Take your vlog to the next level to build engagement

Embarking on your vlogging adventure is an exciting endeavour that opens up a world of new experiences and creativity. Each step is an important and rewarding part of the process, from deciding on your niche – be it fitness, travel, food, family moments, or something else entirely – to choosing the best vlogging cameras and lenses that will help you to bring your vision to life.


But once you’ve started that journey, how do you keep your viewers engaged, grow your followers and start making your videos pay for themselves?

An engaging vlog should be informative and entertaining but also have an element of learning, so it's important that you're knowledgeable in your chosen topic. You should also see what is missing in the genre you are interested in – and then determine how you can uniquely fill that gap.

Having the right tools at your disposal is key in creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience. There will be a camera just right for you, whether you’re looking for a dedicated YouTube camera kit or a simple point-and-shoot camera for creating content quickly on the go.

So, embrace the excitement, find your niche, and try these tips to help you tell your story in the most captivating way possible.

Being authentic is an important aspect of lifestyle vlogging, and there are a host of ways you can achieve this. Days out and/or daily activities are an easy content win, allowing you to capture natural moments and genuine emotions that resonate with your followers. You don’t have to plan anything ambitious – keep it local and focus on where you love to go, crafts you like to make, what you wear and what’s good to eat.

While everyone wants their content to be sharp, polished and high quality, nothing beats spontaneous and candid videos. For those vlogging about home life, there are funny babies and other familial dynamics to record, for example. Not only is it rewarding to capture as a creator but it also gives vloggers the opportunity to share these joyous moments to their engaged audience.

The Canon PowerShot V10, a lightweight PowerShot V series camera designed especially for vlogging, is great for capturing this kind of spontaneous family and lifestyle video content. Its portability makes it hassle-free to carry around and means it can fit into small bags and even pockets on days out. Despite its compact size, however, it offers 4k output, a high-quality microphone, and smart design features such as a built-in stand that make it simple to use.

The Canon PowerShot V1 is another unobtrusive vlogger camera that can take care of the technical side of filming, freeing you to record every fleeting moment. It's small but packs an incredible amount of technology to make capturing the emotion of a moment easier, including Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus that can automatically track people as you move around – especially important for family vlogs where things can get chaotic.

Regularly sharing products or services that make your everyday life easier is another way to keep an audience coming back for more. Several Canon cameras, including the PowerShot V1, EOS R50 and EOS R50 V, offer a movie for product demo mode, which will focus on an object that is held in front of the camera, optimising the focus for showing off a product. The camera can then seamlessly switch focus back to the presenter's face when the product is put down. This feature ensures that the important part of the footage is always in focus for this specific use case, so your viewer has full attention on either you as the presenter or the object you are showing.

Keeping it real is so important when it comes to lifestyle vlogging. An audience will be able to smell inauthentic, contrived content instantly, so try to capture the unpolished reality of home life with empathy and sensitivity to keep your vlogs relatable and engaging.

The best way to shoot fitness vlogs that resonate with viewers is to approach it like fitness itself. Set yourself goals, create a filming routine and add variety to keep you and your audience coming back for more.

Focusing on an aspect of fitness that you feel passionate about, or documenting your own fitness journey, will give your videos authenticity that will help them stand out in a competitive field. You’ll be more likely to maintain your vlogging regime too! And choosing camera gear that will allow you to effortlessly build filming into your workout schedule is an important part of the process.

If you want to film your first steps in fitness, for example, then a lightweight, portable vlogging camera that you can use to grab handheld clips will be useful. A compact camera like the Canon PowerShot V10 is a practical choice for this type of video, with an all-in-one design that's easy to handle but still gives you more creative control and quality than you’re going to see from a smartphone. Its built-in stand gives you the extra option of setting it down securely to record your routine.

The Canon EOS R10 and EOS R50 are excellent mirrorless cameras for vlogging about health and fitness. Both feature reliable and intelligent Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocusing system that can automatically track your eyes, your face or – if you turn away from the camera – your head and body, meaning you can demonstrate how to achieve quicker times or stronger lifts while the camera focuses for you. The EOS R10 can record 4K UHD movies at 60p for detailed clips of fast movements, and connect wirelessly to smartphones for easy editing, upload and remote control.

If you’re more experienced and want to demonstrate better technique through a series of fitness coaching vlogs, then you may be looking for a camera that’s easy to set up and operate remotely. The Canon EOS R50 V is a great option, with its articulated vari-angle touchscreen with recording emphasis that allows you to monitor yourself running through routines, plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless control via a smartphone. As a Canon EOS V series camera, the EOS R50 V is designed with video in mind and is equipped with lots of creative filming options, including Slow and Fast movie mode that makes it easy to capture high-quality slow-motion video of a fitness technique.

Another type of popular fitness vlog concentrates on hitting goals. Helping users to set goals, stick to them and feel part of the community no matter their fitness level is the sort of "evergreen" video content that will stay relevant. A vlogging camera that’s capable of high video and audio quality will ensure your message gets across in an engaging way. Both the EOS R50 V and the EOS R10 have a microphone jack and multi-function shoe so that you can attach audio recording accessories such as a lapel microphone, wireless mic receiver, or shotgun mic such as the Canon Stereo Microphone DM-E100.

The great thing about travel vlogging is that it's incredibly diverse. Depending on your itinerary, you could be filming anything from street food and local culture one day to aerial footage from a hot-air balloon the next. So you’re going to need a vlogging camera that’s ready to take on everything.

The Canon EOS R50 V is an ideal camera for vloggers who want to turn a trip into engaging video content. Its lightweight design keeps things streamlined for solo shooters who need to capture quick clips on the go. You don’t want to have to spend time thinking about camera settings while you’re trying to capture spontaneous moments on your journey. Unlike an ordinary mirrorless camera, the EOS R50 V has a mode dial specially designed for video users, so you can change between modes quickly and easily when, for example, you're filming at a historic scene and then step indoors, or you want to grab a quick shot out the window while you're on the move. There are also creative video options such as skin smoothing, which you can select simply by turning the dial.

The lightweight RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ is a perfect lens to pair with the EOS R50 V for travel vlogging, with a versatile focal length range from ultra-wide to standard, power zoom for smooth zooming during shooting, and optical image stabilisation for steady footage on the move.

Engaging travel vlogging is all about sharing your personal experience – good or bad – with your viewers, so you’ll need to turn the camera on yourself as well as the sights. The EOS R50 V comes with a front record button that lets you start and stop recording when you’re holding the camera at arm’s length to film yourself walking around a location or talking to the camera. There’s also a vertical tripod socket, making it easy to capture video clips to promote your vlog on your social channels.

If you’re going to be filming on city streets or in areas where you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, then a discreet camera such as the Canon PowerShot V1 is a good option. It has a built-in 16-50mm lens that allows comfortable selfie-style shooting at arm’s length and a zoom range that covers everything from street scenes to close-ups of fashion items or local market stalls. It is equipped with lots of advanced filming features, including a built-in Neutral Density filter, which makes it easy to get the right exposure when shooting in bright environments, and a built-in cooling fan so you can shoot for longer without the camera overheating. Even with all this, the PowerShot V1 is small and light enough to slip into a pocket when required.

Image stabilisation is a feature to look for in a travel vlogging camera. Smooth footage will look more professional and keep people watching your video. Many Canon cameras come with advanced electronic stabilisation that will steady your video clips as you move – whether you’re on a museum tour or an exhausting mountain hike.

The Canon EOS R6 Mark II is capable of providing up to 8-stops of image stabilisation (IS), which is a good match for these sorts of activities. This real-time digital image stabilisation shifts the cropped area read out from the image sensor for each frame to counteract the motion.

For this kind of content, using a lens with optical image stabilisation (IS in its name) can help ensure the best result, but it isn't critical if you choose a camera with IBIS (In-body Image Stabilizer). Partnering your camera with the Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM lens, which has a slim pancake design for portability and versatility, travel vlogging becomes more accessible.

For general guidance on choosing a lens, try the Canon Lens Finder, which will help you find the perfect lens based on your EOS camera model and the type of photography you're interested in.

When shooting food content, achieving rich quality in detail, colour, and dynamic range is essential. You'll need high-quality visuals to captivate your audience – enticing them to try the recipes, visit featured restaurants, and get excited enough about your content to engage with it.

The Canon EOS R10 is perfect for food vlogging thanks to its lightweight design, making it easy to carry and easy to handle. Its fast and accurate autofocus ensures that every detail – from the steam sizzling off a steak to a garnish being delicately placed on a dish – is captured with clarity. The camera’s 24.2MP APS-C sensor delivers high-quality, vibrant images that bring out the rich colours and textures of food; its 4K video capabilities allow you to create videos that showcase your culinary creations in rich detail. Additionally, the EOS R10’s versatile touchscreen interface and intuitive controls make it simple to adjust settings on the go.

Moreover, when shooting food content, the choice of lens plays a big role in achieving the desired effect. Lenses that feature macro capabilities enable detailed close-ups of intricate textures and colours. A 35mm lens, such as the RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM, provides a natural field of view, allowing for more realistic capture. On the other hand, a 24mm lens, like the RF 24mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM, allows for a wider field of view, capturing more of the surrounding environment than we can see naturally – while also allowing for more context to your motion and stills capture beyond the subject (such as the details of ingredients within the kitchen, or a close-up of a finished plate on a set table).

Using a tripod can help to provide stability, reducing camera shake especially in low light conditions where slower shutter speeds might be used. This becomes useful when shooting food as you want your videos to be as clear and sharp as possible.



The Canon EOS R50 V is great for this type of vlogging. The aspect markers for videos allow you to visualise and adjust the framing of your content in different aspect ratios, which will be important for placing your content on different platforms. For instance, Instagram favours a 1:1 or 4:5 ratio, while YouTube typically uses 16:9, and TikTok is designed for vertical 9:16 content. The camera also has a lightweight design that’s easy to handle in any kitchen setting. With its advanced imaging technology and versatile features, the EOS R50 V captures detailed shots of your dishes, bringing every colour and texture to life.

Monetising vlog content is all about building an engaged and loyal following first. The idea is that more engagement leads to greater exposure, which in turn attracts a larger audience. As your viewership grows, your content becomes more commercially viable. But this process begins with creating better, more relevant content that your viewers trust.

To get more engagement from your vlog, focus on authenticity and interaction. Listen to feedback from your followers and tailor your content to meet their needs. The more responsive you are and the more involved your audience feel, the more likely they are to share your content. And as your community grows, you’ll be able to introduce commercial aspects that remain authentic, such as affiliate links or sponsored content.

Giving up the day job to become a full-time vlogger – or making enough money to pay for better vlogging camera kit or travel expenses – might be an ambition, but monetisation should feel secondary to providing value. Prioritise improving your content and building a relationship with your audience, and the opportunities to monetise your vlog will follow naturally.

Written by Mabinty Taylor-Kamara and Marcus Hawkins