

- How to make a thumbnail for youtube on ipad how to#
- How to make a thumbnail for youtube on ipad free#
Generally, you want to look extremely excited, disgusted, angry, or shocked depending on the theme of the video. Take a high-quality photograph of yourself conveying strong emotion. food, a product, the topic of your video in text) or reinforcement of your emotion (i.e an emoji or question marks) on the left. The three main elements of the Emotional Laser thumbnail are a background (usually bright), your face on the right wearing an over-pronounced expression, and either the thing your expression is in reaction to (i.e. It’s bright (like, blindingly bright), it communicates a clear feeling, and it creates high expectations for how exciting the video’s content is going to be. One increasingly popular style of YouTube thumbnail is what we’re going to call the ‘Emotional Laser’. The Emotional Laser (Background + Face Reacting) As with text, you don’t want to overload your thumbnail with images, but they’re a great way to add something eye-catching that’s a bit different from competing thumbnails. pumpkins for a Halloween video), which are related to your video’s content. Sans serif fonts tend to be best.Īnother tactic used in successful thumbnails is to add small graphics, like emojis or small images (i.e. Yellow might work against black, but it probably won’t work against the beige wall of your sunny bedroom. Fonts with a lot of curves can be harder to read, and you want to make sure you choose a color that stands out from your background. You should also avoid fonts that are harder to read. Remember that your text will be shrunk down with the rest of your image you need to make it big enough to read easily once it’s shrunk, and that means you don’t have a ton of room for text. Three words is probably the most you can get away with. It’s best to keep any text you use brief, but you could get a bit more descriptive and write something like ‘fall makeup tutorial’. In some cases you might use text to make it clear what type of video you’ve made, i.e.

This part isn’t essential – in some cases, a photo is enough – but a lot of the thumbnails for the videos ranked highest in YouTube’s search results include either a couple of words of text, a simple graphic (i.e. Some situations where it isn’t essential to include your face include tech reviews, where viewers will be more interested in seeing the product, and cooking videos where people are looking to be tempted by a yummy food pic. Gamers might choose to use a picture of a video game character instead and it will have the same effect. People are attracted to eye contact and are more likely to click on thumbnails that feature a face. Including your face is important for most types of YouTube videos. If you want to add text later, it’s a good idea to be off to one side. This will ensure your image is visually appealing. Try to make sure your eyes line up with the top line, and if you’re going to be off to one side then make sure you’re on one of the vertical lines.

This will divide your screen into three equal segments both vertically and horizontally. Many cameras allow you to bring an optional grid up onto your viewfinder. A separate photograph is usually a better idea because your video editor might not be able to export a high-quality snapshot, and also because you’re able to choose your facial expression.Īim to make this shot a close-up or medium close-up and make sure you’re either in the center of the screen or off to one side, as per the ‘rule of thirds’. To start off, either choose a still frame from your video or take a photograph while you’re still set up from your video. While curiosity can be a big motive behind clicking on a video thumbnail (or anything online), when people have searched for a specific topic they want to be convinced that your video has what they’re looking for. The Classic Thumbnail (Photo or Screenshot)Ī photo that shows what happens in your video – whether that means the finished ‘look’ from your makeup tutorial or you posing in front of the landmark you shot your travel vlog in front of – is a great way to let viewers know what to expect. Here are some examples of popular thumbnail styles.ġ.
How to make a thumbnail for youtube on ipad free#
You can use an image editing program like Photoshop if you have one, but if you don’t you can check out these free thumbnail makers. In order to create a custom video thumbnail, you’ll need a program to put it together in.
How to make a thumbnail for youtube on ipad how to#
How to Make Thumbnails that Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!).Your task when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails is to make something that does both of those things while also maintaining your personal style. Viewers click on thumbnails that both standout and feel relevant to their search. They're often more important than video titles. How do you decide which of them to watch? Thumbnails play a major role in what viewers decide to click on. Search for any topic on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of videos.
