Allison Anderson is a travel and lifestyle videographer and photographer with over 30 million YouTube video views. She’s been making videos for over 12 years now, and says YouTube is easily her favorite platform for sharing her travel adventures. In this session from Creative Space Online, the Alpha Collective member is giving her masterclass in making your own YouTube videos. Learn how to start your own YouTube channel, how to make your videos stand out, her favorite gear for making YouTube videos, how to grow your channel and how to make money from your videos.

Popular travel and lifestyle YouTuber Allison Anderson of the Alpha Collective gives her tips for starting and growing a YouTube Channel in this session from Creative Space Online.

“First you want to choose a niche,” she says. “Chances are if you’ve been wanting to start a channel, you already have a topic in mind. And choosing a niche is really important when starting a channel because it lets new viewers know what to expect from you, and that’s critical when you don’t have a ton of videos or an established presence on the platform yet.”

By choosing a niche you can show your followers what they can expect, so they’ll subscribe to come back for more. Next she says you have to choose a subject for your first video. “If you’re looking to attract subscribers to your channel, I highly recommend starting with or incorporating topics that are highly searched for.”

In addition to her tips for starting and growing an audience with the subject of your content, she explains how the gear you use can unlock the potential of what you can create. While you don’t need the latest and greatest to make engaging content, she says gear can matter, but only if you’re doing the other things right too.

“There are a handful of cameras I use to shoot my content,” she explains. “My main camera that I’m shooting on right now is the Sony Alpha 7S III. I love this camera. If you follow me on my YouTube Channel, you know this. I’ve done nothing but rave about it since it came out. For starters, it’s phenomenal in low light, like out-of-this-world good in low light. It also shoots in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second which is incredible for slow motion. I prefer to shoot anything that moves really quickly at 120 frames per second because then I can slow it down and really highlight the detail. 

She continues, “Also the in-body stabilization is great so handheld footage isn’t shaky. It also has a flip-out swivel screen which is essential for vlogging. It makes it so much easier when I’m trying to get a shot of myself on camera out somewhere so I can actually see where I am in the frame. And then also the autofocus tracking is impeccable. This thing does not lose my eye, I don’t know how it does it. And that’s so important for me because most of the time I don’t have anybody behind the camera. I self-shoot most of my content so I don’t have someone there checking to make sure things are in focus. So I need the camera to get it right the first time.”

Before getting the Alpha 7S III, Anderson shot exclusively with the Alpha 7 III for several years. When she wants something smaller to vlog with, she reaches for the Sony ZV-1. If she’s shooting underwater she uses an action camera and for aerial footage she uses a drone. These shots provide a unique perspective to locations and helps her videos stand out. 

As for lenses, she says that everyone’s preference varies depending on what you’re shooting. “If you don’t know where to start, I would consider a 24-70mm zoom lens,” she says. “24-70mm is a really versatile range because the 24mm end is pretty wide, but the 70mm end is pretty zoomed in. It’s great for detail shots, b-roll, or anything that’s a little ways away from you.”

“If you’re doing a lot of landscapes or shooting indoors in really tight spaces, something like a 16-35mm can be really useful. I have the GM version from Sony and this thing is always on my camera when I am traveling. It’s wide enough to get everything in the frame, to get those really scenic shots. It’s also wide enough to film in my car. But also, the 35mm end takes some really nice portraits and you can even get some detail shots in mind.”

If you’re looking for more depth-of-field or bokeh backgrounds, Anderson says prime lenses with a wide aperture are the way to go. She recommends the Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master and 24mm f/1.4 G Master. Her favorite telephoto is the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, which she calls a dream to shoot with on a landscape.

Get more tips and tricks for YouTube from Anderson in the full video here.

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See more of Allison Anderson's videos on her YouTube Channel.