10 Tips to Make You a Zoom Babe!

© 2020 Holly Short

By Elisabeth Payne,  COMS

​These days, many of us are using Zoom and other types of videoconferencing - both for work and pleasure. I know you want to look your best at these events so here are some great tips for better Zooming! 

1. Camera Position - Place your camera lens just a little bit above eye level. The camera on your laptop is in the top middle of your screen. The front-facing (selfie) camera on your smartphone is in the middle of the end opposite the charging port. This means if you have your device in landscape position, the camera is going to be at one end rather than the top center. Landscape is better for zoom meetings. It gives people a larger viewing frame. Use a box or a small tripod to help get the camera in position.
2. Lighting - Put your camera in selfie mode or Facetime with a friend and walk around your house to find the best lighting. Sit facing a window during the day time. If you have meetings at night, place a lamp so that it shines on you from the front (but is positioned behind your camera)  or place a clip-on ring light on your phone. There is a really fancy ring light tripod combo for those of you who want to be super profesh!
3. Background - Once you find the best lighting in your home, set up a permanent spot so you are always ready for meetings. Keep it clean and leave your setup in place so you are ready to go. Let your family know you have a video call at 3:00! No naked people or rude animals in the background. Another option is to upload an image to Zoom to use as a background. Zoom magically deletes your messy house and places you anywhere you want to be. 
4. Clothing - A nice top and jacket are always good. Make sure your outfit is a different color from your background. Avoid thin stripes as they do weird things to the camera. Wear whatever you want on the bottom. The camera only shows from the table up! 
5. Jewelry - Wear a nice piece of jewelry; a simple elegant necklace or earrings is good, but avoid noisy bracelets and jangly earrings.
6. Hair - Dry shampoo will make it look and smell like you have had a shower or you could actually take a shower and wash that dirty quarantine hair!
7. Makeup - Wear what you normally wear. Add a little lipstick and/or mascara if you feel the need. Zoom even has a “touch up my appearance” button in the video settings section that smooths out blemishes and lines. 
8. OVER SMILE! - The camera can make a neutral expression look like a frown. A little smile or smirk most of the time will help you look amiable and interested.
9. Avoid scary closeups - Turn off your video and mute your microphone before you get up from your computer for any reason. This will help avoid boob, crotch and butt closeups. It will also prevent eavesdropping by nosy co-workers. 
10. Headphones - Headphones will help keep your screen reader private while you are in a Zoom meeting. Take heart though - most muggles won’t understand the superfast speech rate you are using anyway.

Extra Credit: This video from Angie at Hot and Flashy offers great tips and she does a good job of describing what she is doing. This video from PC magazine gives you general tips on how to run a professional Zoom Meeting.

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