How to Film a Before and After Haircut Video With Your Phone

A before and after haircut video works when the camera does not move between the two shots. Put your phone in one place, keep the same light on the client, and film the before clip and the after clip from that exact position. The cut then does the talking, and the viewer sees the change in a second.

Set up one fixed spot

Pick a corner of the shop where the client stands or sits in the same pose twice. Mark the floor with tape if that helps you return to the same place. Put the phone on a tripod, a shelf or a clamp, not in your hand. A phone that stays still gives you two clips that line up, which is the whole point of this format.

Choose the angle that shows the shape of the cut. A three-quarter view from the front usually works better than a straight side shot. Keep the client's head in the same part of the frame in both clips. If the head sits higher or lower in the second clip, the change looks smaller than it is.

Keep the light the same

Light is the part most people get wrong. If the before clip is lit by the window and the after clip is lit by a ceiling lamp, the hair looks like a different colour. Use the same light source for both clips, and film them close together in time.

Turn off any lamp that only lights one side of the face. Face the client towards the main light so the hair has some shine and the shape is visible. Avoid filming with a bright window directly behind the head, because the face goes dark and the cut disappears.

If the shop light changes during the day, film both clips in the same window of time. Morning light and evening light are not the same, even in the same chair.

Film the two clips

Keep each clip short. Hold the phone steady, ask the client to look at the same point, and press record.

• Clean the lens before you start. - Lock the phone so it cannot move between clips. - Film the before clip with dry, unstyled hair. - Note the exact spot where the client stood. - Cut the hair. - Style the hair the same way you would for a normal client. - Film the after clip from the same spot and angle. - Check both clips before the client leaves the chair.

Do not zoom between clips. Do not walk around the client. If you need a second angle, film it as an extra shot and keep the main before and after pair clean.

Make the change easy to see

The viewer should not have to work out what changed. Start the before clip with the client still, then let the after clip show the finished shape. A slow turn of the head in the after clip helps people see the back and the sides.

Keep the background tidy. A mirror full of products or a busy doorway pulls attention away from the hair. Plain wall, simple chair, one light. That is enough.

If you film several clients in one day, keep the same setup for all of them. The videos then look like they belong to the same shop, which helps people recognise your work.

Turn the clips into a short video

You do not need editing software for this. Upload your before and after clips to Relsko, answer a couple of questions, and the assistant proposes three concepts for the video. Pick the one you like. Relsko then makes three cut variants of that concept, and you download the one that fits.

Relsko uses only your own footage. It does not add stock clips or scenes you did not film. The export is vertical, 1080x1920, ready for Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Animated captions are in beta, and the interface, assistant and in-video text work in 16 languages. A finished video's text can be translated into any of the other 15.

You can register for 30 days of full access without a card. Invitations extend that period, and after it there is a free level with a small watermark.

What to do next

Film your next client from one fixed spot, with one light, and keep both clips short. Upload the footage to Relsko, choose one of the three proposed concepts, and download one of the three cut variants. Do that a few times and you will have a simple routine for every haircut in the chair.