Content creator and YouTube educator Jessica Stansberry helps business owners simplify content and turn it into consistent sales. On set, she leans on the Alpha 7 IV for her creator workflow, from crisp talking‑head pieces to quick b‑roll, keeping production fast while leaving plenty of room for polish in post. Watch and read below as she shares her three top tips when shooting video with your Alpha camera.
1. Use Zebra Stripes To Help With Exposure
Jessica’s first tip is great for photographers and videographers alike. Setting up zebra stripes on your Alpha camera gives you a fast, visual way to judge exposure without digging into histograms. “What I love about the Alpha 7 IV is that I can turn on zebras and be able to see where I’m overexposing or not overexposing my footage. I am terrible with overexposing things. For some reason I just like naturally want this like light, airy look, but then when I get it into post – it’s garbage. So the zebras are a really great help for me…”
You can set zebras to warn you when highlights are about to clip, or target a specific range (like 70% for skin tones or ~94–100+% for specular highlights) so faces stay properly exposed while protecting detail. It speeds up shooting, keeps exposure consistent across shots, and is especially helpful in high-contrast or run‑and‑gun situations, including exposing S-Log footage reliably.
To set up the zebra setting on your camera, follow these steps (Note: Steps may vary depending on camera model and menu display):
MENU → (Exposure/Color) → [Zebra Display] → Select a menu item and set the desired parameter.
Menu item details:
- Zebra Display: Sets whether to display the zebra pattern. ([Off] / [On])
- Zebra Level: Adjusts the brightness level of the zebra pattern. ([70] / [75] / [80] / [85] / [90]/ [95] / [100] / [100+])
2. Lock Your White Balance To A Custom Button
Jessica also has a trick for easily locking the white balance when she’s creating a video. “In my home office, I have a really white, open space and a lot of windows and natural light, but also studio light. And so white balance can be a little bit of a problem for me, but what I like to do is – I set up the C2 button on the front to be customized for locking my white balance.”
After that she’ll sit there for a few minutes to get it exactly where she wants it, locks it in place and goes from there. “I don’t really fiddle with it too much because I don’t want to get in the weeds too much. If I start doing that, I’m not going to film, you know, what I sat down to film that day. So I lock in the white balance when I think it looks good, and if it’s not good, I deal with that in post.”
To map white balance to a custom button on your camera, follow these steps (Note: Steps may vary depending on camera model and menu display):
MENU → (Setup) → [Operation Customize] → Custom Key/Dial Set.
You can also lock the white balance in the auto white balance mode by assigning [AWB Lock Hold] or [AWB Lock Toggle] to the custom key. If you press the assigned key during shooting, the white balance will be locked.
- The [AWB Lock Hold] function locks the white balance by stopping the automatic white balance adjustment while the button is pressed.
- The [AWB Lock Toggle] function locks the white balance by stopping the automatic white balance adjustment after the button is pressed once. When you press the button again, the AWB lock is released.
If you want to lock the white balance while recording a movie in the auto white-balance mode, also assign [AWB Lock Hold] or [AWB Lock Toggle] to the custom key.
3. Shoot Your Video In S-Log3
Jessica’s third tip is all about giving you more latitude when it comes to post-production. “I was getting my footage into the editing software and it just didn’t quite have enough room for me to edit things.” Then she started to shoot in S-Log3, allowing her Alpha camera to capture the widest dynamic range the sensor can offer, protecting highlights and shadow detail.
Shooting in S-Log3 also makes matching shots and even different Sony cameras easier, since it maps tones in a consistent, cinema‑style curve. You’ll get cleaner skin tones and smoother roll‑off in bright areas, plus flexibility for HDR or stylized looks without banding – especially when recording in 10‑bit. Pair it with zebras and a monitoring LUT to expose confidently on set while keeping the flat log file for post.
To set up shooting in S-Log3 on your camera, follow these steps (Note: Steps may vary depending on camera model and menu display):
MENU → (Camera Settings) →[Picture Profile] → PP8.
See more of Jessica Stansberry’s work on Instagram @jessicastansberry, her YouTube Channel and at heyjessica.com.
For more videos featuring your favorite creators, visit the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel.
