The number one easiest thing you need to do to look good on camera for your next
video conference call is to raise the webcam on your computer up to eye level
So first if you're on a laptop you want to tilt that screen so it's vertical
Now you want to prop up the laptop up off the desk say one or two fists with say
a book or something similar not your fists and then check to make sure that
it is at eye level. And if it's a desktop, you might want to get something a bit
more solid to raise it up or you can also try putting the seat down...
I'm Tim and welcome back to "Level Up Your Video Skills," the YouTube channel that inspires
and educates busy professionals with all things video on your device and desktop
and in today's video we're going to level up how you can look good on video
conferencing apps such as Zoom, MS Teams, WebEx, Skype and more
With three simple and free steps. Let's get back into it
I've been in countless group
videoconferencing call was over the last few months and as I look around the
screen of different people's webcam set up so I can tell you that the number one
thing they're falling down on is not having the camera at eye level.
In my opinion I feel that makes people just look a bit unprepared and maybe not so professional.
Now today I've got the temporary setup with the laptop over
there for the purposes of making this video only. So more on this first tip if
you're on a laptop that's cool we can fix that as I've said tilt the screen so
it's vertical prop it up on some old cookbooks or a rigid box anything that's
solid and then check that it's at the right height by experimenting on your
computer's webcam app. Now an important guide here is to make sure your eyes are
about two-thirds of the way up to the top of the screen. You don't want to have
a huge amount coming up over your head. About two-thirds is good
If you're in a meeting where you also want to be typing during the chat you don't want to have a
flimsy box that's bouncing around every time you're trying to type something out.
Or maybe you have an external keyboard you can attach or connect with using bluetooth.
Some of the benefits of going with this setup is that it's just a more
natural way of people to be looking at you at eye level. Unless you're super tall..
which I'm certainly not
It also cuts down on many unnatural angles and
the effects of overhead lighting and lastly it gives you the opportunity to
put nice things in the background other than
your ugly roof. We'll get to that later.
the number two easiest thing you can do
to look good is to ensure there's a light source in front of you rather than
right behind you. Again looking at people's webcams setups on video calls
I see so many people with a window right behind them or a brightly lit wall or
just a lamp even like this but that's counteracted by the key light that I
have in front of me so I can get away with this in fact it looks nice.
Now what the camera is trying to do is take a snapshot of the whole area and try and
average out how bright or dark it should make the image. Generally the automatic
settings on these cameras are not that great. So what you essentially need to do
is make it so your face is brighter than the background then it's going to want
to feature your face. So what you can do is experiment with a couple of
well-placed lamps on the corners of your desk or in front of you or even just
pointing your main light at the wall in front of you making the wall brighter
and that reflects back onto your face. Try using your computer's webcam app to
see what effect different light positions has on the overall lighting.
This works well with the blinds down or if it's dark outside and if you're in a
bright room with windows around try to make it so the window is in front of you
certainly not behind you. Even being 45 degrees to the window is okay. Or at worst
so it's to one side of you. Be aware it's gonna make one side of your face dark.
You might be able to even that out with some extra lighting.
Some benefits of getting the positioning of your life source right include, cutting back on
ugly silhouettes and instead showing off your facial features and expressions and
in general just coming across more professional and better prepared.
And the third simplest thing you can do is to have an uncluttered background I see so
many people with messy shelves, ugly cupboards and random clutter. It just
comes across as maybe disorganized and just not prepared. So it's just a matter
of cleaning up that background or even just repositioning your desk to somewhere
with a nicer background. Maybe you can even create a temporary space where you
just hold all of your video calls from that has a nice background.
If you've got a plain wall feel free to add some nice props like paintings or plants and
flowers or even framed qualifications. The benefits are that
you're just going to appear more organized and portray that you value
attention to detail. I myself like to deal with people both clients and
suppliers that seem to have their "house in order."
They just seem more professional.
I've got a bunch more tips I'd love to share with you on this topic
but that's for a later video. For now, put these three tips into place they're
simple, they're free, they're easy, they're going to make your next video conference
call look amazing and who knows it might just be the difference between winning
you that next job.
Finally as a bonus tip, dress to impress
if you're in a business meeting just throw on a nice shirt. You don't need to
be wearing anything nice on the bottom half.
Thanks so much for watching,
and if you liked the video please give us a thumbs up below and consider subscribing
if you want to see more content like this. And for more video conferencing
related videos and tutorials check out the playlists here and here.
Now... where did I put my pants...
Over there!