My First Time Travel Vlogging
This is IT!
An opportunity & enough courage to try out vlogging in public for the first time & create the aesthetic travel vlog of my dreams! Lake Gregory seemed pretty chill, so it felt like the best place for a beginner like me to try out travel vlogging!
…Or at least, that was the goal. But I’ve since realized traveling and travel vlogging are completely different things.
So let me break down what our day looked like, and what was going on in my mind while I tried to figure out how to film in public. You can also watch it here, for full visual impact.
Table of Contents
Travel Vlogging Day 1
We booked a short little 3-day stay at an Airbnb in Lake Gregory for the end of August. We chose it over Santa Barbara & Lake Arrowhead because:
- It was more economical, and
- We figured it was less crowded. Nearby was the more popular Lake Arrowhead.
- The overall vibe seemed more chill, so it felt like a good testing ground for my first-time travel vlogging.
I may not have had a lot figured out in terms of planning shots, but I knew I wanted to film the following scenes:
- Getting into the car
- Entering the Airbnb
- Doing a little tour
If you’re keeping track, that’s only 3 things I had planned. So of course, I only got 2 out of 3.
The little tour was somewhat fine until I got to our bedroom. It had a fantastic view I wanted to showcase, by filming myself sliding the door open to film that view. Except the sliding door in our bedroom was stuck. What’s more, it was only that bedroom, because of course it was.
It’s funnier in video (and in retrospect)!
Looking back on it now, I suppose I could’ve tried again. I could’ve gone through the upstairs sliding door from the living room instead. But that’s hindsight and inexperience for me.
But I didn’t realize that back then. As a beginner at travel vlogging, I’m still uncertain how to adapt to filming setbacks I encounter.
At the time though, after I decided to turn off my camera for the moment, I got absorbed in conversation. Not to brag, but I was living in the moment.
I’m not saying that to come off as more worldly, or whatever. I want to highlight that as a beginner, my mindset hasn’t caught up yet to the change in direction.
Straight up, I just forgot about my camera. Filming my activities doesn’t come naturally to me. So once I put down my camera I get absorbed in other things.
Not to mention, there are a lot of other little details to take care of when we travel. Stuff like putting away our perishables and figuring out where everything was in a new kitchen, for example.
Then, as trips with friends go, we got into intense (& deeply personal) conversations late into the night. Clearly, I have a lot more practice to do before travel vlogging comes naturally to me.
Travel Vlogging Day 2
Another day, another attempt at travel vlogging!
We decided to hike one lap around the lake since we knew we wanted to try swimming afterward. It was also an easy trail for a beginner (both hiking & vlogging).
My first tip for travel vlogging should be:
Get yourself a great friend who is equally – or more – enthusiastic about your vlogging escapade. A great friend will make travel vlogging feel less embarrassing (for a beginner). Bonus points if they have photography and/or art experience!
Shoutout to my friend J for being a VERY enthusiastic camera girl & cheerleader!!!
We started around 12:20 and finished around 1:30 p.m. We took it slow to enjoy the view and also, we were here on vacation not for exercise. At least, I wasn’t.
What was nice was that since we were constantly walking, I wasn’t in one spot long enough to be self-conscious and wonder if people were judging me for filming myself in public. I don’t think I’m alone when I say most beginners at travel vlogging probably worry about this.
At the end of our hike, three of us swam in the lake for a little bit. It was my first time swimming in a lake! I’m more of a “pool or beach” type of girl. I only took photos instead of videos since:
- I was worried about dropping my phone in the lake. It’s waterproof, but that doesn’t help if I can’t see/feel it underwater.
- My camera’s battery died, and OF COURSE, I left my extra battery back at the Airbnb. Right after I charged it specifically so I would have 2 full batteries… Oh, well.
That day showed me that I really have a lot left to learn & practice to become a better travel vlogger.
It’s something I know as a beginner anyway, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Finally, we left the lake around 2:30 pm to head back to the Airbnb for a late lunch & to take a nap. During a vacation, any time is an acceptable time to take a nap. Upon writing this though, I realize that might conflict with the goal of travel vlogging, at some point.
I wish I could say that I did more exploring and had more adventures. But the reality is that most of the time, we were just chilling at the Airbnb. Our biggest dilemma was whether to sit inside for comfort, or outside for the view!
Travel Vlogging Day 3
Check-out was at 10 a.m., so I didn’t really plan on doing much filming (if any) that day. Of course, that’s when I remembered I wanted to do some close-ups of the décor, so I managed to do that before we left.
Although it wasn’t that rushed, I found I was unhappy with most of that footage. As a beginner, I understand my early work won’t be impressive so I made do with what I had. I made the second half of my video pretty much the bloopers, so I placed my unused B-roll at the end.
However, the drive down looked so pretty I was struck with the urge to film it.
I’m so glad I finally remembered I had a camera because the winding road looked great! This shot probably had the most “travel” vibe out of my vacation/travel vlogging trip.
So ironically, my planned shots turned out rather bland, but a spur-of-the-moment shot looked amazing.
I do wish I had filmed some shots when we stopped by for sushi, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get the hang of filming while hungry… We got home around 2, but we decided to just relax and settle back in for the rest of the day. Me especially, since I knew I had a long day of editing ahead of me the next day.
Except I didn’t even finish editing the next day. Or the next week.
Video Editing… A month later,
Fast-forward to about a month after my trip, which was when I actually sat down to finish editing.
I spent that month looking at the various footage I had, and wondered: How the heck am I supposed to stitch this all together into a cohesive travel vlog?!
In the end, I had to remind myself that this trip was meant to be a vacation first. While I always intended to get comfortable filming in public, that was a bonus. It was about trying new things and testing out my equipment outside.
Of course, that didn’t quite help as much when I was staring at my footage, with no clue how to move forward. But that’s what learning experiences are for, and also why this video took so long to make.
In the end, I decided to just show what I learned, about how traveling & travel vlogging look so different. Especially once you add background music to set the mood.
It isn’t my best work, but it did teach me something, so there’s that! As a beginner, I suppose teaching moments are what I need the most at this stage.
