How to Look Better on Video Calls
Most of what makes someone look good on a video call has nothing to do with the camera. Light, angle and framing matter more. Here's how to fix each one, mostly for free.
Light: face it
- Put the light in front of you. Sit facing a window, or put a lamp behind your screen.
- Avoid a window behind you. It turns you into a dark silhouette. If you can't move, close the blind or add a lamp in front of you.
- Soft is better than harsh. Daylight through a sheer curtain, or a lamp bounced off a wall, looks more natural than a bare bulb.
Webcams with automatic light correction help a lot here. The Logitech Brio 501 adjusts to your room's lighting with RightLight 4.
Camera: eye level
- Raise the camera to eye level. A laptop on the desk looks up at you. Stack books under it, use a laptop stand, or put a webcam on top of your monitor.
- Look at the camera when you're speaking, not at your own face on screen.
- Sit about an arm's length away.
Framing
- Head and shoulders, with a little space above your head.
- Center yourself. Auto-framing webcams do this for you as you move.
- Check your background. A tidy wall, a shelf or a plant works better than an unmade bed or a busy doorway. Background blur helps if you can't change it.
Sound
- Use a headset in noisy rooms.
- Choose a webcam with noise-reducing mics if you don't wear one.
- Soft furnishings help. Rugs, curtains and bookshelves reduce echo in empty rooms.
- Mute when you're not speaking.
Before an important call
- Open your camera and check the picture.
- Check what your microphone sounds like.
- Close other apps that might use the camera or slow your computer.
- Plug in your laptop.
For five webcams compared for work calls, see our webcam for work comparison.