Womanifest 2026
Capture your session like a pro.
For free.
Everything you need to record your talk or workshop yourself, with just your phone, and actually use the footage afterwards.
Phone setup
Audio
Lighting
After the event
01 — Phone orientation
Portrait or landscape?
Both work. But they give you very different options afterwards.
Portrait — 9:16
Native for Reels, TikToks, Stories. What you record is what you post. Simple. But that is your only format.
Landscape — 16:9 — recommended
YouTube, website, longer-form video. Crop into portrait afterwards for Reels too. More room on stage if you move. One recording, every format.
You might be thinking, I do not use YouTube. Okay. But landscape still gives you more room to move and more to crop from. Shoot landscape. Crop later.
02 — Zoom
1x or 0.5x?
The ultra-wide gives you more room but warps the edges. Here is what that actually looks like.
1x normal — recommended
Clean, straight edges. Best image quality. No distortion. This is what the camera is optimised for.
0.5x ultra-wide — use with care
Edges warp and bend. Fine if you stay centred. If you move towards the sides of the frame, proportions shift. Always do a test record first.
0.5x can work for portrait in a very small space, but stay as centred as you can and check it before you go live.
1x normal
Straight edges, no warp
0.5x ultra-wide
Edges warp and bend
03 — Settings
Turn on grid lines.
They help you frame yourself centrally so when you crop into portrait later, your head is still in shot.
- Keeps you centred in the middle third of the frame
- Shows you exactly where the portrait crop zone will be
- Stops you accidentally standing at the edge of frame
iPhone
Settings, Camera, toggle Grid on
Android
Camera settings, Guidelines or Grid Lines
04 — Tripod
Stable beats hand-held every time.
Nobody can hold their arm steady for 45 minutes while also watching your talk. Get it on something solid.
Static tripod
Solid, height-adjustable. Best for a fixed spot. Rock steady. Pack it the night before.
Flexible gorilla tripod
Bendy legs that grip chairs, poles, rails. Brilliant for festival environments. Lightweight and easy to pack.
No tripod?
Stack of bags. Chair wedged against a wall. Anything stable. Just not someone holding it.
Static
Fixed spot
Flexible
Festival pick
05 — Camera placement
Eye level. Always.
Not floor-up at your nostrils. Not table-down at the top of your head. Eye level. It is more flattering and it creates connection.
- 1.5 to 2 metres away from you
- Back camera, not the selfie one
- Mid-shot from the waist up is ideal for social
- Closer than you think you need to be
Get a friend to line you up in the frame before you start. Then step back and do a 10 second test record.
06 — Audio
Audio is everything.
People will sit through a slightly blurry video if they can hear clearly. They will not sit through crystal clear footage with bad audio.
At the collar — too high
Too close to breathing. You will get noise from every inhale.
Halfway down — sweet spot
Halfway between mouth and chest. Clear voice pickup. Minimal rustle or room noise.
At the waist — too low
Too far away. Your voice will sound distant and tinny.
Long hair? Tuck the cable inside your top. Fabric rubbing on the mic all the way through will ruin the audio.
07 — Focus
Lock your focus.
Tap and hold on your face in the viewfinder before you hit record. Stops the camera wandering off to refocus on someone walking past behind you.
iPhone
Tap and hold your face. Wait for AE/AF LOCK to appear on screen.
Android
Tap and hold until the focus square locks in place.
Do this every time before you start recording. It takes two seconds and it makes a big difference.
Unlocked
Camera drifts to background movement
Locked
Stays sharp on you. The whole time.
08 — Festival lighting
Working with Womanifest light.
The stages and spaces are set. You work with what you have got. Here is what to expect.
Tipi with good light
Often has a warm yellowy tint. That is not a problem. It looks gorgeous and gives your footage that festival feel. Lean into it.
Tipi, darker space
Bring the camera in closer. The closer it is, the less work it has to do. A tight mid-shot in a dark space always beats a wide shot where you are a shadow.
Before your session: do a 10 second test record. Watch it back. Check how the light looks on your face before anything else.
09 — After the event
One session. Weeks of content.
Recording it is only half the job. Now actually use it.
- Reels and TikToks — pull 30 to 60 second clips of quotable moments
- Captions on everything — CapCut is free, most people watch on mute
- Quote cards — 3 to 5 lines that stand alone, posted over the following weeks
- YouTube — upload a longer cut if the session was good
- Podcast — clean up the audio and add a short intro, you have got an episode
Even one Reel per event adds up. Five talks, five clips. That is five pieces of proof that you are someone worth booking.
Reels and TikToks
30 to 60 second clips. Quotable moments. Speaker reel built event by event.
Captions
Always. CapCut is free and brilliant. Most people watch on mute.
Quote cards
3 to 5 lines that stand alone. On a graphic. Posted over the following weeks.
YouTube or Podcast
Longer cut or cleaned-up audio. More mileage from the same recording.