Looking for some awesome tips on how to use a GoPro, the best GoPro settings, how to win the GoPro Million Dollar Challenge and even become a part of the GoPro Family?

Well I caught up with GoPros Creative Director Abe Kislevitz to chat all things GoPro and how to make the most of their range of cameras, including the new GoPro Her0 10…

How To Use A GoPro & Best GoPro Settings (Inc Tips On Joining The GoPro Family!)

Who Is Abe?

First off lets introduce you – fill us in on who you are, what you do and a bit of background on how you got there.

Hi! My name is Abe Kislevitz, I am a filmmaker/artist/engineer/outdoor enthusiast! Currently I am Sr. Creative Director at GoPro. I grew up in Portland Oregon and got very into skiing in high-school, and then went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California.

Throughout my time at USC I helped run the USC Ski & Snowboard Team, and started a YouTube channel to help promote the team, mainly amongst other people at the school.

GoPro saw what I was doing pretty early on and I ended up landing a full-time job at their HQ in San Francisco after I graduated. I’ve been at GoPro for about 10 years full-time now.
 

 

Best GoPro Settings

What are your protune settings for the best photos

I pretty much always have my photo settings on the following: 

• RAW On
• ISO min: 100
• ISO max: 100
• Sharpness: Low
• WB: Auto
• Color: GoPro
• EV comp: 0 (or -0.5)

If the scene is a little darker, you’d want to bump your max ISO up to 400, but I rarely go higher than that to keep those photos looking clean!

Protune settings for the best videos

Sharpness Low is most important for me. Beyond that, I’m usually using the following:

• ISO Min: 100
• ISO Max: 400 (100 if using gimbal, 1600 if shooting in cloudy weather or forested environments).
• WB: Auto (or best for scene)
• Color: GoPro
• EV comp: 0 (or -0.5)

Check out Abes vlog on the best GoPro video settings here:

 

 

GoPro Modes

Go to modes for video and photo

Video I mostly shoot 4K 4:3-30 Wide when I don’t need slow motion, and 2.7K 4:3-60 Wide or 4K-60 Wide when I do need slow motion. If I’m shooting a cinematic B-roll shot, I’ll use 5K-30 Wide or linear!

With the launch of the GoPro Hero 10 it’s opened up heaps more modes with higher resolutions and frame rates with the new GP2 chip.

For photo I shoot single photo with RAW or 0.5 Interval Timelapse Photo mode

 

 

Top GoPro Mounts & Accessories

What mounts do you never leave home without?

Bite Mount and some sort of grip/tripod mount – either the shorty, 3-way, or Max Grip/Tripod – are always staples in my kit bag. 

There are so many mounts out there to cover all activities and situations, you’ll soon figure out what suits your shooting style the best.

 

 

GoPro Awards & GoPro Million Dollar Challenge

When it comes to winning GoPro awards any tips or advice for stand out content?

Shooting in good lighting conditions and having eye-catching colors usually does the trick! 

Submitting a variety of subject matters and angles is also a really good tip.

 

GoPro Hero 10

What are your favourite new features of the Hero 10?

Obviously the jump in frame rates and resolutions up to 5.3K! Front display is huge for framing, and the longer battery life has been game changing.

Lastly the max lens mod is an awesome toy to play with.

 

 

Favourite Video & Photos

Out of all your awesome video edits which is your personal favourite and why? 

I think my favorite has been the Japan Snow edit on the GoPro channel.

This was one of the first major passion projects I was able to do at GoPro where it wasn’t shot for any specific camera release, and there were no rules. I brought along my best friends and some awesome athletes and we just had a great time adventuring for 2 weeks. I think the final product encapsulates the trip pretty well.

 

 

And same for your favourite Insta pic!

Hard to say really – everything is pretty different. I suppose when I think back to certain photos that were really shot with intention – an idea I had in mind that I wanted to try my best for – this one comes to mind.

I had taken a photo like this years before, but it was when I was testing out a GoPro mount that we never ended up making. I finally found an alternate solution for mounting on the tip of my ski.

I got up super early, made it out before first chair on a sunny day and rigged up my remote to fire 30 photo bursts on as many carves I could on the first run. It later ended up in the Mammoth mountain magazine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Abe Kislevitz (@abekislevitz)

 

 

Epic GoPro Creators To Check Out

What GoPro content creators would you recommend checking out for inspiration? 

Ron makes a ton of amazing GoPro tutorials – he’s on the gopro training team in Thailand! 

Chris Rogers always obviously has amazing GoPro content

If you’ve ever wanted to know anything about a GoPro – MicBergsma is your one stop shop

Meli is like a European version of me except younger, cooler, and better at filmmaking.

We both started out making ski videos on YouTube and ended up working for GoPro! He now flies FPV drones a lot in addition to a ton of other amazing filmmaking work.

;

 

 

Top GoPro Tips

What would be your top 5 tips for shooting with a GoPro?

1. Get to know what the different modes in the GoPro do – either watch a comprehensive youtube video or read my blog! 

2. If you’re shooting POV, go as wide as you can with the FOV. I shoot 4:3 W for most of my POV – I don’t use boost or anything that zooms in on the footage.

3. Unless you’re shooting in full sun, don’t use an ND filter for video unless you know exactly what you’re doing! 

4. Lower your sharpness to low or medium.

5. Last but not least, always clean your lens – use your shirt or anything soft and keep that thing sparkling clean at ALL times.

 

 

Words Of Wisdom – Joining The GoPro Family

Any other advice you’d pass onto aspiring GoPro creators of videographers in general?

I get a lot of questions about how to join the GoPro family of creators.

The best way to get recognized by GoPro is to create really high quality content and continuously submit to the GoPro awards. High quality content doesn’t always mean jumping off clips – it means you’re a good photographer/videographer with a good eye that turns something everyday into something creative, captivating, and unique.

This is where people at GoPro are actively looking at your content and searching for high quality photos and videos to use on social. All of the creators have been recognized because they provide GoPro with value, which is letting GoPro utilize your really great content.

When GoPro is in need of more content we reach out to those that we know have created quality content in the past that’s in line with what we’re looking for.

There’s no magic shortcut to getting free cameras or added to the GoPro team. I tell the same thing to everyone that comes to me asking for an introduction – the correct way is to work your way up through GoPro awards. 

 

Any other tips you’d like to know about how to use a GoPro

Add them in the comments!