So my big new years resolution was to get on YouTube and start a channel.

Surprisingly, I actually did it… well sort of!

I’ve got a grand total of two videos up on my channel… it’s a start (don’t forget to subscribe!). I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, the videos are kind of travel highlights with a few occasional shots of myself and on some of my girlfriend. The one thing I’ve struggled with is putting myself in the shot and actually talking on camera too.

Here’s my first video effort from Barcelona, Spain.

I Need A Cameraman

Vlogging or putting yourself in the video isn’t as easy as it looks. For one, if you’re traveling alone it’s hard to get shots of yourself crossing the road, catching a bus or eating at a market without falling over or taking a shot that looks like it’s under earthquake conditions (I need to invest in a tripod, suggestions welcome!).

My Mirror Image

But this isn’t the hardest aspect of this whole video thingy, putting yourself in front of a camera and talking to it is just incredibly difficult, it feels unnatural, strange and a little awkward. What troubles me is that when I see myself on video, I’m actually seeing what everyone else sees, not the fake mirror image that I see everyday and it’s a little bit bizarre.

There’s a short but interesting TED talk about how people find it difficult to tolerate photos of themselves. In a similar way this is true if not more so of video, especially considering you have to hear your own voice too.

My girlfriend has a tendency to make me delete all of the photos I take of her with my phone unless it’s up to her required standard, perhaps I should just mirror the image and see if that works?

Watching yourself back on video is strange and not quite what you expect, my voice is pretty deep and has this weird Northen accent that I hardly even realise I have in my own head!

Early Vlogging Career

However, strangely enough I was a Vlogging pioneer, or “Video Blog” pioneer as I called it in the titles! Sadly, not a very good one.

Before I set out on my two year trip round the world way back in 2006 I filmed myself talking about what I was doing and where I was going, along with some sleep inducing chat about what I was packing for the trip. I found it almost impossible to upload videos consistently to the internet whilst traveling, so the video coverage stopped pretty much as soon as it started.

Needless to say I found it quite difficult to record these videos in the first place and they never quite saw the light of day, they were kept private on YouTube… until now… or perhaps in the next blog post!

Technology has changed, it’s so much easier to upload and to edit these days that I really dont have a good enough excuse not to be attempting this type of media. Especially as I’m so lucky to get such amazing travel opportunities, they need to be shared or at least preserved in some way.

Singing Practice Makes Perfect… kind of

It’s understandable that if you’re not used to seeing yourself on screen that it’s going to take a bit of time and lots of practice, which is something I tried when faced with a similar problem in the past.

Most of you probably don’t know that I once played guitar/vocals in a band and penned all of our biggest hits, you’re also lucky I no longer have a copy of our first demo or I’d happily let you download (whilst cringing heavily).

In reality we were an ear bleeding fusion of mid-nineties indie post grunge mainstream rock that was so bad that we never made it out of our Manchester Northern Quarter rehearsal room. If it wasn’t for the musical differences and the bassists insistence on finishing his degree (how selfish!) we could have hit the big time.

we were an ear bleeding fusion of mid-nineties indie post grunge mainstream rock that was so bad that we never made it out of our Manchester Northern Quarter rehearsal room

Watching yourself on video is the same kind of shock reaction I had way back when I was only 18, when I decided to record myself singing (I think everyone should do this!). I’d bought a 8-track recorder and mic for the band to record demo versions of the songs I was writing. I wasn’t used to hearing a recorded version of myself talk, let alone sing, so I went through a whole lot of cringing. Once I got over the initial shock and when there was no one was around, I tried again… and again and again. Slowly over weeks and months I got better, I got used to hearing my own voice and actually improved the way it sounded. Eventually I reached the point where it was so familiar that I wasn’t even cringing anymore and it kind of sounded… ok.

I realised that actually taking on board feedback, getting used to hearing yourself and practicing over and over again can be really powerful…

That and the fact that you really do have to start somewhere, anywhere and at first it’ll be far from perfect but over time you’ll get better and improve. After a while you’ll look back and be able see the incremental steps of improvement until you get to the point where you’re actually quite good.

It’s simply starting somewhere and somehow that is usually the hardest step to take. But once you’re beyond the initial steps it’s all about learning and improving.

I just need to take that first step…

So I’m guessing I’m not the only person to face this awkward situation, looking down a camera lens and thinking “what am I doing?”, “who am I talking to?”?

How did you get over it? Do you have any tips for getting in front of a camera and delivering?