Filming outdoors with your smartphone can be challenging, but with the right techniques, you can achieve stunning, professional-looking videos in any environment.
Whether you’re shooting in bright sunlight or a low-light room, understanding how to adjust your settings is key to getting the perfect shot.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the essential steps for filming outdoors using your smartphone, specifically focusing on how to optimize your white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and how to use a neutral density (ND) filter to maintain the ideal exposure.
We’ll also tackle how to handle low-light situations, where adding an external light source can help enhance your footage.
By the end of this guide, you’ll have the tools and techniques needed to film high-quality outdoor content, no matter what lighting conditions you’re working with. Let’s dive in!
1. Setting White Balance for Outdoor Filming:
Getting the right white balance is crucial for achieving natural-looking colors in your outdoor footage. When filming in bright sunlight, setting the correct white balance ensures that your subject’s skin tones and the overall color of the scene look true to life. Here’s how to get it right:
How to Set White Balance:
Open the Pro Camera by Moment app (or any similar app you’re using), and scroll to the white balancesetting.
Since we’re filming outdoors in bright sunlight, set the white balance to 5600K, which is the standard for daylight.
- Why 5600K: This is the color temperature of daylight, so it ensures the colors in your video match the lighting you’re filming in.
Using Auto White Balance vs Manual Adjustment:
While the auto white balance might do a decent job of adjusting to outdoor lighting, manually setting it to 5600K helps maintain consistency.
- Why Manual is Better: Auto white balance may adjust slightly when you move the camera around, causing unwanted shifts in color. Manually locking it ensures the color temperature remains stable, avoiding those distracting color changes.
Practical Tip: In bright outdoor conditions, don’t hesitate to use manual white balance for better consistency. Auto can work in a pinch, but manual gives you more control and helps keep the colors accurate.
By setting the right white balance for your outdoor shoot, you’ll keep your colors natural and make your video look more polished. Now that the white balance is set, let’s move on to adjusting the ISO for optimal exposure.
Learn how to fine-tune your white balance for perfect skin tones and accurate colors in this earlier guide I wrote.
2. Setting ISO for Bright Outdoor Filming
In bright outdoor environments, controlling your ISO is essential to avoid overexposed footage while maintaining a clean, crisp image.
ISO affects the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light, and in bright sunlight, you’ll want to keep it as low as possible to prevent the image from becoming too bright or grainy. Here’s how to get the best results:
How to Set ISO
Set the ISO to the lowest possible value your camera allows, typically around ISO 100 or 200. This helps ensure that the image remains clean and avoids adding unnecessary brightness or noise.
A larger camera sensor can also improve dynamic range—see how sensor size affects video quality.
Why Low ISO Works: Low ISO values preserve the natural quality of the scene, ensuring your colors stay vibrant and your footage remains sharp and noise-free.
- When to Adjust ISO: If you’re shooting in an environment where the sunlight isn’t as strong or you need more exposure, you can increase the ISO slightly. But avoid going too high to prevent digital noise.
Tip 1: Always start with a low ISO, and only increase it if the scene appears too dark, and you can’t achieve proper exposure with aperture or shutter speed adjustments.
Tip 2: In direct sunlight, especially when you’ve set your white balance correctly, ISO 100 will likely be sufficient. Adjust only if the exposure is off, but keep it as low as possible to maintain a clean image.
With ISO properly set, your footage will have the right exposure and clarity, without introducing noise or unnecessary brightness. Now, let’s tackle shutter speed to ensure smooth motion and proper exposure in the bright sunlight.
3. Adjusting Shutter Speed in Bright Light:
In bright outdoor conditions, adjusting the shutter speed is crucial for controlling the exposure and achieving the right amount of motion blur in your footage.
While the ideal shutter speed is typically double your frame rate, bright sunlight can often throw off your settings, requiring some adjustments. Here’s how to handle it:
- Why It Matters: Shutter speed determines how much light hits the camera’s sensor, and it also affects motion blur. In bright light, you may find that your standard shutter speed makes the image too bright, resulting in overexposure. If you keep the shutter speed too low, the image will look washed out and too light.
Ideal Shutter Speed:
24 fps → 1/48 second: The cinematic standard is to set your shutter speed to double your frame rate (so for 24 fps, you want a shutter speed of 1/48). This ensures a smooth motion blur that gives your video that cinematic feel.
- Why it works: This setting gives your footage the right motion blur, making your shots look natural and fluid, not too choppy or unnatural.
Problem in Bright Sunlight:
Even with a low ISO, bright sunlight often makes the image too bright, even when using 1/48 shutter speed.
- Solution: In these cases, you’ll need to increase the shutter speed (i.e., over-crank) to reduce the exposure. This might result in less natural motion blur, but it helps correct the overexposure caused by bright sunlight.
How to Over-Crank Shutter Speed:
If your footage is still too bright with the 1/48 setting, you can increase the shutter speed to something like 1/100 or 1/200.
While this will reduce the motion blur and make your video look slightly less cinematic, it ensures that the image isn’t overexposed and helps maintain proper exposure in harsh lighting conditions.
Tip 1: Don’t worry too much about losing some motion blur when shooting in bright sunlight. Most viewers won’t consciously notice it, but they will notice if your footage is overexposed or too bright.
Pro Tip for filmmakers: If you’re after a more cinematic look with correct exposure, consider using an ND filter (Neutral Density filter) to reduce the amount of light hitting the lens, allowing you to keep your ideal shutter speed (1/48) without overexposing the image.
Pro Tip 2: If you don’t have an ND filter and you need to adjust the shutter speed in bright sunlight, it’s okay to sacrifice the perfect motion blur for the sake of proper exposure. You can always smooth out the footage in post-production if needed.
Adjusting the shutter speed is crucial for managing the brightness of your outdoor shots. By carefully tweaking it, you’ll be able to get the exposure just right without sacrificing too much of that cinematic feel.
Now, let’s move on to how you can use ND filters to help maintain proper exposure in bright light while keeping that perfect motion blur.
4. Using ND Filters for Outdoor Filming:
When filming outdoors in bright sunlight, one of the best tools you can use to achieve the perfect exposure while maintaining a cinematic look is an ND filter (Neutral Density filter).
ND filters help control the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor, allowing you to keep your shutter speed where it should be without overexposing your footage.
This smartphone filming guide covers how to balance exposure in all lighting situations.
Why It Matters: Bright sunlight can make it difficult to achieve the ideal shutter speed (such as 1/48 for 24 fps) without overexposing the image.
Increasing the shutter speed to compensate can result in a less natural motion blur. This is where an ND filter comes in—it’s like a pair of sunglasses for your camera, reducing the light entering the lens without affecting the color balance of your shot.
How ND Filters Work:
An ND filter reduces the amount of light hitting the camera sensor, helping you maintain your desired shutter speed and aperture settings in bright conditions.
Types of ND Filters: There are two main types:
- Fixed ND filters: These have a set amount of light reduction (e.g., 3 stops, 6 stops).
- Variable ND filters: These allow you to adjust the intensity of the filter by rotating the ring, giving you flexibility to fine-tune the amount of light reduction.
Why it works: By reducing the light, you can maintain your cinematic shutter speed of 1/48 without overexposing your footage, keeping the motion blur intact.
Using a Variable ND Filter:
How to Adjust It: If you’re using a variable ND filter, simply rotate the filter to adjust the amount of light reduction.
The more you rotate it, the darker the image becomes, allowing you to keep the exposure balanced while filming in bright sunlight.
Practical Tip: Start by rotating the ND filter to reduce the light coming into your camera. Check your exposure on the screen to ensure it’s not too bright or too dark, and adjust the filter as needed.
Why It’s Useful: The variable ND filter gives you greater flexibility, especially when filming in constantly changing lighting conditions, like moving between areas of shade and sunlight.
Where to Get ND Filters:
ND filters can be found from several manufacturers. The Moment ND filters are a great choice for mobile filmmakers, but other brands offer high-quality filters as well.
Practical Tip: When purchasing an ND filter, make sure to check that it’s compatible with your phone’s lens size. Some filters are designed for specific lens mounts or sizes, so you’ll want to find one that fits your device.
Why You Need ND Filters in Outdoor Filming:
Without an ND filter, you’ll be forced to make trade-offs between shutter speed and exposure. Using an ND filter allows you to achieve the perfect exposure while keeping your shutter speed low for that cinematic look.
Practical Tip: For most outdoor shoots, especially in direct sunlight, an ND filter is essential. It allows you to maintain your ideal settings (ISO low, shutter speed at 1/48) without overexposing the image.
Using ND filters in bright outdoor conditions will give your footage a professional, polished look by helping you maintain proper exposure and cinematic motion blur.
They’re an essential tool for any filmmaker shooting outdoors. Now that we’ve covered ND filters, let’s move on to how to handle low-light situations where your camera’s settings need more adjustments.
5. Handling Low Light:
Filming in low-light conditions presents a unique set of challenges, as your camera needs to gather enough light to properly expose the scene without introducing noise or losing detail. Here’s how to handle low light and get the best possible footage:
Why It Matters: Low-light environments often result in underexposed footage. When the scene is too dark, the camera compensates by increasing the ISO, which can introduce digital noise, making your footage look grainy and less professional. To avoid this, it’s essential to adjust your settings and, when necessary, introduce additional light sources.
Set Shutter Speed First:
In low light, start by adjusting your shutter speed to the ideal setting, which for 24 fps is 1/48. This ensures that your footage has proper motion blur and a natural look.
Why it matters: A correct shutter speed helps maintain the cinematic quality of your video. If your footage is too dark, you may need to adjust other settings, but keeping the shutter speed constant ensures smooth motion.
Increase ISO for Exposure:
How to Adjust: If the image is too dark, you’ll need to increase the ISO to make the sensor more sensitive to light. Start by increasing the ISO in small increments (e.g., 400, 800, 1600) until the image is properly exposed.
Increasing ISO adds brightness to the scene, but be cautious—higher ISO values can cause digital noise, especially in darker areas of the shot.
Practical Tip: Avoid going too high with ISO (e.g., above 3200) unless absolutely necessary. The higher the ISO, the more noise will appear, which can ruin the quality of your footage.
Adding External Light Sources:
When the lighting is too dim to rely on your camera settings, the best solution is to add external light. A simple LED panel, a ring light, or even household lamps can significantly improve your exposure without introducing digital noise.
How to Adjust: Once you introduce external light, adjust your ISO back down to the lowest possible value to eliminate noise while keeping the image well-lit.
Why it matters: Lighting is often the most important factor in achieving clean, professional footage. By controlling your lighting, you can brighten the scene without relying too heavily on ISO adjustments.
Matching White Balance to New Light Sources:
Adjust White Balance: If you’re using artificial lighting, adjust the white balance to match the temperature of your light.
For instance, if you’re using tungsten bulbs, set the white balance to around 3200K. If you’re using daylight-balanced LEDs, keep it around 5600K.
Why it matters: Matching the white balance to your light source ensures that the colors in your video are true to life and consistent. You don’t want to see unnatural color casts from mixed lighting sources.
Practical Tip: When shooting in low light, it’s often better to add more light to your scene than to push your ISO too high. External lighting can make a huge difference and prevent your footage from looking grainy or too dark.
Using Soft Lighting for Better Results:
To avoid harsh shadows and create more flattering lighting, use soft light sources like diffusers or bounced light. This creates a more even, natural look that’s easier to film with.
- Why it matters: Harsh lighting can lead to unnatural shadows, while soft lighting helps your subject look more even and flattering, especially in indoor low-light situations.
By carefully adjusting the shutter speed, ISO, and white balance, and using external lighting when necessary, you can maintain professional-quality footage even in low-light environments.
Now that you’re prepared to handle these tricky conditions, let’s move on to applying these techniques in practice and refining your skills!
6. Balancing Exposure in Dark Scenes:
Filming in a scene with very little light can be tricky, but with the right adjustments, you can achieve the perfect exposure.
The goal is to brighten the image without introducing too much noise or losing detail in the shadows. Here’s how to balance exposure in dark scenes:
- Why It Matters: In dark scenes, your camera struggles to capture enough light, leading to underexposed footage. The key challenge is to get enough light into the sensor while maintaining the clarity of the image, especially without relying too heavily on increasing ISO, which can lead to noise.
Step 1: Start with Ideal Shutter Speed
Begin by setting your shutter speed to the ideal 1/48 (if filming at 24 fps). This ensures that your motion remains smooth and cinematic, with the proper motion blur.
Maintaining the correct shutter speed is crucial for the cinematic feel of your footage. If you adjust shutter speed too much, it could impact the overall look of the motion in your scene.
Step 2: Increase ISO for More Light
If your footage is still too dark, you will need to increase the ISO. Start with a lower ISO value (e.g., ISO 400) and increase it incrementally. Keep an eye on the exposure level until you get the proper brightness.
Why it matters: ISO boosts the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor, making it more responsive to light. However, raising ISO too much can introduce digital noise, which makes your image look grainy and reduces the overall quality.
Step 3: Managing Noise with ISO
Avoiding Too High ISO: While increasing ISO helps in dark scenes, you should avoid going too high (e.g., above ISO 3200) because this results in noticeable digital noise.
Practical tip: Keep ISO as low as possible while ensuring proper exposure. If the ISO is too high and causing noticeable noise, it may be time to adjust other settings or introduce additional light sources.
Step 4: Use External Lighting for Clean Exposure
Adding Light to the Scene: The best way to improve exposure in dark scenes is to introduce an external light. This could be a portable LED light, a desk lamp, or any light source you have available.
Why it matters: Adding light allows you to reduce the need for high ISO values and prevents grainy footage. Lighting the scene properly also helps in achieving more consistent and professional-looking shots.
Step 5: Adjust Exposure Settings After Adding Light
Once you add external light, you can lower the ISO again to prevent noise. Also, make sure your white balance matches the temperature of the new light source.
Why it matters: Adjusting the light balance ensures that the colors in your video stay natural and consistent. If you don’t adjust the white balance after adding light, your footage may look too warm or too cool.
- Practical Tip: If you are still facing exposure challenges even after adding light, try adjusting your lighting angles. Soft light (such as diffused light from a lamp or LED panel) often works better than harsh lighting, which can cast sharp shadows and uneven lighting on your subject.
Step 6: Review the Histogram
Check the histogram on your camera app to assess the exposure. If most of the data is clustered on the left side (underexposed), you know you need to brighten the scene.
The histogram gives you a visual guide to the exposure levels. If the data is too far to the left, your image is underexposed. If it’s too far to the right, your image may be overexposed.
Practical Tip: Use the histogram as a reference to ensure that the exposure is balanced, with data spread evenly across the graph, avoiding underexposure or overexposure.
By following these steps, you can achieve the perfect exposure even in dark scenes, minimizing noise and maximizing the quality of your footage.
Now that you’ve mastered exposure adjustments, let’s put everything into practice and experiment with different lighting conditions.
Conclusion
Mastering exposure in different lighting conditions is key to capturing professional-quality footage, whether you’re filming outdoors in bright sunlight or indoors in low-light environments.
By understanding how to adjust your white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and using ND filters, you can ensure that your footage looks clean, balanced, and cinematic.
Here’s a quick recap of the essential steps:
- White balance: Set it according to the lighting to keep your colors true to life.
- ISO: Keep it low in bright conditions to avoid noise, and adjust it in dark scenes to get the right exposure.
- Shutter speed: Use the cinematic standard of 1/48 for smooth motion blur, but adjust it as needed in bright conditions to maintain proper exposure.
- ND filters: Use them in bright conditions to allow you to maintain your ideal shutter speed without overexposing your footage.
- Lighting adjustments: Add external light in dark scenes to balance exposure and avoid relying on high ISO values.
Remember, the key to great filming is not just about the gear, but how you apply these fundamental techniques. By practicing in various lighting situations, you’ll get a feel for how each setting affects your video. The more you experiment, the more these adjustments will become second nature.
So, take what you’ve learned, get out there, and start filming! Experiment with these settings in different conditions and see how they work together to create beautiful, professional-looking footage. Happy shooting!