Lighting Hacks for Zoom Calls
| Houston Branding + Headshot Photographer

Having trouble getting virtual conferences, meetings or calls to work for you? From poor video quality due to lack of light and more, I’ll be covering a few easy hacks to help you shine during your virtual meetings and calls.  

There could be a few different reasons your video quality is poor, but we’ll start with the easiest fixes and hacks, then work our way down. 

Virtual Meeting Lighting Hacks

Hack #1 Find some natural light.

Do you know what the most powerful and softest light source is in our universe? That’s right, the sun. There’s a reason photographers and videographers are great at our job, it’s because we understand the importance of “painting with light”. If your video quality seems grainy or noisy, find a better light source such as a window. If you’re already near a window, consider opening the curtains or adjusting the blinds.

Hack #2 Add some light

Let’s assume the natural light wasn’t enough, or maybe you conduct your virtual calls in a non distracting environment such as a bedroom closet. In this case you should consider getting a LED video light or ring light. Bonus if you can get a light stand that way you can adjust the height of the light and rotate if necessary. A lamp with a white, daylight bulb could also be a nice alternative. 

Hack #3 ‘Bounce’ your light in order to soften it

Niesha, I got those ring lights and/or video lights and they’re pointing directly at me. The light is blinding or is too bright on my skin. This can be a simple or easy fix if you have a lightly nude color wall or ceiling like beige, white, cream, etc. Simply “bounce” the light onto the wall or ceiling. You do this by adjusting the power if you can, and then pointing the light at the wall in front or beside you this. This will feather the light and give you some nice, even light to work with. 

Hack #4 Curtains and scrims to soften the light

If you don’t have a light colored, nude wall to bounce light off of. You can get a white or ivory sheer curtain and cover your light source with it. This will naturally soften the light. The more of the light you cover with the curtain or scrim, the softer it will be. Bonus tip: if you want even softer light, you can combine hack #3 with hack #4.  

Invest in a better autofocusing webcam

This one isn’t really a “hack”, but could be the root of your poor video quality nonetheless. Finally, you can invest in a really good autofocusing webcam. It’s important to note, however, that not even the best camera or webcam can fix poor light. 

Virtual meeting lighting hacks summary

Finally, there are several ways to create and alter light to improve your video quality during virtual meetings, conferences, and sessions.  

1. Use natural light when possible.  
2. Make your own light with LED video lights, light bulbs, or ringl lights.  
3. Bounce or filter the light if you can. 
4. Know that the best webcam won’t fix bad lighting but it can help get a clearer picture with less grain.  

I hope you found these lighting hacks useful and applicable to you. As a traveling photographer, I help my clients feel and look their best in portraits. 

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