You don't need an elaborate camera setup to shoot good outdoor footage. An action camera such as a GoPro, a DJI Osmo Action, or even a phone can produce excellent results.
Where and how you point the camera usually matters more than having the newest equipment. Light, composition, movement and having enough useful material to work with in the edit can make a much bigger difference than another camera upgrade.
1. Pay Attention to the Light
The hour after sunrise and the period before sunset are popular for a reason. With the sun lower in the sky, shadows become longer and surfaces are lit more from the side, which can reveal texture and give a scene more depth. The warmer colour of the light can also be useful, depending on the look you want.
That doesn't mean you should avoid shooting at midday. Hard overhead sunlight can be exactly right for some scenes, but it often creates strong contrast between highlights and shadows and can be less flattering on people. If you have control over when you shoot, changing the time of day can make a surprisingly large difference.
2. Shoot With the Edit in Mind
Long continuous action-camera clips are useful, but they don't give you many options when it comes time to build a sequence. Try to capture different views of the same activity:
- Wide shots to establish the location
- Medium shots to show the action
- Close shots for details, equipment and reactions
- POV footage when seeing the activity from the participant's perspective adds something
Even when you're filming by yourself, changing the camera position occasionally gives you much more to work with later. A few short setup and detail shots can also provide useful transitions between longer action sequences.
3. Use Movement Deliberately
Movement can add a strong sense of speed, scale and depth, particularly with an action camera's wide field of view. Useful approaches include:
- Body-mounted cameras such as helmet, chest or chin mounts
- Walking, riding or driving past a stationary camera
- Slow pans and reveals
- Parallax shots, where nearby and distant objects move across the frame at different apparent speeds as the camera moves because of perspective
Movement doesn't need to be constant. A well-composed static shot can be a useful contrast to fast POV footage and can give the viewer a better sense of the location.
4. Stabilize Without Removing All the Motion
Modern action-camera stabilization is extremely effective, but maximum stabilization isn't always the best choice. In some situations, leaving a little natural camera movement can communicate speed and terrain better than making the shot look as though the camera is floating.
If your camera and recording settings preserve the necessary gyro data, another option is to stabilize in post using software such as Gyroflow or ReelSteady. This can give you more control over stabilization strength, cropping and smoothing after the footage has been recorded.
There isn't one correct amount of stabilization. The goal is usually to remove distracting shake without removing the movement that helps explain what the camera was doing.
5. Capture Some Kind of Progression
You don't need to turn every outdoor video into a complicated story, but it helps to capture enough material to show that something happened.
That might be as simple as:
- Arriving at a location
- Preparing for the activity
- The activity itself
- A problem, change in conditions or unexpected moment
- Reaching the destination or finishing the run
A few shots that provide this context can make the finished video feel much more complete than a collection of technically good but unrelated clips.
6. Keep the Lens Clean
Action cameras tend to be used in exactly the conditions that make lenses dirty: rain, snow, dust, mud, salt spray and fingerprints.
Check the lens cover or filter periodically, especially after handling the camera or shooting in wet conditions. Smears and droplets can reduce contrast, create flare and turn bright lights into large distracting streaks or blobs.
A small clean microfiber cloth is worth keeping somewhere easy to reach. It takes only a few seconds to check the glass, and it is much easier than discovering the problem after the footage has been shot.
7. Don't Throw Away a Good Shot Because It Isn't Perfect
Not every useful shot needs to be technically flawless. A little camera movement, imperfect framing or an unexpected moment can sometimes communicate the experience better than a carefully controlled shot.
The important distinction is between an imperfection that adds something and one that simply makes the footage harder to watch. A brief shake during a rough landing may reinforce what happened. A fingerprint across the lens probably doesn't.
When reviewing footage, judge the shot by what it contributes rather than by whether every technical detail is perfect.
Final Thoughts
Better outdoor footage usually comes from making better choices before and during the shot rather than carrying more equipment.
- Look at the light
- Give yourself different angles and shot sizes
- Use movement when it adds something
- Capture enough context to give the footage some progression
- Keep the glass clean
Those things give you much better material to work with when you sit down to edit.
Have a shooting technique that has made a noticeable difference to your action or outdoor footage? Let us know in the comments.
Related: How to Edit Adventure Footage Without Making It Boring