How to Film With iPhone and Android Rear Camera: Use Mac or PC as a Viewfinder!

Smartphones are awesome for shooting videos on a budget, but the best camera is on the back making it difficult to frame your shot… Here’s how to do it easily!


Links

When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!

Download the Free PDF Guide ➡ The ULTIMATE Video Editing Process!

Software
►  Reflector 2


How to Film With iPhone and Android Rear Camera: Use Mac or PC as a Viewfinder!

Smartphones are awesome for shooting your regular content videos on a budget. Everyone’s got one, and the quality these days is more than enough to get great results – so there’s no excuse…

As we all know, the rear facing cameras in most smartphones are generally a lot better than the front-facing cameras… BUT! despite the lower quality, the front-facing camera has one MAJOR advantage…

With the screen facing you while you shoot, you can monitor and FRAME your shot LIVE While you shoot, without a second person helping. This is critical, as it helps remove another barrier to shooting and makes getting great results MUCH easier, and the front-facing camera’s on most modern phones these days can produce footage with MORE than enough quality for the vast majority of content producers and videos. (Yep, I use it too!)

Now, we have a bit of an update on this front… With some recent software updates, it’s become MUCH easier to start using the rear-facing camera, and frame your shot LIVE without a second person helping. I’m talking about using your Mac, PC or iPad as a viewfinder for your iphone or Android phone LIVE while you shoot.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for options to do this effectively for a while, but after trying a heap of alternatives I couldn’t find anything that could do what we wanted live, wirelessly and reliably… That is until now.

The latest version of Reflector, from a company called Squirrels, now supports reliable wireless streaming from an iPhone or Android smartphone – LIVE to the screen of your Mac or PC… Meaning – you can use the screen of your Mac or PC as a live viewfinder for the rear camera of your iphone or Android device, and monitor your shot as you shoot!

In this video, we’ll show you how to do it.

Of course, for iPhone and Mac users, before this you could always plug in the iPhone and watch using Quicktime – but I found the wire limiting, and Reflector just makes things easier and much more user friendly.

If you found this helpful, we’d really appreciate a share or a comment! And make sure to subscribe to receive all our weekly updates.

**********

GEAR WE USE

Check out all the gear we use and recommend at Primal Video!

**********

Related Content

▶️ How To Edit Video (The Most Efficient Process!)

▶️ Best Lavalier Microphone for iPhone/Android AND DSLR – Under $50!

Filming Video with your Smartphone? You NEED these Guides on How To Film Professional Video:
▶️ For iPhone
▶️ For Android

Share this...

Save this post for later?

Hit the button below and we'll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

Table of Contents
Save this post for later?

Hit the button and we'll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

Hit the button below and we’ll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

More from Primal Video...

How To Make (Better) Videos Faster – 4x Your Video Creation!

Filming and making videos can be very time consuming if you don’t have the right processes in place. It can ...
View →
iMovie Tutorial - How To Edit Videos On Mac (2023!)

iMovie Tutorial – How To Edit Videos On Mac (2023!)

iMovie is an easy to use video editing software that can quickly be downloaded for free onto your Mac or ...
View →
How to Cut Your Videos without Re-Rendering - Video editing software

How to Cut Your Videos without Re-Rendering

If you’ve ever wanted to cut or extract a section of your video files, but didn’t want to re-render or ...
View →
Final Cut Pro vs Adobe Premiere: Best Video Editor? - Video editing software

Final Cut Pro vs Adobe Premiere: Best Video Editor?

Final Cut Pro vs Adobe Premiere. Both are great options but which is the BEST video editing software? These 12 ...
View →
How To Record Skype Calls and Interviews in HD - Public Relations

How To Record Skype Calls and Interviews in HD

Video Interviews are a great way to generate awesome content for your viewers. You can easily interview experts from all ...
View →

How to Download Facebook Videos on PC & Mac! (UPDATED)

Today we’re going to cover how to download Facebook Videos on Mac or PC.  Saving Facebook videos is a great ...
View →

How to Transfer Videos from iPhone to Mac (and Mac to iPhone!)

Wondering how to transfer videos from iPhone to Mac, OR transfer videos from Mac to iPhone? Here’s several quick and ...
View →
Binaural Microphones for 3D Sound: Sennheiser Smart Headset vs Scenes Lifelike! - Logo

Binaural Microphones for 3D Sound: Sennheiser Smart Headset vs Scenes Lifelike!

Looking for the BEST Binaural Microphones for 3D sound without the PRO price tag? Check out this Sennheiser Smart Headset ...
View →
Samsung Gear 360 Camera Review: Should you get one? - Webcam

Samsung Gear 360 Camera Review: Should you get one?

The Samsung Gear 360 Camera is one of the more popular 360 VR Cameras available, but is it right for ...
View →
Don't miss a thing!

Become a Primal Video Insider to stay in the loop.

If you get my best Blue Steel impression now, just imagine what's waiting for you on the inside...

Become a Primal Video Insider and unlock:
We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.
Check out our Privacy Policy for more info!

If you get my best Blue Steel impression now, just imagine what's waiting for you on the inside...

Become a Primal Video Insider and unlock:
We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. Check out our Privacy Policy for more info!