Tech
amount of light in the
background, resulting in
a darkened face and body.
Avoid if possible windows
or other sources of bright
light within the field of
sight of the shot frame.
6. Adding additional lighting
is a good idea sometimes
when a room is dark,
its overcast outside or
you are making a call
at night. A desk lamp
or living room lighting
can help brighten up the
shot. Remember that
the light from a normal
incandescent bulb is
going to throw out a
warm yellow light as
opposed to a fluorescent
strip light that throws a
harsher blue light at the
subject. Make sure that
the extra light does not
cause a nose shadow (if
a single light source is
coming from one side).
You could use two light
sources either side cancel
out the shadow from the
other side. Also avoid
excessive light which may
cause deep eye sockets.
Light sources that are
too bright may result in
overexposure to parts of
the face (forehead, cheeks
etc) so should also be
avoided. Always do a test.
7. Skin tone makes a
difference as some
people with a lighter
skin tone will blend into
a light background and
vice versa. So, test your
shot against different
backgrounds to find the
best that suits your skin
tone. Make a quick note
of your skin when doing
a test shot. Is it shiny?
40 — May
“People love to look into
others personal space. A
decorated wall with pictures
or a bookcase is much more
interesting than the fridge in
the kitchen”
My Top 5 Virtual Meeting Platforms
» Zoom is a video-
conferencing app
that’s taken the world
by storm. Its share
price has doubled in
18 months. Although
there are security
issues associated with
the platform, the free
version could be a
solution for small and
medium enterprises
» Whereby offers a
similar service to Zoom
with most of the same
functionality but at a
much more reasonable
cost.
» Microsoft’s Teams
answer comes offers
a free option. You can
invite up to 300 people
on your free account.
Microsoft describes this
as ‘free, built-in group
and one-on-one audio
or video calling’ for the
‘whole team’.
» Google Hangouts
Meet is part of the
G Suite business
tools. They have just
rolled out increased
video-conferencing
capabilities to all
G Suite customers
globally, including;
meetings for up to 250
participants per call,
live streaming for up
to 100K viewers and
the function to record
meetings to Google
Drive.
» Jitsi is a free,
open-source video
conferencing solution
owned by 8×8. The
company uses the
technology in its
premium enterprise
products. You can
download and install it
on your own server, or,
alternatively, you can
use the hosted version
known as Jitsi Meet.
This can be quickly fixed
with a layer of matt
makeup that will also hide
puffiness.
8. Look directly at the
webcam when speaking,
not at your screen. It’s
important to engage
directly with those you re
wanting to communicate
with. Looking around
the room, checking your
social media and looking
distracted during the call
is going to disengage the
others on the call. If you
do need to do something
whilst on the call, like
check a report or email
that is relevant to the call;
tell the other precipitants
what you are doing.
9. Choose an appropriate
outfit. A fancy blazer
with sweatpants may
be embarrassing if you
suddenly need to stand
up and walk out of the
picture frame to get
something. Sometimes –
depending on the quality
of the camera - pin stripes
or printed motifs may also
have a negative impact on
the image. Try and use
a contrasting clothing
colour that won’t blend
into the background
colour.
10. Turn off distracting
background noises (radio,
TV, kitchen appliances,
air conditioning, street
sounds etc.) as these
will distract the other
participants. If you have
a room in which you are
using alone, it’s probably
best to keep the door
closed in case others in
the household are banging
about.