To look good on Zoom for a podcast interview, webinar or just to impress your co-workers in your next meeting, you need to approach your Zoom setup with the same foundations you would for any other video.
There are three main things to think about when creating your set. The first is lighting, the second is the angle of your camera and the third is your position in the room.
Let’s break down each of these and I’ll give you some ideas on how to quickly and inexpensively raise the bar of your Zoom meeting setup.
1. Look Into the Light
Try to face the biggest light source in the room, like a window. The last thing you want is a blinding light behind you making you look like a silhouette.
If your computer is mounted in a specific place and you can’t move so the light is in front of you, you can get a small LED light for your desk to boost the light on your face. You want to make sure you’re as bright or brighter than your background because you are the main focus of the shot.
If you do own some studio LED lights or a ring light you could set one of these up behind your WebCam to get the desired effect.
Be careful with this though, if you’re staring into this light for a long period of time, it can strain your eyes which is why I like to go for natural Lighting from a window whenever possible.
Try to avoid using ceiling lights as your only light source because these can cause harsh shadows under your eyes and in all kinds of unflattering places.
Like any kind of filming, you always want to have a light source in front of you. You can check out my free equipment guide for some more lighting options here.
2. Eye to Eye
To create a flattering camera angle make sure your WebCam is set up to your eye level or higher. If your camera is too low it’s going to be all chin and nostrils and I think we can all agree that is no one’s best angle.
Raising your camera so it’s slightly above your eye line will help to give you a slimmer-looking jawline. If you don’t have a computer stand use books, boxes, whatever you have available to boost the height of your WebCam.
Once you’ve raised your camera up, make sure you angle it so that you don’t have too much headroom at the top of your shot.
Ideally, you want a little bit of space between the top of your shot and your head, and have the top of your shoulders in the shot as well to give you some nice framing.
3. Breathing Room
To complete your setup, you want to have physical space between you and your background. This will create some depth in the shot and makes it actually feel more spacious for the person watching.
If you’re up against the wall, no matter how nice that wall may be, it’s going to feel like you’re crammed up against the wall. Have some space behind you and add a few props to the background for a little bit of interest.
Lastly, try to wear something that contrasts the colour in your background. Wearing a white shirt on a white background could make you look a bit like a floating head on screen.
I like to wear bold colours, aiming for dark clothes on a light background or light clothes on a dark background. I also like to choose clothes that have a high neckline when it’s a head and shoulder shot to complete the frame around my face.
I hope these tips help you to raise the bar on your next zoom interview. If you keep these three things in mind it will help you with your setup for other videos you create too.
Read on for how to create a flattering lighting setup for your videos.
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