How to Film UGC That Brands Love
One of our creators? This is my actual filming process — the settings I use, the lighting I swear by, and how I read a script so it sounds human. Bookmark it and set your phone up alongside the demo before your next shoot.
Learning how to film UGC comes down to a few things that make the difference between footage a brand can use and footage they send back: your lighting, a handful of camera settings, your framing, and how naturally you read the script. Here’s exactly how I do all of it.
Here’s something that surprised me when I started UGC: brands care way less about your gear than you’d think, and way more about a few specific things you can nail with just your phone.
You don’t need a fancy camera. What you need is good light, the right settings, clean framing, and delivery that sounds like a real person. Get those right and your content looks professional — miss them and even a great idea comes back for revisions.
So let me walk you through my exact setup. We’ll even set your camera together, step by step.
Start With Your Camera Settings
Before you film a single second, your camera settings need to be right — because some of these mistakes literally cannot be fixed later. Tap through this and set your phone up the way I do:
That sequence is muscle memory for me now, and a couple of those settings deserve a closer look — especially the Cinematic Mode one, because it’s my favorite trick and most people don’t do it.
- Sharper image. It just reads crisper and more intentional than standard video.
- Focus control. You decide what's sharp and what's soft — and it holds.
- Lower exposure, keep focus. You can pull the exposure down for richer footage without losing your focus point.
- Reversible in post. The cinematic effect can be turned off later in editing, so you're not locked in.
- Free cover photos. It's sharp enough that a single screenshotted frame makes a strong cover photo — one shoot, video and stills.
I know filming in Cinematic Mode is a bit of a hot take — most people just use standard video. But once you see how much sharper and more controlled your footage looks, and you realize you can grab cover photos straight from the video, it’s hard to go back. One shoot gives me both my video and my stills.
The rest of the settings are simpler but just as important: always film vertical (9:16 — it’s what every platform uses), turn HDR off (it gets weird in editing), and film in the highest quality you can (4K if your phone allows). Those three are non-negotiable, and unlike creative choices, getting them wrong usually means re-filming.
Lighting: The Cheapest Upgrade to Your Content
If I had to pick the one thing that instantly makes UGC look better, it’s lighting — and the good news is the best light is free.
The whole secret to good UGC lighting: put the light in front of you, not behind you. Here's the setup from above:
and the window
Natural light from a window is honestly better than most equipment you could buy. The only rule that really matters: face the light, don’t let it sit behind you. Light behind you turns you into a dark silhouette; light in front of you makes everything look clean and even.
And here’s a tip that saves me so much time: when you’re starting out, walk around your house at different times of day and find your best-lit spots. Then make those your go-to shoot locations. Once you know “the corner by the living room window at 10am is perfect,” you stop wasting time hunting for light on every shoot and your productions get so much faster.
Framing: Give the Brand Room to Work
How you frame yourself matters more than people realize — and it’s an easy fix once you see it.
Leave a little headroom above you, don't fill the entire frame with your face, and keep some clear space where a caption or text overlay can go. Brands often add text on top — give them room to.
Two things to remember: leave a little headroom above your head, and don’t crowd the entire frame with your face. Sit yourself along a third of the frame rather than dead center, and leave some clean space where text could go — because brands often add captions or text on top of your footage, and they need room to do it.
Read the Script Like a Person
This is the part that separates content that feels like an ad from content that actually connects. The whole point of UGC is that it sounds like a real person — so your delivery is everything.
- 1Give each take a different direction. Read it once excited, once calm, once like you're telling a friend. Different prompts give you range in emotion and pacing — and options in the edit.
- 2Make it sound natural. UGC is supposed to sound like a real person, not an ad. Keeping your own voice and style is a plus, not a problem.
- 3Practice, genuinely. Run the lines a few times before you record. It's the difference between stiff and effortless — practice makes perfect here.
- 4Only got talking points? Write the script. When a brief gives just bullet points, Abby writes out a full script from them rather than improvising in her head. You'll sound far more polished.
That last one is a game-changer that took me a while to figure out. A lot of briefs don’t hand you a full script — they just give you talking points and expect you to run with it. When that happens, don’t try to wing it in your head while the camera’s rolling. Write out a full script based on their talking points first. You’ll sound so much more polished and confident, and you won’t freeze up mid-take trying to remember what to say next.
And remember: keeping your own natural style is a plus. Brands hire UGC creators precisely because they sound like real people, not polished spokespeople. Don’t flatten your personality out to sound “professional” — your voice is the product.
Shoot More B-Roll Than They Asked For
I want to end on the tip that has earned me the most repeat clients, and it’s almost embarrassingly simple: give them extra b-roll.
Abby gets complimented by clients for handing over more b-roll than the brief asked for. Tap each type as you plan your shoot — aim to grab them all:
Genuinely, I get complimented by clients regularly just for handing over more b-roll than the brief asked for. It costs me a little extra time on set and it makes their edit so much easier — which makes me the creator they want to work with again.
Before you wrap any shoot, make sure you’ve grabbed all the coverage types above — and then shoot even more of each. Editors can always trim footage down. They can never create a shot you didn’t film.
Your Full Pre-Film Checklist
- 1Setup: phone + tripod, in your go-to well-lit spot.
- 2Light: window in front of you, never behind.
- 3Settings: vertical 9:16, HDR off, 4K, Cinematic Mode, exposure down.
- 4Framing: headroom, rule of thirds, room for text.
- 5Script: multiple takes with different energy; write it out if you only got talking points.
- 6B-roll: grab all five types — then shoot even more.
- 7Deliver: name your files like BrandName_UGC_Video1.
None of this requires expensive gear or years of experience — it just requires knowing what to set up before you hit record. Nail these and you’ll be delivering footage that looks professional and gets approved the first time, which is exactly what turns a one-off gig into a brand that books you again and again.
Save this, set your phone up next to it before your next shoot, and go make something great.
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You don’t need a professional camera — a modern smartphone is the standard tool for UGC, and most brands expect phone-shot content because it looks authentic. What matters far more than your camera is good lighting, the correct settings (vertical, high resolution, HDR off), clean framing, and natural delivery. Invest your energy in those before you ever think about buying gear.
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You don’t need a professional camera — a modern smartphone is the standard tool for UGC, and most brands expect phone-shot content because it looks authentic. What matters far more than your camera is good lighting, the correct settings (vertical, high resolution, HDR off), clean framing, and natural delivery. Invest your energy in those before you ever think about buying gear.
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Film vertically in 9:16, turn HDR video off (it can look strange after editing), and shoot in the highest resolution your phone allows, ideally 4K. Beyond the basics, many creators film in Cinematic Mode for a sharper image, better focus control, and the ability to pull high-quality cover photos from a single frame. Set these before every shoot, because mistakes like filming horizontally usually can’t be fixed later.
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Cinematic Mode gives a sharper, more intentional-looking image with real control over focus, and it lets you lower the exposure for richer footage while keeping your focus locked. It can also be turned off later in editing, so you’re not locked into the effect, and a screenshotted frame is crisp enough to use as a cover photo — meaning one shoot gives you both video and stills.
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Natural light from a window is the easiest and best option, and it’s free. The key rule is to face the light rather than having it behind you — light behind you turns you into a dark silhouette, while light in front lights you evenly. A great habit is to find the best-lit spots in your home and turn them into go-to shoot locations so you’re not hunting for light every time.
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More than the brief asks for. B-roll — product shots, hands using the product, lifestyle clips, close-up details, and wide shots — makes a brand’s edit far easier, and over-delivering it is one of the simplest ways to get rebooked. Film every coverage type and then shoot extra of each, because an editor can trim footage but can’t create a shot you never captured.
