Student teachers (STs) were asked to reflect on their experiences of watching videos of their own and their peers' teaching and to generate and share metaphors of the experience. Qualitative analysis of their metaphorical explanations revealed the cognitive, emotional and motivational responses associated with the STs' video-viewing experiences. The STs reported a tendency to focus on the teacher-in-the-video in both types of video. They were more evaluative in their comments and experienced more negative emotions when watching videos of themselves. Some said they had adopted an overly critical and fault-finding attitude when watching themselves. Conversely, viewing videos of their peers was more likely to elicit positive emotions, greater involvement and more engagement. The implications of using metaphor to understand and foster reflection on STs' video-viewing experiences with different types of video are discussed.