a reflector screen to reduce shadows or make your videos darker during an outdoor video.
Sound
Good sound quality could be all you need to make your average video a great one. There aren’t many free options for creating good audio since you will be capturing the audio from your webcam or smartphone. However, you can make your sound better by removing noise using an open-sourced software called Audacity.
This software is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. There are several tutorials online you can use to learn Audacity. You should also consider getting budget-friendly microphones. There are cheap options that can remove background noises and record high-quality audio. A lapel mic or lavalier microphone is a great option for recording videos.
Editing software
After filming, you will need to edit several clips into the final video. If you’re just starting, you don’t have to worry about fancy software. Learn how to use free software to edit and trim the video, as well as delete unwanted sections. You can also save clips for future purposes. Lightworks, VSDC Free Video Editor, VideoPad, and OpenShots are video editors that are either entirely free to use or have an excellent free version.
Thumbnails
Your video thumbnails give you an edge over your competitions – and that competition is fierce. If you’re on a budget, all you need to create attention-grabbing thumbnails are your creativity, inspiration from other channels, and canva.com. Canva is a free tool that offers several design options to boost the quality and message in your visuals. You can also use Canva to create or customize your YouTube channel art.
Some of the best videos on YouTube are shot using smartphones and limited equipment. With your free and cheap tools, you have enough in your toolkit to create for YouTube on a budget.
References
[1] Statista. Global social networks ranked by number of users
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