Position

• Shoot horizontal (landscape orientation)
  • Make sure no objects block the camera
• Background
  • Be aware of what's in it
• Zoom
  • Zoom with your feet, not phone. Zooming with the camera causes quality loss.

Stabilize

If shooting video, use a tripod or rest your phone on something flat. Avoid walking around or moving the camera. 

Audio

• Avoid background noises if possible
• Stay inside (avoid wind noise)
• Don't touch the camera, as the mic will pick up those sounds
• Use a mic if you can, like iPhone headphones or AirPods)

Lighting

• Avoid harsh light or dark shadows
• Keep consistent lighting if possible

Sharing your video with us

We ask for you to upload your video to Google Drive and share it with us. 

If you're unfamiliar with the university's G Suite, please see the instructions here.

Other drive services like Dropbox, WeTransfer, etc. work as well but we prefer to stick with university supplied software.

Formatting your media for a website

If your media is to be uploaded to the college's website, vpa.syr.edu, please see guidelines for formatting video/photo/audio/content  for more info. 

Simple how-to take photos demo

• See this 2-minute video on taking professional portraits with your phone