Poem In Your Pocket Style Guide

Using Your Phone To Record Yourself Reading A Poem

Lighting

A gif of our LLUF Connor with lighting going around the clock

Try to make sure that a large, soft light (rather than a point light like the sun-with-no-clouds) is in front of you (rather than behind you).

Somewhere between “10 o’clock” and “2 o’clock” if “12:00” is where the camera is located. So, if your head is the center of a clock, and the phone camera is 12 o'clock, then stand about 2 ft away from a window that is either at your 10 o'clock, or your 2 o'clock

an image of backlit subject with an x below it and an image of well lit subject with a check below it

Composition

Record horizontally

an image of vertical orientation with an x below it and an image of horizontal orientation with a check below it

Frame yourself to allow for a little headroom

an image of subject with part of head cut off and x below, an image of subject with too much headroom and x below, and an image of subject with a little headroom and check below

Keep phone lens at eye level

an image of lens below eye level with x, an image of lens above eye level with x, and an image of lens at eye level with check

Filming

Hold the camera steady, or, better yet, try to stabilize it by leaning it against something or clamping it to something.

a gif of unsteady camera with x and steady camera with check

When you "look up at the camera" look into the lens, not at the screen. a gif of subject looking up at screen with x + subject looking into lens with check

Sound

Stay close to the phone so that you pick up good audio.