Quick Tip 02 – Best Camera Settings for Social Media (Instagram, TikTok & YouTube)

The funny thing about camera settings is that, while they’re purely technical, people treat them like personal beliefs. As if defending 24fps or 8K resolution is some kind of hill to die on..

When it comes to social media, we can keep things simple. Sure, camera settings are complicated, but you can ignore most of the noise!

My current setup is the following:

Quick disclaimer: it really doesn’t matter what camera you’re shooting on. As long as you can manually adjust the settings, you can copy mine 1:1.

And for everyone shooting with the native iPhone camera app, don’t worry. I’ve got a separate post coming next week just for you.

I mostly shoot in ProRes 422 HQ or H.265 because they offer excellent quality and work well with common editing software. At the end of the day, the exact format, ProRes, XAVC-I, H.265, etc., doesn’t matter as long as it’s high quality and you export your final edit in H.265 or H.264.

If you want to read about export settings for social media check this article.

For beginners, stick with the Rec.709 color profile, simple and reliable.
For advanced filmmakers, use a LOG profile to capture maximum dynamic range that gives the most flexibility in post-production.

Both formats are great. I always shoot in 4k and export it as 1080p. But shooting in 1080p works just as good.

I normally shoot 60FPS, so I have the option to add some slow motion if I feel like it. I then export in 30FPS.

If your camera supports shutter angle, I highly recommend using it. It’s way easier than constantly doubling your frame rate. I can’t count how many times I forgot to adjust my shutter speed after small FPS changes.. Now I just lock it at a 180° shutter angle and never think about it again. Makes everything super easy.

Keep your ISO as low as possible. Depending on the camera you’re using you can push it above 1000 ISO but generally the lower the better.

Okay, now that we’ve covered the quick settings, let’s dig a little deeper. Not into the technical stuff? No worries, the settings above will work perfectly even if you don’t fully understand them!

Shutter speed measures how long your camera’s sensor is exposed to light, usually in fractions of a second. It controls motion blur; faster speeds produce sharper motion, slower speeds create more blur. For a realistic look you should always double your frame rate. 30FPS = 1/60s, and so on.

Shutter angle comes from traditional film cameras, which have a spinning shutter disk in front of the film. The angle of the open part of the disk determines how long each frame is exposed. A 180° shutter angle means the disk is open half the time, giving natural motion blur without having to manually adjust shutter speed when you change frame rates.

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.

Self-explanatory right haha..

Simply put: ISO controls your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. A higher ISO brightens your image but can add grain or noise, while a lower ISO keeps the image clean but needs more light.

FPS (frames per second) measures how many individual frames your camera records each second. Higher FPS gives smoother motion, ideal for fast action or slow motion, while lower FPS creates a more cinematic feel. It’s an important creative tool, different FPS and shutter speed/angle combinations can convey very different moods.

Just two simple ways to use technical settings creatively!

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Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!

Until next time,

Stefan

Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.

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