Interview with vlogger Bonnie Nottroth

Dutch vlogger Bonnie Nottroth has been vlogging for more than seven years. She has already posted more than 1,400 vlogs on her YouTube channel @bijbonnie. Bonnie loves filming her daily life and sharing it with her tens of thousands of followers. In these 'lifestyle vlogs', you get a glimpse into her life, as if you were right there with her!

Bonnie has also written three books and recently worked with Sony. In an interview with Kamera Express, she tells us more about her work as a vlogger and which Sony camera she uses, and she shares some handy tips for if you want to start vlogging yourself.

A hobby that got out of hand

Bonnie already loved making videos as a child. “My parents had a video camera and I really enjoyed recording little films with it.” For her thirteenth birthday, she got her very own video camera. “I started filming all kinds of things around the house. Actually, those were already vlogs,” Bonnie recalls with a laugh. “When I started watching vlogs myself at some point, I was fascinated. I can do that too. So, as an experiment, I started making vlogs as well.” She put the videos online and the first reactions were positive. “So vlogging actually started as a hobby, but for a few years now it has also been my job.”

At first, Bonnie forced herself to film and upload a vlog every day, but she has since let that go. “That really took the pressure off.” She says she now mainly films again because she enjoys it, not just because she has to stick to an upload schedule. “It can be tricky that I'm the main subject of my vlogs. When I'm not feeling well, I sometimes find it very hard to point the camera at myself.” Still, she sometimes does it, such as during her 'vlogtober' series, for which she records and shares a vlog every day again. “Then it sometimes happens that I don't feel so great, but I just mention that in the vlog. A bad day is fine too; that's actually relatable.”

A day in the life of Bonnie

She would describe her videos as 'lifestyle vlogs'. “In every vlog, I take viewers along for a day in my everyday life.” In the videos, she focuses on everyday things: from her holiday to a pyjama day. Her YouTube channel is called @bijbonnie ('at Bonnie's'). “I'd describe my vlogs as cosy and everyday, with a focus on enjoying the little things. I regularly get comments that it feels as if the viewer is sitting at my kitchen table.” At Bonnie's, in other words.

Bonnie enjoys sharing developments in her life. “For example, my husband Nick and I bought our first house in 2020. I made a vlog series from the moment we got the keys until we moved in.” She really enjoyed capturing it all. “I think that series of vlogs is one of my favourites so far.” Bonnie also got married last year. “I really took my viewers along then too. In a series of vlogs, we discussed something different in each episode: from the flowers to the schedule for the wedding day.”

Sony ZV-1 II

For a while now, Bonnie has been using the Sony ZV-1 II to film her vlogs. “I think this camera is really fantastic,” says Bonnie. Among other things, she's enthusiastic about the camera's stabilisation mode and autofocus. “Before this, I used the Sony ZV-1, but when you put that camera in stabilisation mode, it automatically zoomed in a little. The lens of my new camera is quite wide, so you see a lot of the surroundings while still shooting a stable image.”

She also thinks the camera's autofocus is great. “When I want to show something up close, the image is in focus within a fraction of a second.” That's thanks to the camera's product showcase function. The camera also has real-time eye autofocus for people and animals, as well as tracking. “When I then take my hand away again, the camera immediately focuses on my face again. That's really ideal.”

From clips to a vlog

Making a vlog takes quite a lot of time. Of course, Bonnie films clips of her life throughout the day. “It's not as if I have 24 hours of footage at the end of the day, but I might film a few minutes about fifteen times a day.” After filming, the videos still need to be edited. “I think I spend about five hours per vlog editing the video, creating the thumbnail and writing the video description. So there's still quite a bit of work involved.”

Once the vlog is online, most reactions are fortunately positive. “Luckily, I don't get much hate online,” says Bonnie. “Of course, someone occasionally reacts negatively, saying that I'm ugly or stupid, for example. That goes in one ear and out the other. It's fine that you think that. If you find me annoying, go and watch something else.”

'I decide what I do and don't share'

When she was still vlogging daily, she sometimes got more unpleasant comments. “I'd get comments like, 'oh, are you eating pasta again?' or 'Gosh, you haven't seen that friend for a while. Have you fallen out?'. That made me feel very watched. That felt intense.” She no longer vlogs every day, which has given her back some privacy. “I decide what I do and don't share about my life.”

In the coming years, Bonnie would like to keep making content. “I'm asked so often: can you still do this job in twenty years? I think so, but I don't know in what form.” Really, she just wants to keep doing what she's doing now: sharing her life. “As my life goes on, I'll keep sharing it in the future too.”

Tips

Want to start vlogging yourself? Then be sure to read these tips from Bonnie.

• 1. Just do it! “My number one tip is really that you should just start vlogging. People often doubt whether or not they should start vlogging. My advice then is: just do it! You'll find out soon enough what you think of it.”

• 2. Don't assume you can make money with your vlogs. “You should definitely not start vlogging with the aim of making money from your vlogs. You can only keep this work up if you really enjoy it, not if it's about the money. Making money from vlogging isn't for everyone.”

• 3. Don't be too hard on yourself. “Your vlogs don't have to be perfect, so don't be too hard on yourself. When you start vlogging, it's also just fun to make a little film when you do an activity. It doesn't even have to go online.”

• 4. Put yourself in the viewer's shoes. “I think it's important to put yourself in the shoes of your vlog's viewer while filming and editing. Ask yourself whether you would enjoy watching it. Does the story flow logically this way?”

• 5. Make your viewers feel like they're there. “For example, when you go into town, don't just film 'I've just been into town', but also show a bit of the town. And if you say 'I'm having lunch with Lisa in a bit', explain who Lisa is. Your viewers don't know that.”

The work of Bonnie Nottroth

YouTube: @bijbonnie

Instagram: @bijbonnie

Gear

Bonnie uses the following gear for her vlogs. She films her vlogs with the Sony ZV-1 Mark II, combined with a handheld tripod and an external microphone. She also always carries memory cards with her. Bonnie then edits her vlogs in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Bonnie's vlogs

Curious about more of Bonnie's vlogs? Take a look below: