How To Start A Travel Vlog Without Ruining Your Trips

It is common for frequent travelers to consider starting a vlog at some point.

You have incredible experiences with your family which you want to share with the world. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, many people are not prepared for how this will affect their trips.

This is especially true for parents who assume they can simply film themselves and their kids organically enjoying travel.

If you’re worried about your travel vlog ruining your trips, you have just cause. While it can be rewarding for you and your audience, vlogging has the potential to take you out of the moment.

You start to worry about getting the right shots, rather than enjoying yourselves.

This happens even to those with the best of intentions, as spontaneous moments are extremely difficult to capture in a video.

That doesn’t mean you can’t make a travel vlog with your family that benefits your family and your viewers. Follow these tips to start a travel vlog that won’t ruin your experience.

Do the hard work in advance

When considering creating a travel vlog, it is important to recognize that there is a lot of admin. You need to learn how to start a YouTube channel.

Yes, you can technically start a channel just by opening an account. However, there is work to do to get it ready for visitors before you start uploading videos.

Ideally, you should do this in advance and not while you’re traveling. Doing the research and being proactive when setting up your Youtube account and video content will make sure that you have time at the end of a long day of touring to relax and enjoy your trip.

Certain activities such as Bohol whale shark tour are identified as potential narrative directions and are prepared for.

Finding a balance between work and traveling for pure enjoyment is especially important, especially after you’ve been filming all day and need some time out of the glare of the camera.

Decide what to film before leaving the hotel or rental

If you spend your day out filming as many great moments as possible, you might be disappointed when you look through what you captured.

The reality is that spontaneously capturing your experiences usually makes for bad content. You just end up with hours of poor camera work and moments which don’t create a coherent narrative.

The travel vlogs which appear most natural are actually curated. Certain activities are identified as potential narrative directions and are prepared for.

When you get to those points in your day, you know exactly what you need to do to capture the right camera angles and the exact moments that will make for great viewing.

Make it a family project

Chances are that your kids will be terrible at every aspect of making a travel vlog other than simply enjoying themselves.

However, your kids may not appreciate that their parents are working on a project when you’re meant to be spending quality time together.

There is an important balance to be found, and one solution is to get them involved.

By making your vlog a family project, you are doing it together. Rather than dividing you, it brings you together with a common purpose.

You interact in a meaningful way with your kids, sidestepping the potential for ruining their trip by being an absent figure behind a camera.

Keep the filming to a minimum

Your instinct may be to film as much as possible to ensure you have all the content you could ever need.

However, this means you will be absent from many of the experiences you’re trying to capture.

Instead, only film the activities you decide on in advance. The ratio should favor the moments you spend off-camera, rather than those you spend filming.

Consider leaving your camera behind when going off on an adventure you don’t plan on sharing.

This way, you won’t be tempted to try to capture what seems like potential content.

Yes, you may miss out on some amazing content, but your experience will be all the better for it.

Don’t monetize it… yet

Of course, every person who starts a vlog wants to make money from it. There is potential to earn big bucks from travel vlogging.

However, this should be a consequence of a good vlog rather than a goal from the start. The fact is that if you try to monetize it immediately, you turn it into a job.

It is possible to enjoy your job, but it is necessarily a different experience than a vacation. This will be particularly true for your kids, who see you in work mode most days of the year.

Eventually, when you are already getting views and have gotten into the swing of things, you can monetize. At this point, it will be a natural benefit and not your main ambition.

This is true of all kinds of parenting vlogs, as it helps prevent your relationship with your children from becoming at all transactional.

The above tips will help you start your successful travel vlog without undermining your experience and level of presence while you travel.

If you go about it without specific care, you can turn your family vacation into a job.