LOS ANGELES — This Mother's Day, do yourself and your family a favor and schedule an interview with your mother.

I do it every year. We've spent hours for the family archive talking about her early days growing up in Indianapolis, her late in life vocation of making how-to-knit videos for YouTube and have even gone live on Facebook a few times (including a recent outing from the Hermosa Beach California Pier).

So not a day goes by that people don't ask me, "What kind of camera should I buy to interview Mom?" or "what kind of accessories do I need?"

We're here to help! The good news is, you don't need an expensive camera, because you have a great one in your pocket: the smartphone. And I can get you with the accessories you need for under $100.

Up for the challenge? Great.

More: Don't forget to photograph mom on Mother's Day and all year round

So now you’re ready to sit down with mom and record video stories for Mother’s Day. Hopefully, it didn't take too much persuading — tell your mom she's beautiful (she is!) and that it's important. Family history, and all that.

These quick and easy steps will dramatically improve the sound and video quality, making your video a keeper to hand down from generation to generation.

1. Make room on your phone

The iPhone camera is stellar, but it has one big issue you won’t find on rival phones like the Samsung Galaxy or LG G series.

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have much storage room left on your phone — and Apple doesn’t make it easy. There are no removable memory slots on the iPhone. Most folks have the 16 GB model, which after factoring in the operating system, some apps and a bunch of photos and videos leaves you with virtually no room.

And if your mom talks for an hour, that translates to another 7 gigabytes of video. What to do? How to find space?

If you’ve got a Galaxy, just spring $10-$20 for an accessory micro-SD card and pop it in. (We found this one at Best Buy for $12.99.)

For iPhone users, clean up your Camera Roll, and upload as much as you can to a free site like Google Photos (automatically backs up all photos and videos taken on smartphone) or Amazon’s Prime Photos. If you’re already spending $99 yearly for Prime shipping and entertainment, you get unlimited smartphone backup with Amazon for free. Apple’s own iCloud service is free for 5 GBs or $2.99 monthly for 50 GBs.

Keep the images that mean the most to you on the phone. Create a “Favorite” folder on your phone--like a “greatest hits” collection. This will highlight the photos and videos that you want to to present. Just open the Photos app, find the image, and click the heart underneath it. Then, when you open Photos again, look for the Favorites section under Albums. (Google and Amazon's apps work just as swiftly as does the Apple Photos app--but yes, you'll need a connection to show off the photos there.)

2. Pick your device

We vote for shooting on the smartphone vs. a full-size camera. There are so many great and affordable accessories that can make your shoot look professional — way more than for cameras. And, simply, because you always have the smartphone with you.

Another option: Get a used iPhone or iPad and only use it for shooting photos and videos. You'll spend less than $300.

3. Frame your shot — and hold it steady

You can get away with handheld shots for quick videos that are under a minute or so. Any longer and camera shake will start to get very noticeable, and unbearable.

We want you to sit down with Mom for a long time, so do us a favor and buy yourself a steady device.

You can find any cheap tripod at Target or Wal-Mart in the $20-$30 range, or opt for a tabletop edition, like the Joby or Manfrotto, both of which cost under $20.

You’ll also need a small smartphone attachment to get your phone onto the tripod, which will cost under $10.

Be advised that if you go the table top route, you’ll probably have to put it atop a stack of books. You don’t want to shoot underneath mom, (that would make her look fat) but be level with her eyes, for the most pleasing picture.

4. Don't forget about the audio

The mic on smartphones are no good, and if you use it, you’ll compete with every sound imaginable: the TV, kids in the other room, buses driving down the street. For just $25, the Movo lavalier microphone fixes the problem, and you get two mics for one: one for subject, one for the interviewer. It fits into Galaxy phones (in the headphone jack). If you have an iPhone 7, you’ll need a dongle to connect.

There are mics with better sound, but for the purposes of doing a one-on-one interview with mom, and capturing both of you at the same time, this is a great way to go.

5. Get up close and personal

Once you're set up on the tripod, you have two choices — a two-shot of both of you in the frame, or just a close-up of mom. I think there's something magic about seeing the two of you together. That's why most talk shows open this way. You might try starting with both of you in the frame, then asking someone else in the family to pause the video, and move the camera in for the close-up without you.

6. You're ready. Now, what questions do you have?

Where to start with mom? Ask about growing up, what the family home and dynamic was back then, what she talked about at the dinner table with your grandparents, what she did with herself after school as a kid, how she met your dad.

Writing out a great series of questions is a wonderful place to start, but remember, the art of interviewing is listening to the answers, and following up from there. Start with one great question, and the interview should flow naturally. You don't have to fit everything into this one video either. Focus on one theme for today, and come back again for more.

7. Sharing. Now that you’ve got a good 30 to 60 minute video interview on your phone, the challenge is getting it off and onto the computer, where you could edit it, archive it, or share it easily among family members and friends.

E-mailing a 3.5- to 7 gigabyte file is pretty much out of the question, although Apple’s Mail Drop is one possible avenue, if the file is under 5 gigs.

Otherwise, if you pick up on the Google Photos tip from above, the file will automatically go there, without any pain. Or, if you have room in a Dropbox, iCloud or Microsoft OneDrive account, you could upload there, and pull it down to your computer.

Google Photos and Amazon Prime Photos both let you share privately, for free, as does Dropbox and OneDrive.

A little used feature in Apple’s sharing also could work, and you don’t have to pay for iCloud storage. Try the iCloud Photo Sharing feature in the iPhone share area, create a “new shared album,” choose e-mail addresses and you’ve now got a video of Mom making its way to family and friends.

Article courtesy of: USA Today -https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/05/10/mothers-day-interview-your-mom-record-on-your-phone/101420112/