Shannon's Top 9 Must Have YouTuber Essentials

Lighting is everything! You may not have a budget for the latest phone or camera to record your youtube videos from but having good lighting can make your videos look higher quality and if you are a beauty vlogger, a ring light is going to make your hair and makeup pop - perfect for before & afters!

If you’re like me and film at all different times of the day, you may find that relying on just natural lighting isn’t doable. Using a ring light allows you to have great lighting at any time of the day & makes all of your videos have a consistent look.

Clear and high quality sound is key for your YouTube videos! I, as a viewer, have had to switch off so many videos just due to the terrible sound quality - you don’t want that to be the case with your channel.

I use an external mic that connects to my phone allowing me to record clear audio with the 'Voice Memo' app on my iPhone. I then import the audio file into my editing software and sync it up with the video. If your camera has the option to insert an external mic while filming, that’s even better as you won’t have to merge the video and audio files during the edit.

This is a hugely popular camera used by many successful vloggers & Instagram influencers for both pictures and video. I’ve had my G7x for years and it still serves me well! 

The best thing about this camera is the compact size and the flip screen, which allows you to see yourself while you film! Helpful for keeping an eye on the focus and if you have anything you need to adjust in the scene that would be too late to fix while editing!

For those who may not be using a camera to film youtube videos, I highly recommend purchasing a phone stand as it will again hold your phone still. This stand is great for daily vloggers as you can mount it in the car, place it on the table while you’re out to eat and at home while live streaming or creating cooking/makeup tutorials.

It’s also practical for TikTok & Instagram reels, especially if you want to film your dancing but have no one to help. I like to use mine for live streams Q&A’s as I can easily look at comments on the screen without having to come close to the camera or hold it nearer to me.

Imagine filming a batch of YouTube videos, transferring the files from your camera to your computer and finding out that your storage is full! Not the greatest start to the editing process, but it happens, and this is why it is a MUST to invest in a hard drive for storing your footage. 

Over the past 6 years, I have filmed YouTube videos and have a ton of MOV files that no longer fit on my laptop and begin to slow it down. You can combat this by storing larger files onto the hard drive instead resulting in faster editing time!

A lot of hard work goes into the YouTube videos you frequently watch and love! As YouTubers, we have to be the main talent, director, videographer and editor. If you’re like me and edit your own videos after filming, you’ll know that hours of staring at screens all day can be really harsh on your eyes causing fatigue and headaches.

You can avoid this by wearing blue light glasses whilst in the editing process. I find I can last much longer on the computer when wearing the glasses due to the decrease of strain on my eyes. They also come in some really great styles and colours so you won’t be ashamed to be caught wearing them!

We’ve spoken about editing a lot as it plays a huge part in the YouTube process. Along with the software you need a reliable device to edit on. I am team Apple all the way when it comes to devices I have to work on as they are super fast and efficient, also long lasting! 

I’ve had my MacBook Pro for over 10 years and it still works but recently upgraded to an iMac to speed things up! The sleek and lightweight MacBook Pro is great for YouTubers who like to edit on the go - or just between rooms at home! If like me you work primarily online and are a business owner using a Macbook, iPad or iMac are amazing buys as you can easily airdrop your video or image files across devices.

If you’re like me and find it easier to write things down on paper instead of on your phone, a simple monthly planner will be great for scheduling out your YouTube content and mapping out all of those amazing video ideas you have! I love to have written deadlines for filming, editing and posting my videos. 

As a visual learner, it helps me to see how busy my weeks are and when to fit my YouTube work around my other daily tasks.

This is a definite must-have for your YouTube channel! Having a white backdrop is amazing to use for setting your camera's white balance and for creating flat lays! Beauty and fashion YouTubers will often display the items they are using and products, which always look really clean and professional when placed on a white backdrop - it is also great for images and creating thumbnails. 

If you don’t have access to white walls or tabletops at home, this lightbox is a great solution as you simply place your products inside. Use the light it comes with and effortlessly shoot magazine worthy content wherever you are.