Filming UGC in Costa Rica has obvious advantages and three problems nobody mentions: humidity, the noise of rain, and heat that makes your face shine on camera. All solvable, but you need to know beforehand.

Pick one corner and keep it

Find the spot in your home where window light comes in without direct sun and where the background does not distract. A plain wall, a tidy shelf, a light curtain.

Mark on the floor where the tripod goes and where you stand. A fixed set saves you twenty minutes per shoot and makes all your pieces look consistent, which is exactly what a brand wants to see.

Humidity, the silent enemy

This is the real equipment problem in Costa Rica. Humidity ruins lenses, microphones and batteries faster than people expect.

Keep everything in an airtight box with silica gel packets. Replace them every few months. It is an investment of a few dollars that saves you replacing a microphone every year.

And if you come from an air conditioned room to film outside, wait five minutes: the lens fogs up and no shot is usable during that time.

The noise of rain

In the rainy season, the afternoon downpour is a wall of sound. No microphone saves you if you are under a metal roof.

The solution is planning: film in the morning during the rainy season. It is predictable, and organising your schedule around it makes you deliver on time while others ask for extensions.

Heat on camera

Shine on the forehead shows, and in beauty pieces it disqualifies the take. Blotting paper, a small towel within reach and a fan you switch off right before recording.

Film in short stretches and rest between takes. It is less glamorous than any framing tip and it changes the result more.

Space, solved

Film close and use detail shots: hands, product, face. Most UGC works better that way than with wide shots.

A tripod with an overhead arm for filming on a table multiplies what you can do in a small space.

The real minimum kit

A phone with a good camera, a tripod, a lavalier microphone, a white fabric, a small LED light and an airtight box with silica. That is enough to invoice all year.

Where to go next

A fixed, reliable set is what lets you deliver fast and charge properly. Our guide on how to become a UGC creator covers the rest of the craft.