The Ultimate Guide to Optimal Video Call Lighting (Episode 138)

Effective communication and connecting with clients requires good lighting. A well-lit space helps eliminate distractions. It keeps the focus on you and your message during presentations or important meetings, and it gives you a more, it gives a definitely a more enjoyable experience for all parties involved.

[00:00:18] Hello? Hello. I'm your host, Chris Schwager. And if you are loving the radiant glow in this video and want to achieve a similar look for your video call, stick around until the end and we'll show you how to set up lighting for your video calls. Here's my perspective on things, right? Lighting is everything and it allows you to shape your look.

[00:00:38] I often tell. My DIY video clients that what you're expecting will be the look of this video will be completely different to how it actually looks. So what's in your mind is different to how it, how it looks. And that's because there's all the lighting is effectively a way of. Of painting the canvas, if you like, um, using dimmable lights to, to shape and maneuver that. And I think that's a really powerful thing with people, uh, setting up their studios in this way. Look, it's my belief that the average person wants to come across looking professional. They wanna look stylistic and well-lit rather than sick, washed out, dull.

[00:01:19] You know what kind of lighting is best for video meetings? Well, here you go. Here's a couple of specifics. Here are a few characteristics of good lighting for video meetings.

[00:01:29] Number one. Soft and diffused. It became very trendy about 15 years ago, and it, and it's great. It just makes everybody look brilliant. So why shouldn't it be? Uh, it provides an even illumination, usually that's less harsh and less likely to create shadows or harsh contrast.

[00:01:47] Two, it's flattering. Flattering lighting should highlight the best features of the person and minimize any flaws right to wrinkly to fat, blah, blah, blah.

[00:02:00] Three, appropriate and consistent colored lights. The color temperature, or the color, let's just call it the color, of light, can affect the way skin looks on camera. So having, uh, some consistent lights. Will definitely improve that rather than this, a muddy neon light over the top of your head and a tungsten light and sunlight coming through the window. You wanna try and minimize that cuz if you don't know really what you're doing, just get a good, consistent, uh, color temperature, light all the way through.

[00:02:32] If you're using, uh, an automatic camera, for instance, it may not understand what to do. How does a white balance with all these different color temperatures, um, and so the automatic white balances can create a whole bunch of hassles where you, I've had video calls where people like literally turn pink in the middle of the video call, and then go back to blue and then turn pink, right? Because the auto white balance is confused and doesn't know what it it needs to do.

[00:02:57] If there's a mix of cool and warm light, it may make the skin look pale and washed out. If you have all the lights, as cool lights like I do, then your camera is going to accept that the room is filled with the same colored light, making it easier for the camera to do its thing.

[00:03:13] And for adequate brightness, the lighting should be bright enough to clearly see the person's face and features, but not so bright that it causes eye strain.

[00:03:21] And five, appropriate direction. Frontal lighting can create harsh shadows and make a person looked flat while side lighting. There's a little bit of side lighting happening on me at the moment, can create more dimension and depth.

[00:03:37] So what kind of lights do you need? Well, there are five types of lights that you can use. The same tools we use to light up videos for the DIY Video Program.

[00:03:46] One the key light. It's the primary light source in the setup and responsible for about 75% of the lighting your face. This is used to shape and define these subjects features.

[00:03:56] Two, fill light or what we call a glam light, which is taking out the harsh shadows under my chin and eyes. The fill light is used to fill in shadows and add a bit of illumination to the other side of the face, it is typically positioned on the opposite side of the key light, and it's softer and less intense than the key light.

[00:04:16] Okay. And then three backlight, sometimes called a hairlight. The backlight is used to separate the subject from the background and add depth to the scene. It is typically positioned behind the subject and shines down on their head and shoulders. And you can see some of that happening on me now .

[00:04:33] And the ambient light, the lights behind, if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see the lighting behind me is not by chance. If you switch these lights off in my background at the moment, I'd be in complete darkness in the background, right? But by having the ambient lighting, so that's two, two separate lights, um, helping to light that up. It allows there to be some perspective and for me not to be sitting in complete darkness.

[00:04:59] And five, the feature. This is a practical light effect. I don't have one now, but like fairy lights, a lamp, an LED light, for instance. Those types of things. You know, a sign like a L e D. , those would be considered features, uh, that appear in the shot as part of the design of the background, much like a, a prop.

[00:05:19] And if it's not distracting, it's a great way to jazz up the image. So they're the five different types of lightings that we, uh, recommend for people. Depending on the specific needs, it's a good idea to experiment with different lighting setups to see what works best for you, and then leave it alone. Set and forget.

[00:05:39] Using these lights in combination allows you to control the way you are illuminated and create more visually appealing image. But if the lighting setup is too much of a rabbit hole for you to go down, it's beyond you and you'd rather have a professional set up your lights for you than check out the DIY Video Program that's packed with complete lighting setup that we mentioned.

[00:06:02] Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to this channel where you'll get weekly video ideas to present your videos like a pro. That's all for this episode. Thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you next week.