Kids grow up so fast and, as a parent, you want to capture as many of the precious memories as you can—from the adorable giggles to the first steps, play dates, and more.  But nothing spoils a memory like a badly shot video.  It can be so frustrating when you look back on a video of an adorable moment only to find that it just doesn’t capture the moment as well as you’d hoped.

Since many of our users are parents, uploading videos to Magisto to create family videos and video memories of their babies and children, we decided to put together a list of tips to help you shoot the best video possible of your children.

Keep it steady

One of the biggest problems with home video is shaky footage.  If you move your camera or smartphone around too much while you are shooting it can be difficult for the viewer to tell what’s going on in the shot (and can even make the viewer feel sick!).  The ultimate way to prevent shaky footage is by using a tripod, but if you don’t have a tripod you can keep things steady by bracing your arm against your body.  Instead of holding your arm out in front of you, try keeping your elbow anchored to your body.

We should add here that shaky footage isn’t necessarily unusable footage.  When you upload video to Magisto we run shaky footage through an image stabilizer to smooth it out and make it more viewable.  But ultimately, you should do your best to keep the camera steady while you are shooting.

Shoot from their level

A big mistake that a lot of parents make when shooting video of their kids is shooting from a standing position with the camera pointed down at the kids.  Instead of shooting while looking down on the kids, kneel down and shoot from their level.  The results will look a lot better.

Use props

You know your kids better than anyone and you know how they react to different physical things, like their binkie, their toys, your toys (like your cell phone or keys) and more.  Use these physical objects as props to make your video more interesting.  A video of your baby sitting and staring may be cute, but a video of your baby sitting and playing with his or her favorite toys will make a much more interesting memory.

Light things up

Many people don’t realize the importance of good lighting when it comes to shooting video.  A lot of light can make the difference between an OK shot and an amazing shot.  Natural light is the best, so if you are shooting during the day outside try to find a nice sunny spot.  If you are inside, go near a window or turn on as many lights as possible to get the best looking footage.

Get lots of footage

Finally, remember that there’s no such thing as too much footage.  The more video that you shoot the better the chance will be that you’ll capture something truly memorable and amazing, so take your camera with you wherever you go and get ready to start shooting at a moment’s notice.  You never know when you may capture a truly magical memory.

Remember, you don’t have to worry about editing the video yourself—just upload your footage to Magisto and we’ll do the work for you.  We help you create a movie out of your memory that you’ll be proud to share!

Have a great Magisto clip that you’ve created of your family?  We’d love to see it!  Feel free to share it with us in the comments below.

Image credit: Anatoliy Samara via 123RF.com