In today’s Zoom-Zoom-Zoom #WFH life, everyone has started using video at home, work, and everywhere else.
Just like putting on your best dress or suit for work, there are ways to put your best foot forward when it comes to looking good on video.
Here are 3 tips to get the best look on video recordings when you’re recording at home:
1. Hello Sunshine!
Lighting can make all the difference between making your look dark and creepy to someone who’s ready to take on the world. You want to ensure you have a well-lit space wherever you are recording video.
Even if you don’t have a light right or fancy lightboxes like you see in photography studios and tv sets, there’s an easy way to make sure your shine on-camera — use natural light.
Find a window or well-lit room with light coming in from the outside to do your recording.
Pro-Tip: Make sure the light coming in is in front of you, not behind you.
2. Barrel of fun.
When you’re recording videos at home, it’s best to have someone else with you behind the camera so that you are talking “to them,” However that’s not always possible. The problem is it’s not easy talking into thin air, so your mind and eyes start to look around and fixate on things other than the camera.
To get the best results, you want to try and look down the barrel of the camera lens as much as possible so that you’re “making eye contact” with your viewers.
PRO TIP: A simple way to help make this happen is to put a little post-it note or sticker on the camera right above the lens so you have something to remind yourself to look at while talking into the camera.
3. K.I.S.S. them a lot.
The old adage K.I.S.S, is spot on here. Or maybe it could be improved by making it: Keep It SHORT and Silly.
One of the things that have shifted is how people consume content. We live in a YouTube world. And that means people’s attention spans have gotten much shorter. More like 4 minutes for the average watch time on most videos.
So when you’re talking on video, remember to keep it short. Be brief and get to the point.
You want to work towards being concise, not comprehensive.
And one of the top ways to keep people’s attention is to be, well, you.
PRO TIP: Humanize your presentation on camera by allowing your personality to come through. Take your work seriously, but not yourself too seriously.
There are plenty of other things you can do to improve the videos you record at home. But these are the top three priorities to gain traction out of the gate.
Do these three things when recording, and you’ll be an (at home) video rockstar!
