Performance Coaching Tips for Your Food Blog Video From a TV Professional

In my long international career as an Emmy nominated TV producer/host coach, I have worked and trained many celebrities, TV personalities, sports, pop and movie stars. Today I am sharing a bit of my professional wisdom with food bloggers out there who are making, thinking about making or aspiring to make better videos for their blogs. This information is geared to bloggers wanting to do more personality driven videos, not straight technique demos.

I could create a series of posts discussing writing, shooting and editing videos as well. Eventually, maybe I will. Because in addition to 100s or segments and hours of television, I have produced a large number of cooking segments in my career. There’s a huge learning curve to share from those segments as well. Today I will focus on performance.

After watching the food blogger video entries for the Food Buzz Project Food Blog, I became even more motivated to write this. But as we all know, post ideas can run ahead and we can chase after them for months before we finally nail them down to the computer. 

As I watched the videos, the coach in me was alternatively cheering, correcting and cringing. I would never critique another blogger’s recipe because compared to many food bloggers, my work here is laughable and holding food bloggers to professional host standards is not fair. But if you are interested in making videos, below is some of my professional expertise to help step up your game a bit. 

My professional coaching is tailored to the specific person and their innate strengths and challenges. I am used to working intensively one on one addressing their fears and often develop customized exercises based on the student’s skill set to help get them to the next level of performance. Basically, I focus in on working organically with what the person has naturally and develop their strengths from there. I aim to polish and enhance what is already there. That’s what one should strive for in an on camera performance.

As I am used to working with people individually, the tips below are general and pared down. Still, they may be a bit overkill for the purposes of home blogger video but take what works for you and throw out the rest. 

If you have a specific question about anything below or about something I didn’t cover, feel free to email me at:  themadhausfrau@gmail.com. 

Organizing Your Information: When you watch hosts on TV, many of them are holding Cards. These cards contain their questions and bullet points about the guests. I suggest writing out your entire segment from top to bottom, including your intros and outros. Then condense the segment to bullet points and put them on cards.

Shoot Less/Practice More: Use the cards to run through your segment several times before your shoot. You will find yourself making notes on them to adjust them as things feel right or not right in the segment during rehearsal. This will help make your segment more concise and flow better. It will also save you tons of time in editing by eliminating several takes.

Wine a Little: Apologies to the teetotalers out there, but if you are having problems overcoming your stiffness in front of the camera, sometimes having a few sips of wine before you shoot can relax you and take away your inhibitions. I would never recommend this in a professional situation but at home, for a cooking video? Why not! Many home cooks relax by sipping a glass while preparing a meal. 

Looks and style are important for obvious reasons (it’s TV, not radio) so here are some styling tips:

Wardrobe: Solids are best. Do not wear plain white as it tends to flare in front of the camera. Tiny prints, dots and small stripes can moray becoming disconcerting to the viewer. Any complicated design can overwhelm your presence. Stick to clean lines. Focus on color. Work with a color that best highlights your coloring and a style of clothing that best represents you. The color should not wash you out on camera or overwhelm your face. Look for TV hosts or actors that have your coloring, check out what colors they are wearing and see if they resonate with you.

If you are going to layer an apron over your outfit, make sure it is a complimentary color and stick to the no small print, checks or stripes rule.

Don’t hesitate to camera test a few outfits to see what looks best. You want to look warm, crisp and fresh, like your delicious creations!

Accessories: Should be minimal and not anything that distracts from you or the focus of your video. Be careful of any jewelry, scarves, headbands, etc. that are too shiny or reflective. When in doubt, do a camera check.

Makeup: I am obviously addressing the women here but imho some men can do with a bit of powder or coverup but it’s not realistic to expect they would partake as food bloggers. So if you fall into that category, skip reading this part.

If you are a makeup whore like me, then you’re all set. You probably already know what colors and products work for you and obsessively match makeup to your outfits. Stick with that. 

If not, I would suggest you go get a makeover at your local makeup counter. If you are lucky enough to live near a Sephora, this is a great place to learn and experiment. Sephora also has products in different price ranges. Ask for a similar product in a lower price range if cost is an issue. Do several makeovers until you find a look that you are happy with. Ask the makeup artist a lot of questions about technique, application, etc. Ask why they chose the colors they chose for you. Learn your face. Where are your cheekbones, how to highlight them. If you feel you have a flaw, like eyes too close together, nose too wide or pointed, ask about corrective shading and highlighting. Tell them you are looking for makeup that works for you for a video. Many of the counter makeup artists work on wedding videos or local commercial shoots and have great tips to share. 

Here’s the deal. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy the products. Maybe buy one less expensive item as a token of appreciation to the makeup artist. Take a white tissue or paper and smear the products that work for you on it, foundation, eyeshadows, blush and lipstick. Write on the tissue what each is for. Then go to your local drug store, smear the testers on another tissue to compare with the original tissue and match the product colors as best you can with cheaper products. 

I do apologize to any cosmetic counter makeup artists out there if this seems like taking advantage of their skills. An even better idea to find a makeup artist you like and barter your skills in the kitchen in exchange for their professional knowledge.

Mostly stick with neutrals but be mindful of what you are wearing in the shoot. It should not clash. Depending upon your age, less is more. Younger women often can get away with a bit of powder, lipstick and mascara. Older women require more makeup to achieve a “natural” look. There are a few tricks professionals use like a pop of frosted gloss in the center of the lips which defines the lips nicely on camera.

Hair: Again, I am speaking to the women, but if you are man with a lot of hair, just keep it off your face and make sure it’s combed 🙂 

For women, your hair should frame your face, not distract from it. As you will be cooking, make sure it is secured so it doesn’t fall in your face as you are working causing you to do the dreaded push the hair back with the wrist move. 

Many older hosts highlight strands of hair around their face several shades lighter than the base color. The blonder strands illuminate the face and give it a youthful lift on and off camera. 

I probably should have wrapped this post in colorful graphics and fun pictures for a better presentation. I was short on time and wanted to finally get this information out. I didn’t cover everything and sometimes you need to break all the rules to make a really great video. Break All the Rules would be my last tip but only after you have acquired some on camera skills beforehand. In general these tips are meant to quell performance anxiety and give some structure to the hosting process. I hope they were helpful.  

Again, you can contact me with specific questions.

Now go for it! Happy video-ing!