Filming less, noticing more.
Why my best content comes from the days I barely shot.
By Brandi Harris · Autumn 2026For years I filmed everything. Every room, every plate, every sunset from three angles. I came home with hours of footage and very few memories. The trips blurred together because I’d spent them looking at a screen.
Then, almost by accident, I had a trip where my camera stayed in the bag for two days. Those two days turned into the best video I made that year.
Why less footage makes better content
When I film everything, I stop paying attention. I’m thinking about the next shot, not the place I’m in. When I film less, I notice the details that make a property worth recommending: how the staff greet you, how quiet the room is at 6am, what the light does in the afternoon. Those are the things clients actually ask me about.
My reviews got better because I was experiencing the hotel as a guest first and a creator second.
“The camera can wait. The moment usually can’t.”
How I work now
A shot list, not a free-for-all. I decide what I need before I arrive: the room, the pool, a meal, the spa. Then I get it efficiently.
Filming windows. I shoot in two or three short windows a day, usually early morning and late afternoon. The rest of the day is for living it.
One day off camera. On every trip, there’s at least one day I don’t film at all.
Notes instead of footage. When something matters, I write it down. Words help me remember why it mattered.
What changed
I film about half as much as I used to. Editing takes less time. And the videos feel calmer, because I was calmer when I made them. Viewers notice. The comments I value most aren’t about a beautiful shot. They’re from people saying they finally understand what a place feels like.
If you create while you travel
You don’t have to stop. Just decide what you need before you go, get it, and put the camera away. The trip is the point. The content is a record of it, not the reason for it.
Write a five-shot list before you arrive.
Choose two short filming windows a day.
Take one full day with no camera at all.
Keep a few written notes each evening.
I still love making videos. I just love the trips more, and it turns out that’s what makes the videos good.
— Bee