Raise your hand if you have done more video calls, happy hours and business meetings in the past few weeks than in your lifetime? 🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♂️
For everyone who has been attending or hosting these virtual hangouts, you know the struggle is real! What do you wear? What is the perfect lighting? What is the overall etiquette during these meetings?
Good news! We have put together a small guide to help you navigate this new environment our new normal.
Attire
What’s the expression, business on the top party on the bottom? The name of the game is comfortable video chic!
Party on the bottom
Hey your pants won’t necessarily be featured in the video chat so get creative and comfortable! Feel free to wear your comfy pants – we are talking sweats, yoga pants, printed leggings, your hole-filled pants, anything that keeps you comfortable working from home.
Business on the top
Dress for a meeting where the camera is up close, featuring your waist and above. Per our fashion partners at Seattle Gents you should focus on a bright color and/or small prints. This helps you stand out and look put together. Stay away from shirts that have lots of words(when you are sitting no one can fully see what it says and puts the focus on your shirt and not you).
Face care
This is the perfect time to try those new moisturizers, masks or face care products! Since we have all ditched our makeup for a more natural look, your beauty products will have more of an effect on a clean, washed, unclogged face! Best of all, your new natural glowing look looks great on video!
Lighting
We have all opened the video chat two min before the meeting and were horrified by just how different we look. Well, fear no more video chat warriors, we consulted professional photographer, Ben Murphy, and he told us it’s all about the lighting! Here are Ben’s tips for creating the perfect lighting without renting any fancy equipment.
More light is always better and the bigger the light source the softer the light. It’s best if you can face a natural light source (i.e. a window). If there’s a bright overhead light either overhead or behind you in the background, it could overpower the webcam and cast your face completely in shadow.
Bringing a lamp next to your laptop or camera can also help. It’s really about experimenting with the lighting in the space you have. For the bulb color, keep in mind lamp light that is more yellow isgoing to give warmer tones. While the color temperature of bulbs can vary, whiter light is going to look better. If you have a second monitor near your webcam, you can use a website like this one, to create a soft white light as well to light your face.
If you don’t have a window, or it’s dark out and you don’t have a spare lamp or monitor to use, a flashlight lit through a part of a milk jug could do in a pinch as well to diffuse some light on the face. Keep in mind, using a flashlight can be tricky – different flashlights have different color temps, brightness and beam tightness (feel free to google most of those terms, as we had to).
Virtual background picture
It’s all about personalization! This is your time to shine and show off something that features part of your personality in the background. Here are some designs we put together perfect for any video meeting! (download your free designs here)
I hope these tips make your virtual hangouts easier and more productive. And remember, we will get through this, one virtual meet, social distancing at a time!
