I attended the Travelstart Making Memories out of Moments event this past Thursday, held at their incredible headquarters in Longkloof Studios. The event was all about creating awesome travel photography and videos. The evening started with some light snacks and chats to break the ice and mingle. I cosied up to a cappuccino while others opted to warm up with a glass of red wine. We were then ushered to the seating area where the talks led by industry leaders were about to commence.
Yes you can make great videos with your phone
First up were Dean Paarman and Darren Barker of Travelvids who showed us just how easy it was to create a cool Instagram worthy video with merely an iPhone and an editing app. Dean’s advice was to start by jotting down the shots you wanted to include in your video in order for it to be considered complete. Tick them off as you go along creating short five second videos and when you’ve gone through your whole list, you’re ready to combine and edit with the easy Splice app.
It can literally take as little as ten minutes to make a cool video and you’ll be able to enjoy the rest of your event rather than spending it stuck behind your phone. Just be sure to use royalty free music or get permission from the artist and record company to avoid having your cool video blocked!
Building your Insta Empire
Next up was Instagram legend, travel photographer and Socomunity founder Craig Howes. With almost 300k followers and having been featured by major brands on their accounts, he had some sound advice to dish out. What’s even more amazing is that he’s 100% self-taught!
Craig gave us a quick rundown of the popular travel photography styles of the moment. He also pointed out that collaborations with fellow Instagrammers and use of relevant hashtags were key to growing your account. And that content will of course always remain King. But the one piece of advice I took from his talk was; never post anything on your Instagram that you wouldn’t print out and hang up on your wall at home. Makes sense right?
Never miss a moment
The last speaker of the evening was Craig Rhodes-Harrison of GoPro South Africa. Let’s just say I knew that a GoPro was a cool piece of equipment but Craig’s video and talk left me with an intense desire to start shooting. He explained that the four elements of a great video is made up of; composition, lighting and colours which ultimately leads to the telling of a story.
Also, having just had our little one I figured what better way to capture a little one’s moments while running after him and never missing out! They’re also running some cool photo contests so head over to their Insta account for more.
Office Goals
We ended off an info packed evening with a tour of the coolest office you’ll ever see. I seriously can’t even call it an office because it looks more like an envy inducing cool kid’s apartment. The Travelstart office is newly renovated and boy is it a sight for sore eyes. An amphitheatre, Zen room, chill lounge and Insta worthy kitchen are just some of the things it includes and that their lucky employees get to enjoy. There’s no dreading Mondays with a work space like this. High five to the boss!
All in all, a great night with invaluable advice from guys who know what they’re talking about. I’ll definitely be putting everything I learnt into practice and look forward to many more of these informative events. Thanks Travelstart.
