Creating Your Perfect Zoom Space
Let’s face it. The Zoom or virtual meeting lifestyle is here to stay. Due to COVID-19 companies and families around the world have adapted to a new era in which we are no longer able to easily travel and gather in large or largish groups. And while we will miss running in and out of all those back-to-back meetings all week, we can find ways to repurpose that lost cardio by taking time to organize a pleasant looking Zoom background.
If you’ve decided to take the virtual backdrop fork in the road, I don’t have many pieces of wisdom to offer, however if you’d like to spruce up what you’d got in the real world please keep reading.
LIGHTING
There are a few things to consider when planning out your backdrop first and foremost would be lighting. Some questions to ask and answer are; What time of day do most of your calls take place? Is there a window that provides good daylight? How many sources of light are in your room?
If you are taking meetings during standard business hours and you’ve got a window that has great light, you are ahead of the game. Park your desk in front of the window and receive that magical natural light. If you’re not as fortunate, there are other ways to still achieve a well lit set up. One thing to consider is to avoid backlighting yourself or having only overhead lighting. Recall the time when we learned about silhouettes and shadows in school. If the light is behind you, you only accentuate your outline of your body so place the majority of your light in front of you. Also, if you’ve only got recessed or overhead light, consider adding another source either from a floor or table lamp to light more than just the highpoints of your face.
CAMERA ANGLE
This isn’t a long tip. Please consider raising the camera on your device. How you achieve this will depend on the device but you want to try and keep the camera at or around eye level. Even if you look down at your notes, keeping the camera at eye level by investing in a stand or simply stacking books under your laptop will improve the image others see and also save your neck and back a bit.
DECOR
This is a fun one! There are so many ways to bring in your personality and sense of style into your Zoom background but keep in mind the old faithful “less is more.” A jam packed bookshelf will highlight your love of books but I guarantee your report is a little distracted taking notes of the titles at the very least, if not judging some of your more embarrassing Young Adult genre choices. So find your balance. Have a short stack of some beautiful favorites or add a cool decorative object (my husband keeps a cool lego car he built, I opt for a nice sculptural vase). Some other things to try could be fresh or faux flowers, cool art and posters, or maybe something seasonal depending on the time of year. Whatever it is, make it something you love but don’t make it too distracting.
BE MINDFUL
Another quick tip is to be mindful of what’s in the background. Is there a hall leading to a bathroom? It would be best to keep it shut or turn the camera a bit so it’s out of sight. If there are other people in your home, ask them to kindly stay in another room or mark show them where may be seen if they need to share the space with you. It’s also good to be mindful of reflections. If you have a mirror or art in your background it’s a good idea to be cognizant of what it might be reflecting.