5 Videos to Capture on Your Next Vacation
I’m kind of a minimalist when it comes to photos. I only design a photo book for our family every few years.
But what to do with our travel and vacations? There’s so much to capture, which is where video comes into play.
Video is a great way to document a vacation, a weekend away, or a special outing - any occasion with lots of memories.
And since today’s phones have such outstanding video capability, it’s more convenient than ever to capture live action, no clunky or superfluous equipment needed.
We shoot a ton of video on our trips, and I’ve found a few types of footage I love watching on my phone after the fact or including in our home movies.
In this post I’m sharing the types of videos I love to capture plus video examples of each one.
One Quick Video Tip
When I see moms holding their phones vertically to capture video, I wonder who the audience is.
Vertical video is optimized for our phones and for social media.
And maybe I’m ancient when it comes to this kind of stuff, but I want our family memories to be available to us beyond these tiny devices that are meant to be viewed by one person.
My kids and my husband - the people in those videos - aren’t on social media. They’re in my real life.
So I’d rather we watch our family memories together by streaming them to a TV, which is still (thank goodness) widescreen.
I’d encourage you to think more cinematic and less Snapchat when it comes to capturing your family on vacation.
Sure, get a few vertical clips to share on social media if you want to (I do!). But remember your audience.
If it’s Instagram, that’s fine.
If you’re capturing video of your family for your family, turn your phone so you can watch those videos together on a big screen.
Capture a scene - still or in motion
For this clip, you hold your camera steady and capture a scene.
You can be standing still or you can hold your camera still while you're moving on some kind of vehicle (a train, cab, chairlift, ferry, etc.).
These clips add a cinematic quality to your videos and break up the footage of kids chasing pigeons (or is that just my family?).
When taking one of these shots, try changing up your perspective.
Point your camera up at trees or sky while you're on a bike (be careful!), or down at your feet as they dangle from a chairlift, or out at the horizon as you ride in a speedboat.
Try stabilizing your elbow on something if your ride is smooth or holding the phone with one hand instead of two. For some reason I can keep my camera more stable this way.
The effect of these videos can be really lovely, and if the light is right, you can get gorgeous shots.
2. Capture someone walking alongside you
As you're walking, hold your phone sideways so it's facing the person walking next to you and hit record. The goal is to capture someone moving alongside you.
These videos can be a little "Blair Witch Project" for the motion-sick set, but I love how immersive they feel.
When the camera is walking alongside someone, the viewer is put right in the middle of the action because your point of view is moving and participating, not just stagnantly observing.
The effect for me is that I feel like I'm right back in that moment.
I love watching the kids move through a new city or seeing Nick carry one of our boys on his shoulders.
These clips can be bumpy and not super professional, but they have a documentary quality that just feels so in-the-moment. I love watching them.
3. Capture someone as you're about to snap their photo
Whether you're setting up a group shot or taking a close-up of one of your kids, hit "record" while they're getting ready for their shot.
I discovered this technique accidentally on one trip because I thought I was taking a photo but I was on video instead. The result was priceless.
I'd inadvertently captured Ben chatting away to me while he thought I was taking his picture: his little voice asking questions and mumbling his distinct make-believe sayings.
These videos are really funny when you're setting up a group shot.
Capturing people getting into position and prepping for the shot always puts a smile on my face.
4. Capture the journey
Transportation videos are great ways to bookend a family movie. You can show everyone arriving somewhere and/or leaving and use those clips to set the scene.
Capture footage of your family getting on an airplane, arriving in a train station, hanging out in baggage claim, or hailing a cab.
My sister often speeds up the action in these clips so she can include more story in a shorter time frame.
You only need one or two of these clips, but they're fun ones to have when you're making a video that tells the story of a trip.
5. Capture the action without directing it
Sometimes as parents we can occasionally - ahem - tend to want to direct everyone's fun. Move this way! Do that again! Smile - no, not like that!
Maybe that's just me.
The most authentic footage I capture on a trip happens when I sit back and let my brood do their thing.
Whether our boys are chasing birds in the shadow of a cathedral, or reading stories with Dad at bedtime in our AirBNB, or building a drip castle on the beach, the kids are most relaxed when I'm not telling them what to do.
There's something really special about those genuine moments (even when it's two brothers jockeying for the window on the bus).
Let your kids do their thing.
If you miss the moment, it's fine. Don't stress about it or try to recreate it.
But if you happen to capture them in their element, totally oblivious to the camera, you might catch something priceless.
*Bonus Tip: Let someone else capture the action
I can be a (little) bit of a control freak when it comes to our memories, but some of my favorite videos from our trips were taken by my husband.
A couple summers ago, we took an epic trip to the Iberian peninsula, ending in the Algarve, a stunningly beautiful part of the world on the southern coast of Portugal.
We played on the beach, basked in the sun and sand, took a boat ride through incredible sand caves only accessible by sea, walked to dinner at the same restaurant two of our nights and dined on plastic chairs while we watched the chef grill our dinners.
It was a magical end to an incredible trip.
But when I went to put together a video documenting the trip, I couldn't find the video clips from Portugal.
My heart raced as I scrolled through my Photos program on the laptop, looked through folders on my computer, search the external hard drive.
Nothing.
I'd prematurely deleted them from my phone thinking I'd already downloaded them.
When I discovered the error and was convinced I'd lost those video clips, my fear and panic turned to sadness.
I'm sorry to admit that I shed a few tears and spent a few minutes beating myself up about it.
I called my sweet husband to tell him about my error, and of course he was incredibly kind and reassuring.
He also mentioned that he might have taken a few videos on that leg of the trip.
So I dried my tears and pulled up his Portugal folder on the external hard drive.
The first time I scrolled through his files, I only noticed a couple of videos, so I scrolled through them again, and it's like my eyes focused and I could see them.
He'd captured over a dozen videos from those few magical days - video from the boat ride, from the beach, even from our dinner.
And you know who was in all of them?
Me.
I'm never in my own videos, but there I was playing with the boys on the beach, brushing sand out of their faces, holding Owen tightly while we sped across the water, cleaning Ben's face after dinner.
I couldn't believe it. I just wasn't used to seeing myself in our videos, because I'm always focused on the footage that I capture on our trips.
But I learned then that I don't have to be the one to capture every moment.
My husband's perspective is just as important to include in these memory-keeping projects.
And although I don't always love how I look in every shot, I do love the unscripted moments he captures when I'm playing with the boys, or holding one of their hands in a crowd, or consoling a little one who's fallen.
Those moments - the good and the bad - make up our real life, and they're worth capturing.
So, to recap:
Turn your camera sideways. These videos are for your family, not Instagram.
Capture a scene while you're in motion.
Capture someone walking alongside you.
Capture someone (or a group) setting up to take a photo.
Capture parts of the journey - on planes, trains, and in automobiles.
Capture the action without directing it.
And finally,
Hand your camera to someone else and let them capture the moment.
