Looking Good on Video
Of course you’ve heard the one about the woman who accidentally clicked a special effect button at the start of a Zoom call and found that she had superimposed her face onto a russet potato…and she didn’t know how to make it stop. Most of us have done a lot of video meetings over the past months using Zoom, Webex, Teams, etc. and except for Zoom, no one has the potato effect. Even so, it’s easy to look less than your best. Here’s how to look better.
Special Effects

Special effects means more than being a potato head. The two most useful options are “touch up my appearance” and background changes. Touch up my appearance is a filter that provides a soft focus (slight blur) for your face which can even out your skin tone and hide facial lines. Background effects can include background blurring so that viewers don’t focus on your background. If you’re working from home, who knows what could walk past your open door. There are many horror stories in this category. The other important background effect is green- screen technology where you can change your actual background for an image. However, be careful, as any background movement is distracting. Another thing to watch with green screen technology is when your clothes are the wrong colour. I was on a call where my caller’s shirt colour confused the algorithm so it became “transparent” and showed the night sky. Also was very distracting.
Lighting
Lighting makes a big difference. The best lighting is natural light in front of your face, not bright enough to make you squint. Some people sit at their desk with a bright window behind them. Their head is almost in silhouette and their face is in deep shadow. Some have strong light coming in from the side which tends to highlight under-eye circles and facial lines. Some have lighting behind them that adds glare. Facing a window with soft light coming through is usually the best option.
Camera Positioning
Camera positioning is simple. Have your camera at a height that’s slightly above your eyes. If it’s too low you get the double chin effect, or worse, a view up your nose. If it’s too high, your eyes look hooded. If the camera is off to the side, you’re unlikely to look in the direction of the camera so you lose the face-to-face feel of a video call. If you don’t need to focus on content that’s being shared on screen, adding a bright sticky note or googly eyes next to your camera can be a good reminder of where to look and give the illusion of real eye contact.
Looking Attentive
Some people look at their phone during a video call. It’s usually obvious as they hold the phone below the level of the table and tilt their head down in the classic “looking at my phone” pose. If you must look at your phone, hold it up against your screen. That keeps your eyes pointing in the right direction so everyone thinks that you’re still paying full attention. If you need to look up something on your computer, test out how you look with a colleague to make sure that you have no unprofessional behaviour. Many people lean towards their screen, squint in concentration or even let their mouth drop open a bit.
Set the Right Tone
You can get a lot of work done using video apps but consider your audience and focus on your purpose. Optimize how you look, minimize distractions and please wear pants.
This article is reproduced from the June 2020
This article was published in the
June 2020
edition of The TMC Advisor
- ISSN 2369-663X Volume:7 Issue:4
©2020 TMC Consulting