If cooking is your passion, it’s natural that you might want to share this passion with as many people as you can.
But what can you do if all your friends and family members have already tasted your masterful cuisine, and it’s still not enough? The answer is simple: you can start making cooking videos.
There’s still the question of how you can do it. That’s why we’d like to discuss the process and give you a couple of useful tips so that you understand how to make home cooking videos better.
Things You Need to Make Cooking Videos
Before we dive into the editing process, let’s discuss some tools and equipment that you might need for making cooking videos.
Camera or Smartphone
Good video quality is already half of your success. Of course, one of the best options is to buy a camera. However, you don’t have to invest in professional equipment, your smartphone camera might also be good.
Just make sure it can shoot in at least 1080p for excellent results.
Tripod or Stabilizer
You don’t want your footage to be shaky, do you?
To get stable shots, you’ll have to think about purchasing a tripod or another stabilizer. It will keep your camera steady while you cook so that your entire focus is on the process.
Lighting Equipment
This step is often overlooked, but trust us, it’s just as crucial as a good camera.
Natural light works wonders, but if you’re filming indoors or during the evening, it’s a good idea to invest in lighting equipment to illuminate your cooking area.
Microphone
Good audio is also important. While there’s nothing wrong with using a smartphone for recording video, we don’t recommend using it for capturing sound, since it’ll significantly spoil the quality.
Use an external microphone for clear voiceovers or to record the satisfying sounds of sizzling, chopping, and mixing.
Video Editing Software
Perhaps, you won’t need a super advanced program to add all sorts of modern effects. But you’ll certainly need an editor to cut and trim your clips, do basic color correction, and add text and other subtle touches.
There are plenty of options: you can get a video editor for Windows or for Mac, or even online, so it doesn’t matter what OS your device runs on.
Creating Home Cooking Videos: Get Your Footage Ready
There are a few important steps that have to be taken before you launch a video editor.
Plan Your Recipe and Shots
Before hitting record, outline the recipe you’ll be performing. Decide which steps to include and how to present them visually.
Think about close-ups for chopping vegetables, wide shots for cooking on the stove, and dynamic angles for plating.
Set Up Your Workspace
Keep your cooking space clean and organized. Declutter your countertops and arrange ingredients neatly.
Apart from saving you lots of time while cooking, organizing your workspace makes your kitchen look more appealing on video.
Film in Sections
Filming your process in short segments makes it easier to edit cooking videos later. Record each step individually and capture multiple angles to add variety.
Don’t forget to include a few beauty shots of the finished dish and some B-roll footage as well.
Add Personal Touches
You might think that subscribers watch your videos only for the recipe itself, but it’s not entirely true. Most of them also come for your personality, so it’s your job to entertain them.
For example, engage your viewers with personal anecdotes, cooking tips, or fun facts about the dish.
Focus on Audio
In addition to visuals, capture the natural sounds of cooking — like sizzling or the crunch of vegetables being chopped. These small details can make your home cooking videos more immersive and even add a touch of ASMR.
Editing Cooking Videos: 7 Steps
Congratulations, now you’ve got all the footage you’ll need for creating a cooking video. But it’s too early to relax, all the magic is still ahead.
Editing is one of the most crucial food video production steps that you shouldn’t miss. It is exactly the stage where you turn raw shots into a creative project that fascinates the audience.
1. Organize Your Footage
Before editing, sort your clips into folders so that you can find all the files fast. Download all the necessary extra files such as background music, additional sounds, or, perhaps, various textures and overlays.
After adding all the files into the chosen software, use the color coding feature (if your video editor offers it) to organize your video and audio tracks within the program, too.
2. Trim Unnecessary Parts
Get rid of everything you don’t want to be in the video. Cut out long pauses, mistakes, or excess footage.
Remember that short videos are especially popular now due to decreasing attention spans, so try to remove as many unnecessary scenes as possible.
3. Add Transitions
Use transitions like cuts, fades, or wipes for a natural flow between clips. Subtle transitions work best for cooking videos, since they keep the focus on the food and don’t distract viewers.
It doesn’t mean you can’t be creative and include a couple of more advanced transitions, just try not to overdo it.
4. Adjust Colors and Lighting
If you want your ingredients and dishes to look even more appetizing, color correction is a must.
Use a video editor’s features to tweak brightness, contrast, and saturation. Some software also provide a number of color filters that you can add onto your footage, which saves you the trouble of adjusting all the settings manually.
5. Add Text and Subtitles
Normally, cooking videos don’t require a lot of text, but including ingredient lists and measurements is always a nice idea. You may write them all at the end or make them appear throughout the entire video every time you add a new ingredient.
Subtitles are also a nice touch, especially for short videos that viewers often watch with the sound off.
6. Include Music and Voiceovers (Optional)
Background music and sound effects can set the tone for your video, and voiceovers can add personality and clearness to it. If you’re going to use the video for commercial purposes, choose tunes from royalty-free libraries.
However, keep in mind that music and voiceovers are not a must. There’s an entire trend of ASMR cooking videos that show the process without any extra sounds. For example, there’s a YouTube channel called Peaceful Cuisine that has plenty of content like that.
7. Export in High Quality
When everything’s done, and you’ve made all the necessary adjustments, it’s time to export the video.
Aim for at least 1080p (the higher, the better) for optimal quality. Many video editors provide output templates for various platforms (such as YouTube or Instagram), so that you don’t have to adjust the settings by yourself.
Final Thoughts
Creating cooking videos is not as scary as it may sound. You just need to have a passion for food and the right tools.
Get a nice camera and microphone, think about the lighting, plan everything carefully, and add a touch of personality. Always edit your cooking videos to make them truly stand out.
Start small, keep experimenting, and most importantly, have fun sharing your love for food with the world.
