“A day in the life” videos on Tiktok flood my FYP every day. It’s amazing to see many TikTokers get creative with showing their daily routine. It’s so tempting to film one yourself, but I know the feeling of thinking it would be awkward or won’t look as good as everyone else. Though, you’d be surprised to learn taking on this trend is much simpler than you think.
With 31.9 billion views, #dayinmylife on TikTok is a very popular hashtag for the lifestyle niche on the platform. Many lifestyle creators use this hashtag in their videos, sharing their daily activities throughout a typical day that they choose to film. It’s such a simple concept that takes a lot of work, skills, and commitment for completing just one video. But with practice, you’ll figure out your flow and rhythm as you learn how to film a “day in the life” TikTok video.
Just follow these tips, straight from creators themselves, to start your dream of being “that girl” on TikTok.
Plan out your day.
This may sound contradictory, as the whole point of the video is supposed to be a normal day in your life, but you’ll be so glad you took this step. If your day is too all over the place, then your video won’t come together like you want. A simple to-do list or writing out what you normally do throughout the day in your phone’s notes app will be great for when you edit your video later on.
Lifestyle and beauty creator Tierra Riddick, also known as @tierragabrielle on TikTok, tells Her Campus that “working a 9-to-5 and being a creator on the side can be a lot to juggle.” College student and lifestyle creator Dalaika Lebrun, who is known as @jaituas on TikTok, agrees: She chooses to plan videos around her schedule and typically decides “to film on the days that I am not as busy and wouldn’t feel rushed if I needed to set up my camera to grab clips.”
Try a simple list like, “8 a.m. wake up, 8:15 a.m. morning routine, 8:30 a.m. breakfast, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working, 5:30 p.m. exercise, and 6:30 p.m. dinner.” Just a simple list like that can help you frame out the best way to shoot and edit the complete video.
If you want to try a different take on the “day in the life” trend, another version that’s been gaining popularity on TikTok recently is the 5-to-9 videos. In these videos, everyone from moms to college students show their routine from waking up at 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. before their 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. That is a type of video you’ll definitely want to write out a schedule for — if you can get up that early.
Angles are key.
One creative element that successful creators are able to pull off in their videos is using effective camera angles. I’ve seen some really unique camera positions in videos that caught my eye immediately scrolling through TikTok. For example, @hanichu28’s day in the life video (see it above) included a shot of herself pouring syrup on pancakes and then walking away. The camera angle as she walked away was still focused on the syrup bottle, but we as the audience could see her in the background. This angle was able to draw my eye where she wanted the viewer to look.
Draw your viewers’ attention with the way you film your day in the life video. Make mundane tasks look exciting and enjoyable to watch. This is your time to pull out all your creative skills. Riddick mentions that she thinks “of the type of shots I’ll create,” which helps her produce her best content.
Get as many shots as you can.
You can never have too much footage, I can tell you that! Film any and everything that you do throughout the day. It may seem silly at first, but once you get to the editing stage of your TikTok and are putting together the shots, you might be surprised to find that filming something you would’ve never thought of looks great in the finished product.
Think about how many TikToks you’ve seen of creators brushing their teeth or driving to Target. These are things we do every day, (especially Target, which is Gen Z’s happy place) but don’t immediately think of filming for an aesthetic day in the life vlog. Also, don’t be shy: If you have to, film two or three or four of the same shots just in case you like one more than the other.
Use natural lighting.
A consistent element of popular day in the life TikToks is the use of natural lighting. There’s no need to go all out for a ring light or studio light. Just simply opening your curtains and letting the sunlight in is your best source of light with these types of videos. Wellness and lifestyle creator Kirra Dickinson, known as @kirra.mov, says that for her videos, “[I make] sure to film when there’s good lighting for extra aesthetics.”
Visually, natural lighting is very stunning and adds a sense of reality. The use of natural lighting makes videos feel more authentic and real, as added lighting can make your video come across as exaggerated or like a performance. Think about it: When you see a day in the life TikTok with professional lighting, you feel like you’re watching a movie. Those with natural lighting simply look more relatable.
Mesmerizing music is a must.
TikTok is known for making sounds and music popular among its users. Finding a trending sound and attaching it to your video can help boost your views and likes. Riddick says that she typically picks “sounds based on what is trending … because the algorithm will pick up on that and push it out to other FYPs, therefore resulting in your video maybe getting more views [and] engagement.” Not only that, but with day in the life videos, some creators edit their footage to the beat of the sound.
Music also plays a huge role in the aesthetic of a TikTok. There have been well put-together videos with audio that just doesn’t work together. Music is sometimes glanced over, but you’ll need to give it some attention if you want to pull in more viewers. A day in the life video must have good audio to keep people watching and make them want to come back for more.
Finding the best music takes time to figure out, but creators think social media is the best place to search for your next sound. “[I see] what trending songs match the video best,” Dickinson says.
Lebrun adds that sometimes, “I’m scrolling through TikTok and come across a song I like, [and] that song will sometimes influence how I film the video.”
Now that you have a few creator tips to help you get started, you can begin planning and filming a day in the life video for your own TikTok account. Good luck!