If you have been following my blog by reading different posts, subscribing to the newsletter, or keeping up with Kimi's Travel Thoughts on social media, you may have noticed that I don't have videos of the trips and I activities that I feature. There is a very good explanation for this. So, I'm going to take a few moments to share why I don't make travel videos to post on YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, or other platforms.
Not Safe for Solo Travel
As a woman who frequently travels alone, it is not safe to record videos all the time. Well, this is specifically about anything that would require me to set up the shot. It might take multiple attempts to get the video recorded to satisfaction and that can present a safety concern depending on where filming is taking place. There could also be some distance between myself and the recording equipment (such as my phone) that is another safety concern that I have. I could probably capture more video content during trips I take with other people, but I would need them to be able to help with recording and they would need to be willing to spend extra time just focused on filming.
Time Consuming
You know how you have to awkwardly stand and smile for group photos after taking 1-2 minutes to figure out where each person was going to stand? That same feeling is probably what you will experience when recording while traveling. You first have to identify the filming location(s). Then, you have to get the shot set up by testing angles and timing with some walkthroughs and making adjustments along with testing out sound quality. After that, you have to record and will likely need to do this step multiple times until you get a recording you're satisfied with. Finally, you have to edit the video. Depending on the format of the final video, you may be editing multiple videos together or editing to meet the requirements to upload the video to different platforms.
Additionally, the time that filming consumes and the attention to detail that is spent on recording means there is a chance I could miss out on what is happening around me. I like to be "in the moment" when I am traveling somewhere and I can do that more easily by snapping a quick photo than I can if I am attempting to record a video.
Takes Up Storage Space
I already spent extra money to have a phone with extra storage and I pay for two separate storage clouds so all of my videos and pictures get backed up to two locations. Videos take up more storage space than pictures and I would like to not spend more money on cloud storage if I don't have to. I only have my one job and I currently operate Kimi's Travel Thoughts 100% out-of-pocket. If I can spend less money, that is ideal.
Filming Not Always Possible
It's not realistic to try to film everywhere. Some places having filming restrictions or require permits and other places are just not set up in a way that makes filming easy. There needs to be decent lighting, angles worth getting on camera, and space to record. Even if filming is something that can be achieved, I may need special equipment to get everything set up. That means I would have to purchase the necessary equipment and carry it with me wherever I'm going. I simply can't enjoy traveling when I have to lug around extra weight.
Privacy of Others Not Guaranteed
Still images are much easier to work with because I have greater control over maintaining the privacy of others. I can wait for people to not be in the shot, capture the image from an angle that hides someone's face, or I can edit someone out of a photo altogether. This becomes pretty much impossible for me to do when recording video. Sure, I could wait for other people to move out of the shot, but that takes us back to the issue of video being time consuming. If you don't get the recording just right on the first take, you have to go back and do it again, which means you may need to wait for people to move out of the shot again.
Conclusion
So now you know why I have yet to really share any video content from my short trips, vacations, Monthly Adventures, or other activities. I would love to record content to share on TikTok or Reels and even have long-format videos on YouTube. However, I'm just not in a position to do that efficiently at this time. My goal is to get more video content for Kimi's Travel Thoughts in the future. For now, I'm going to make sure I do my best with the still photography so the pictures I share can be the highest possible quality I can produce!
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