Cheap & Easy DIY DSLR Overhead Birdseye View Camera Rig

If there's one thing I'm extremely proud about since learning some DIY basics, it's this one and I'll tell you why.

I write for my food blog, Tastefully Vikkie and I've been a bit quiet over there on my YouTube channel for over a month.

The reason?  I think YouTube cooking videos are very competitive.  And, in fact, this year I've been surprised how my DIY channel has taken over with daily subscribers.  It might not look as popular yet, but the growth rate tells me otherwise.  But that's good, because it encourages me to crack on with the must needed home renovations.  And then, something else happened.

Last Tuesday, I thought I'd edit an existing Lamb & Mint YouTube tutorial and make it shorter to upload directly on Facebook and reach a new audience.  I'm always getting tagged by friends in those cool Tasty videos if they think I'll like them.  And I myself have over 200 recipe videos on YouTube, so I had the content already.

But I was in complete shock at the massive increase in reach, shares, reactions and ultimately, the +1200 extra likes to my page in a week.  I was at 3200 likes and a week on, it's 4600.  That was a big deal for me compared to my daily average of 5.  Also, my blog hits and subscribers started to double, increasing my ad revenue.  Oh, and my Klout influencer's rate went up to 67 from 64.

You see, I hate scheduling social media content.  It feels robotic, fake and it's time consuming, BUT I know it works.  Some people love doing it.  Others outsource it.  I'd rather get on with something else.

So after seeing figures like +95,000% increase here and there, it's sort of marked my path for me.  Then, over the next few days, I rejigged some of my most popular recipes for my new Facebook audience and scheduled them and encountered even more success.

Yes, you don't get paid for any views on Facebook, but I think the pittance from YouTube ads is far less beneficial than FB's potential rewards.  (Unless you had a YT video that goes viral).

I get far more money through my blog instead by having ads automatically placed throughout.  Notice I don't have any on here as DIY tutorials on YouTube is more popular.But something I've always wanted for my DSLR was an overhead camera tripod.  If the videos are filmed at a birdseyeview angle and square, they're mobile phone friendly. And one thing I know, is my audience watch them primarily on a smart phone or tablet.

Yes, as I'm also renovating our whole house, I couldn't justify paying £150 for a tripod if there was a possibility I could make one myself, using materials I already had.  And there was!

I built this wooden jig using only off cuts and it did not cost me a penny.  Only 3 hours of my time, max, as I filmed it too.  I'd looked online for ideas and there are a lot made from pipes which felt unfamiliar, or really complex wooden ones.  I just wanted something quick and easy and if I cracked it, others could too.

Hopefully, after a few new future videos, its bulkiness will pay for itself and maybe eventually I'll fork out (or redesign) something that can be folded away and shrink to almost nothing.  But I'd rather use any extra pennies on building a utility, pay someone to do my driveway and anything else.

You'll need to be able to store it too, but I know it will help any others in the same boat who don't mind while they're finding their feet.  Particularly if you're a start up business and need to showcase a new product or you're a blogger like me that likes good value, 'cos £150 ain't cheap!

Anyway, here's the tutorial and if you have any questions or other design tweaking tips, then feel free to comment below.  The secret is in the screw 😉

Here's my video tutorial on how to make it!

CAN'T MAKE IT RIGHT NOW? HERE'S A PIN IF YOU WANT TO SAVE IT FOR LATER...