How to Use Your Web-Cam

I have done a large number of remote video interviews over the past few years. They’re getting to be more common now with G+ Hangouts and Skype conference calls becoming the norm for online communications.

If you are online for personal or professional reasons, you more than likely will be called on for a video interview soon. With that said, it is always good to look your best in a video chat session or simple talking head video production.

Of course, to make the best of it you will need a webcam and microphone. The better the quality of webcam and mic the better the video presentation. They can either be built into a laptop or clipped to the top of a monitor. If you have webcam and mic equipment hooked up and ready to go, here are 9 Tips on How to Use a Webcam.

This should help even if your Internet chat connection is below average..

1. Lighting

Yes, more is better. However, it is important to note you need more light in front of your face than behind you. If your camera is facing a wall you will need to shine lights on that wall, because diffuse light is kinder to the human face than harsh direct light. And natural light…. if it’s daytime, is a wonderful light source. If you are facing a window, and have some light curtains or something to filter the direct sun’s rays, you can set up a perfect light situation without using artificial light.

2. Camera Position

The best position for a laptop computer is on a desk with the built-in camera a eye level. Set the laptop on some books or something solidly level. Do whatever it takes to position the laptop and camera in the proper position. Get a lower chair if needed. Your goal is to get the camera roughly level with your face. If you have a webcam on top of a large monitor, you may have to raise yourself to its level. Or move your webcam mount to something alongside your monitor to get it at the right level.

3. Keep Smiling!

Most people start feeling they are on the phone and forget they are being seen when someone is talking to them. Even when you are not talking remember to try to keep a smile on your face. It will keep the conversation upbeat.

4. Look at the Camera.

One of the challenges everyone has with working with any video camera is to remember the camera is the person you are talking to..not the monitor they appear on. It is natural to look at your monitor, which is where you see your audience. However, this results in your audience seeing you looking down and not at them. You have to be conscious at all times that the CAMERA is the person talking. The camera is the eye through which your audience sees you. Look at the camera and you are looking them directly in the face. Look elsewhere and you might appear to be shifty rather than truthful. At the very least make sure to look at the camera part of the time. This is the same as looking at the audience when you’re giving a speech. Even if you’re reading from notes, you should make eye contact regularly so your audience feels you’re speaking to them, not to yourself or someone else. If you have trouble with this you might try printing out a life-sized face and have the camera look through one of the eyes. It helps to have a realistic target to focus your eyes on.

5. Think About What You Wear.

Don’t wear a white shirt. And avoid pinstripes, tweeds, and other detailed designs. Moire patterns can be fun, but not when you want people to concentrate on what you’re saying.

6. Don’t Fidget

Keep still. If you want to move, use your hands to help say what you mean. If at all possible, look at how your camera sees you by previewing your camera settings beforehand and look at how much of your hand movement is in the picture. Keeping your hands near your face often works best.

7. Be Conscious Of The Background!

Do you have a messy background? If so..do you want the world to see it? If you are set up in your office and it doubles as my workshop, at least straighten up the area the camera will see.

8. Glasses.

If you wear glasses and you’re going to do a lot of work in front of the camera , you may want to get a pair of glasses with a non-glare coating. If you can’t afford glasses with costly non-glare coating, make sure your glasses are scrupulously clean, and light yourself well. Ideally indirect lighting from the sides works the best. This can be remedied with a pair of $12 hardware store work lights clamped onto something nearby. Use one on each side of you, pointed at a wall behind where you are sitting.

9. Aim your webcam properly

Amateurs typically frame the camera on placing the face in the middle of the shot. Pros have the top of the head all the way at the top. They might even chop off a little hair and not worry about it. Position the camera so your head touches the top of the frame of the camera lens. This results in a more comfortable viewing and balances the screen for the viewer.

Quality Comes First in Video

There are at least a trillion other things you can do to make yourself look better on a webcam. Many of them have to do with the type of camera you use. In this day and age, High Definition is what everyone is going for in a camera. The HD cameras do produce a nice crisp picture. However, the HD cameras also pick up much more details in EVERYTHING. This is good and also Bad especially if you do not prepare yourself to the tips you have been provided. I hope this works for you and helps you to have a better online video experience.