This is a pure action guide. No theory — just the exact steps to go from zero to a completed UGC video ready for a brand brief, using only your phone.
Before You Shoot: Setup Checklist
Phone: Clean your camera lens (oil from your hands degrades clarity significantly). Set your resolution to 1080p or higher. Check your storage — you'll want to shoot 3–5 takes per video.
Aspect ratio: Shoot vertical (portrait mode, 9:16). This is the correct format for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and Facebook/Instagram ads. If your brief specifies square (1:1) or landscape, adjust before you start.
Mode: Turn off beauty filters. Brand briefs need authentic content — filters make skin tones look unnatural and trigger "ad" associations in viewers.
Volume: Set your phone to silent so notifications don't interrupt mid-take.
Step 1: Lighting
Lighting is the variable that most separates acceptable UGC from strong UGC. The difference between a well-lit shot and a poorly-lit shot is immediately visible, even on a phone screen, even to brand reviewers who aren't cinematographers.
The free solution: Face a window. The window should be in front of you, not behind you. If the light source is behind you, your face goes dark and the background blows out — this is the most common mistake.
Best times: Morning and early afternoon light through a window is usually diffuse (not harsh). Avoid direct sunlight beaming straight through at midday — it creates strong shadows on your face.
Ring light: A ring light (₦3,000–₦7,000 on Jumia) solves evening and low-light situations immediately. Set it at eye level, facing you. Not too close (creates overexposed spots) — about 60–90cm away.
Test: Record a 5-second test clip and play it back before starting your actual takes. Check: is your face clearly visible? Is the product visible when you hold it up? Is there heavy shadow on one side of your face?
Step 2: Background
Your background should be clean and contextually relevant to the product. A cluttered background tells a brand you didn't prepare. A conflicting background (skincare review shot in a garage) breaks immersion.
Good backgrounds by category:
- Skincare/beauty: Bathroom vanity with minimal products visible, plain wall in a bathroom or bedroom
- Food/beverages: Kitchen counter, dining table, neutral surface with a plate/bowl visible
- Tech/apps: Clean desk, minimal — the phone screen and your face are the content
- Fashion/accessories: Plain wall, minimal, focus is on what you're wearing
- Fitness/health: Gym corner, neutral living room corner, outdoor with a clean background
What doesn't work: Unmade beds visible, cluttered rooms, other brand products visible (brand conflict), patterns that compete with the product visually.
Step 3: Frame Your Shot
Phone position: Eye level or very slightly above. Below chin angle makes the shot unflattering and amateurish. Props or a phone stand hold it steady. Shaky handheld camera is fine for casual content but doesn't meet brief standards.
Distance: Your face and upper body fill most of the frame, with enough space to hold the product up in frame without it disappearing below the bottom of the shot.
Test: Take a photo (not a video) and check the framing before you start recording. Adjust position until your face is centred and well-lit.
Step 4: Write a Loose Script (Not Word-for-Word)
The most common beginner mistake is writing a full word-for-word script and reading it. You can hear when someone is reading, even if you can't see the script. Delivery becomes flat, unnatural, and unconvincing.
Instead, write 4–5 bullet points and talk through them rather than reading them.
The UGC video structure:
Hook (first 2–3 seconds): This is the most important part of your video. It determines whether someone keeps watching or scrolls past. Three hook types that work:
- Problem hook: "My [skin/hair/budget/schedule] was a disaster until I found this."
- Result hook: "I've lost 4kg in 3 weeks and this is what changed."
- Surprise/curiosity hook: "I didn't believe this would work, but I need to show you something."
Body (5–40 seconds): Demonstrate the product in use. Describe what you're seeing, feeling, or experiencing. Be specific — specifics are credible, generics aren't.
❌ "This serum is amazing and I love the texture."
✅ "The formula is water-light — it absorbs in about 20 seconds without leaving anything sticky. I've been using it under SPF in the morning and it layers perfectly."
Specifics that always work: product texture, scent, before-and-after comparison, speed of results, how it fits into your routine, a moment of surprise or delight.
Close (last 5 seconds): Recommendation + CTA. "If your skin does [X], this is worth trying." "I've already sent this link to three people." "Link in bio."
Step 5: Shoot Your Takes
Record 3–5 takes per video. Don't aim for perfection in a single take — give yourself options to choose from.
After each take: Watch it back immediately. Check for:
- Camera in focus and well-lit throughout
- No major flubs in the first 5 seconds (you can edit out mid-video pauses but a bad opening is hard to rescue)
- Product shown clearly when you hold it up
- Natural-sounding delivery in the body section
Your best take is usually the second or third, not the first (where you're still warming up) or the fifth (where you've started to lose energy).
Step 6: Edit on CapCut
CapCut is free, widely used by Nigerian creators, and exports in the correct formats for UGC. Most UGC briefs require minimal editing — the goal is clean and authentic, not heavily produced.
Basic edit:
- Import your best take into CapCut
- Trim the beginning (any setup moments before you start speaking) and end (after your final word)
- Remove long pauses mid-video using the split tool
- Colour grade: slight brightness increase, slight contrast boost. Nothing extreme — the point is natural, not filtered
- Add subtitles: use CapCut's auto-caption feature. Edit for accuracy. 70% of video is watched on mute — subtitles significantly improve watch time and conversion
- Export at the highest quality the brief specifies (usually 1080p)
What not to add: Heavy transitions, music that competes with your voice, text graphics that obscure your face, logo watermarks (these belong to the brand, not you).
Total editing time for a beginner: 20–45 minutes for a 30-second video. This gets faster quickly.
Step 7: Review Before Submitting
Before sending your video to a brand, check this list:
- Video length matches brief requirement (±5 seconds)
- Aspect ratio matches brief requirement
- Product is shown clearly
- You mention the product/brand name correctly (listen carefully for mispronunciations)
- The opening hook lands in under 3 seconds
- No competing brand products visible in frame
- File format matches what was requested (MP4 for most briefs)
- Subtitles are accurate (auto-captions often make errors)
Submitting Your First Application on ugc.ng
- Go to ugc.ng/gigs and browse available briefs
- Filter by niche (your best match category)
- Read the brief fully — deliverables, rate, deadline, brand notes
- Write 2–3 sentences in your application message: reference your relevant portfolio sample, confirm you can hit the deadline, and note one specific thing about why your style fits this brief
- Attach your most relevant portfolio sample link
- Submit
For a full breakdown of how to write applications that get approved, read UGC creator jobs: how to find brand deals.
For guidance on building your portfolio with more samples across niches, read how to build a UGC portfolio that gets you hired.
For scripting templates you can adapt for different brief types, see our UGC scripts guide.