We covered positioning your laptop or camera in our previous post, Back-up and Look-up. In this video, we will talk about your background and lighting.
Check your background. People are making a game, now, out of finding interesting things that are spotted in the background of at-home interviews. If you’re too close to a bookshelf, they’ll try to make out the books you have behind you. If you’ve got toys or other knick-knacks on the shelves behind you, they’ll look for that, too. But every second they spend looking at what’s behind you is a second they spend NOT paying attention to what you’re saying. Do your best to eliminate clutter and distracting objects in the background. Check out our video recommendations on how to make sure you have the right background and lighting.
Light things up. You may have noticed on TV that many anchors are reporting from home. They no doubt have some type of professional lighting installed to make them look good. And while no one expects you to have professional lighting in your basement, there are a couple of things you can do to help improve the way you look on camera.
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- Take advantage of natural lighting if you can. Natural light from outside is softer and more forgiving. It can help take away from the harshness of fluorescent lights. So if you have the ability to sit with a big window in front of you, you’ll be amazed at how much better you look.
- If you can’t sit in front of a big window, consider adding some extra lighting to your interview. A simple desk lamp placed near your computer and pointed in your direction can help remove unflattering shadows and provide a more professional look. Take a few minutes before your interview to see what you look like, and make adjustments.
