How to Look Your Best While Video Conferencing
Over the past couple of weeks things have really changed. My daughter dance and music classes have been through the Zoom app. Our meetings at work have been done through Teams. It’s different but it’s working. This will be how we communicate with groups of people, co-workers and coachs/teachers in the coming month. So we might as well start getting used to it.
Video conferencing, video chatting and staying connected with FaceTime is kind of the thing right now with all this social distancing. A few experts shared some tricks to make sure that you look professional if you're doing them for work.
Top 5 Tricks:
- Clothing. Wear a top that you'd wear to the office, but stay away from stark whites, blacks, and busy patterns that might look weird on camera. Your best bet is pastels or other soft, solid colors. And pants don't matter as much if you're sitting down. Solid bold colors always seem to look the best whether you are wearing a sweater, jacket or just a cotton shirt.
- Hair and makeup. Keep it simple. A little hairspray on your hands can smooth down stray hairs. Use concealer under your eyes that's a shade LIGHTER than normal, because it looks good on camera. And if your face looks shiny, a little powder can help. Guys you can do this too.
- Lighting. Natural light looks best, so face a window and get as close as you can. If that's not an option, put a light behind your computer, not overhead. And lights from above give you dark shadows, and lighting from below can give you a double chin. Seriously, who wants a double chin.
- The background. A blank wall with a few "friendly props" is fine. Like plants and a picture. No need to go overboard. You just don't want to show off your ENTIRE home. Especially if there's a lot of activity, like kids running around.
- The setup. You might want to put your computer on a few books to get the camera up at eye level. Your head and shoulders should be in the shot, but don't show anything below your stomach. And don't zoom in too close on your face.
I would say these tips seems pretty legit. I am willing to work on my camera angle and lighting because no one wants a double chin or dark shadows. Hope some of these tips help you out.