Why a phone is fine Ads with perfect studio images often lose to video shot on a phone. The reason is simple: in a feed people are used to live footage, and polish reads as advertising and gets scrolled past. The goal is not camera quality. It is showing real work so that it is visible and understandable. # Light This is the one thing genuinely worth effort. - Shoot during the day by a window, with light falling on the subject, not behind it. - Do not shoot under a ceiling lamp: it turns everything yellow and puts shadows under eyes. - Do not use the flash. - If you work evenings, buy one inexpensive soft light and put it in front of you. Consistent light matters for before and after shots: under different light they look faked even when they are not. # Framing - Wipe the lens. Half of all blurry shots are a fingerprint. - Shoot vertically for feeds and stories. - Hold the phone with both hands or rest it on something. - Leave some room at the top, do not crop heads or the edges of the work. - Remove clutter: bags, cables, other people's things. # Sound If someone speaks on camera, sound matters more than picture. Record somewhere quiet, close to the speaker. Wind outdoors destroys sound completely, so talking heads belong indoors. Add captions: a large share of people watch with the sound off. # The first three seconds The opening decides whether anyone watches. Bad openings: a logo, music, "hello, my name is". Good openings: - The result straight away: here is how it turned out. - The question the viewer already has. - Action already happening: hands at work. Introductions and logos can go at the end, if they are needed at all. # What to shoot 1. Before and after in the same frame and from the same angle. 2. The work itself, close up. 3. A short answer to a question customers always ask. 4. A customer review recorded on the spot, with permission. 5. The team and the place: people want to see where they are going. # How much you need Five to seven clips of 10 to 20 seconds and ten photos are enough to start. After that add two or three a week: social ads burn out and you need a steady supply. # Permission and decency Ask before filming a customer or their home. In some fields, healthcare for example, written consent is mandatory. Do not publish house numbers, license plates, documents, or anything that identifies a person without their agreement. # What not to do - Download someone else's work from the internet. It shows, and it is a rights claim waiting to happen. - Present images generated by a neural network as your own work. - Use music that is not cleared for advertising. - Cover the video in text: nobody reads it. # Start today Take your phone and shoot three things: one process, one before and after pair, one short answer to a customer question. That is already enough to launch your first ads and stop depending on other people's pictures.
