Lighting and Framing for Better Video Calls

Most video calls look bad for two reasons: the light comes from the wrong place and the camera sits too low. Fix those and an ordinary laptop webcam looks fine. Put the light in front of you, raise the camera to eye level and leave a little space above your head. That's most of it.

The rest of this guide covers the details, a few cheap upgrades and how to make a virtual background look less fake.

Light: put it in front of you

Your camera adjusts its exposure to the brightest thing in the picture. If that's a window behind you, the camera darkens everything and your face falls into shadow. Turn your desk so the window is in front of you or to the side, never behind.

The best setup is simple:

1. Main light in front, a bit above eye level and slightly to one side. About 30 to 45 degrees off center gives your face some shape. Straight on works too and is the most flattering for most people.
2. Soft, not hard. A big light source makes soft shadows. A window, a lamp with a wide shade, or a light bounced off a white wall all count. A bare bulb or a small, bright LED makes harsh shadows under your nose and eyes.
3. Turn off the overhead light if it's the only one. Ceiling lights straight above you create dark eye sockets. If you need it for the room, add a front light so it isn't doing all the work.

If you can only change one thing, sit facing a window during the day. It's free and it's the nicest light you'll get.

Mixed color

Daylight is bluish and most home bulbs are orange. Mixing them makes one side of your face blue and the other orange. Either use daylight alone, or close the curtains and use lamps of the same color. If you buy a light, pick one with adjustable color temperature so you can match the room.

Glasses

Reflections in glasses come from lights directly in front of you. Raise the light higher, move it further to one side, or tilt your glasses down very slightly. A larger, softer light also makes a less obvious reflection than a small, bright one.

Framing: camera height and headroom

Laptops put the camera below your chin, so everyone gets a view up your nose and of the ceiling behind you. Raise the laptop until the camera is level with your eyes. A stack of books works perfectly well. Use an external keyboard if typing becomes awkward.

Then set your distance and framing:

• Eyes about a third of the way down the frame. That's where people naturally look.
• A small gap above your head. Not a big empty band of wall, and not your forehead cut off.
• Head and shoulders in the shot. Sit about an arm's length from a laptop camera. Much closer and your face distorts; much further and you shrink.
• Center yourself, especially with a virtual background. The apps expect a person in the middle of the frame.

Look at the camera when you're talking to the group, at least now and then. Putting the call window near the top of your screen, just under the camera, means your eyes are close to the lens even while you watch other people.

Background: real or virtual

A real background should be tidy and a little bit interesting, without being busy. A plain wall with one plant or a shelf works. Keep bright windows and moving things like TVs out of the shot. Leaving some distance between you and the wall gives a sense of depth and, with a good camera, a little natural blur.

If you use a virtual background, these setup tips matter even more, because the app has to cut you out of the scene:

• Good front light gives the app a clear outline to work with.
• Contrast with the real wall helps. A dark shirt against a dark wall gives fuzzy edges.
• Match the virtual light to your real light. A bright, sunny background looks strange if you're lit by a dim lamp. A blurred room or soft gradient is easier to match. The studio on our home page has blurred room looks in warm, cool and evening tones for this reason.
• Keep text out of the middle. You'll cover it. Use the top corners.

Sound matters as much as picture

People forgive a soft image far more readily than bad audio. A few things that make a big difference:

• Use a headset or earbuds with a microphone. They pick up less room echo and prevent feedback.
• Soft furnishings help. A rug, curtains and a sofa absorb echo. A bare room with hard floors sounds hollow.
• Turn on noise suppression in your call app if your environment is noisy, and mute yourself when you aren't talking in large meetings.

Cheap upgrades worth buying

You don't need much. In rough order of value:

1. A laptop stand or a few books. Fixes camera height. Costs almost nothing.
2. A small LED panel with adjustable brightness and color. Clip it to your monitor or put it on a small stand behind it. It solves dark rooms and evening calls.
3. A wired headset or a USB microphone. A bigger improvement for most people than any camera upgrade.
4. An external webcam. Worth it if your built-in camera is very old or poorly placed. Mount it on top of your monitor at eye level.

A two-minute check before important calls

• Light in front of you, window not behind you.
• Camera at eye level, eyes near the top third of the frame.
• Background tidy, or a calm virtual background with text in the top corners.
• Headset connected and tested.
• Notifications muted.

Then open a test call or your app's video preview, take a look, and adjust. If you want a background with your name or company on it, make one in the studio, then follow our steps for uploading it to Meet, Zoom or Teams.

FAQ

Where should the light be on a video call?

In front of you, slightly above eye level and a little to one side. A window you face is the best free light. Avoid having a window or bright lamp behind you, which turns you into a silhouette.

How high should my webcam be?

At eye level or very slightly above. A laptop on a desk puts the camera too low, so stack it on a few books or use a stand so the lens is level with your eyes.

Is a ring light worth it?

It can help in a dark room, but a cheap LED panel or a lamp with a large shade bounced off a wall often looks more natural. Ring lights also make a visible ring reflection in glasses.