I love travelling. The only thing I love more than that is documenting my journey. The more I shoot, the more memories I preserve. Like most people who are new to the craft, I didn’t have any idea what to shoot when I first started out. I would just randomly shoot everything around me and as it turns out, doing so can tire you out fast.

After shooting for several years and working hard to make my videos a little better than the last, my workflow became more refined eventually. I would plan my visits beforehand and research the location so that when I arrive, I’ll have a good idea of what to capture while still enjoying the journey. Documenting my journey in the form of a travel video has now become a staple part of my travels.

Making your first travel video can be confusing when you’re starting out. Here is a simple process that I hope will help to kickstart your travel videography journey.

Researching Locations

Location scouting on Instagram is my go-to process when researching places. I like to search for locations using hashtags and tagged locations. When doing so, I tend to look for non-photographer posts first because it shows me the location entirely, giving me a better idea of the current condition of the place. I also look for posts by fellow photographers that I can use as a reference for the possible creative angles which I can refer to later.

Factoring in Time and Weather

When you’re travelling somewhere with multiple seasons, don't forget to check the weather as it determines what you can capture and the limitations you might have. 

For example, I might want to capture footage of the falling cherry blossom with petals fluttering to the ground. If that’s the case, I have to visit after it rains, when the petals are in a weaker state so the petals will be fluttering around everywhere when the wind blows. Knowing what you want to shoot and planning for that is the easiest way to plan for a shoot.

Gear Prep

When we don’t know what we want to shoot, it often leads to us bringing too much gear that will weigh us down. As I want my travel videos to be about moments, my approach to gear preparation has always been minimalist, by narrowing down my gear to the essential only. The less I fiddle with my gear, the more moments can be captured.

On this year’s spring road trip, I used the Alpha 7C as my main camera. Despite having a compact body, it allows me to shoot in full-frame image quality and meets all of my needs as it also takes 24MP photos. When combined with the Compact G Lenses, it’s easily the perfect travel camera for me.

One of the features that I used a lot on this trip was the Super 35mm mode, which crops into the frame and gets me closer to the subject, thus helping me to get the composition that I want without having to keep changing my lens.

Preparing your camera settings in advance

As much as gear preparation is of utmost importance, preparing your camera settings in advance is crucial. I always set everything beforehand so that when I'm at the shooting location, I'm not fiddling with settings and missing out on key moments.

Before any shoot, I use the memory recall dial on my Alpha 7C to set my camera settings. M1 is for shooting in 4K 30fps – when I need to capture a scene with the highest resolution, and M2 is for 1080p 60fps – when shooting slow-motion footage. Both of these settings have the same Picture Profiles and white balance. The rest of the settings that I need can be easily accessed on the Alpha 7C’s ‘My Menu’ customisation page.

Upon Arrival At the Location

The first thing I do when I arrive at any location is to look around and explore the place for a while before shooting. I might go to the main spot to get some nice shots before it gets crowded. After that, I’ll slowly explore the path less travelled.

Finding the “hidden gem”, the spot where only you notice the angles, always feels satisfying and is part of the excitement of going on a shoot.

Documenting Your Trip

Instead of using complex camera movements, I prefer to focus on getting a good composition with slow, steady movements. When shooting handheld, I usually tuck my elbows to the side and hold my camera closer to my body, moving with my knees and not my wrists to make my shots look more natural. When using a lens with a longer focal length, I use the viewfinder instead of the LCD screen so that I’ll have another contact point, allowing me to stabilise the shot even more. Using a camera with in-body image stabilisation like the Alpha 7C when shooting handheld is crucial to me as it smooths out all the rough movement and bumps. 

Remember to vary your shots. It is more interesting to have a mix of wide and close-up shots that can be put into a sequence later.

If you’re an introvert like me, you might hesitate to talk right in front of the camera. I prefer storytelling in the form of a silent aesthetic vlog where the narrative is added in later with subtitles. I tell the stories as if I’m narrating my own experience, making it feel closer to writing in a journal.

Assembling the parts

When putting your first travel video together, it might be tempting to worry about technical aspects such as resolution, colour grading, etc. While it is important to make your video look good, it can always be improved on later so it’s important to set a deadline and limit the duration of your first travel video.

I love to experiment with new formats and storytelling with short-form content such as Tiktok and IG Reels. It gives me the freedom of trying new things before making a longer version of it. Also, it has a ton of music to choose from, making it fun to browse for music without worrying about violating copyright laws. Here’s a pro tip: As you browse for audio on the apps, save any tracks that you like for later use. It will speed up your editing process a lot. Personally, I like to search for acoustic covers that suit the style of video I’m making.

Above all, enjoying the experience of travelling itself is just as important as documenting the journey. Just shoot what you like and keep improving on your craft consistently. Have fun!