Hi Everyone,

Last night I started the process of making my very first online video! I was very anxious to make my first video, so that meant dong it myself with my digital camera.

It took quite a while to find the “right ” location, as in where I would actually be seen on my video without looking like I was being twisted into a pretzel! I had my camera propped on shoe boxes in my living room, tried the kitchen counter, and various other little tricks! I finally found the ideal spot in my dining room on a little shelf on my computer desk where one of the speakers sits. This way I could sit at my computer in my chair and actually be comfortable!

The next thing was to do a test. I did test photos with my camera until I found the right position with lighting and distance, and background (I’m sure no one wants to see my laundry rack in the background!). And of course I wanted to make sure my head wouldn’t be cut off in my video!

Ok, so now that I had the perfect spot it was time to start making my video! My first try was so awful, I had to laugh! I did retakes for an hour and a half, and to my surprise I was getting better and better at it! I ended up with tons of “bloopers”, just like on tv, like mixing up words, forgetting what I wanted to say and getting tongue tied! One time I said “Hi, I’m Lori James from “Mortgage Professionials Incorporated”! Now where the heck did that come from? I haven’t worked there in over a year! As time went on though, and I got more used to myself being in a video, my videos actually got better and better! (Believe me, they couldn’t have gotten any worse than the first one I took!)

By the end of the hour and a half I was so close to having a decent first video – then my camera’s battery died! So, I put in on the charger and will pick up where I left off later tonight!

I’m much more confident now than I was when I started out last night, so I’m sure that tonight will be the night that I’ll complete my first video!

It’s very important though to not take yourself too seriously! Even if you have to do tons of retakes, you WILL get better at it each time! I chose to laugh at myself and have fun with it, instead of becoming frustrated. After all, I’ve never taken a video of myself before, so I couldn’t expect it to turn out the way I wanted it to on the first tries, right?

So, if this is the first time you’re making a video of yourself my advice is to be patient, have fun, laugh at your “bloopers” and you’ll see how much progress you really are making with each retake you do! Next thing you know, your first video will be ready to put up online!

I’ll let you know when my video is up!

Have a great day,

Lori James

http://www.everythinghomebiz.com

lorijames@everythinghomebiz.com