How to Look Good on Video Calls

With the state of the world right now, video calls are unavoidable. We need them to check in with employees, co-workers, collaborators; catch up with fiends and family, even keep our sanity. And with our quarantine lasting a little longer, we’re not going to be meeting face-to-face for some time.

With all of these video calls, it’s hard to hide. So what can you do to ensure that you look good on video calls? Well, my friend, I have some quick tips to help you look your absolute best on your next call.

Number 1 - Have good lighting.

Lightening on video is your best friend! If you can take your phone or laptop to a window, natural light is best. Just make sure it’s not full on sun on your face. Squinting is never a good look. If you have to be stationary on a call and use a desktop or can’t move your laptop to a window, then investing in a ring light is your best option. Ring lights come in a variety of options. You can get a small portable one that fit on the camera around your phone. There are ring lights that hold your phone so you can be hands free and there are some ring lights that you can place behind your computer camera to give you great lighting as well. You can check out my picks for ring lights here.

Number 2 - Find your flattering angle.

I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve taken a video call with a client with them looking down into a phone. Not only will you end up with a sore neck if you have all of your calls this way, but this is not your most flattering angle. Often this angle will make your face look wider, giving you multiple chins, and a longer face. So how do you fix this? Make sure your camera is just above eye level angled down at your face. This is be make your face look slimmer and proportionate, making this your most flattering angle. There are plenty of ways to get this angle too. You can just hold your phone higher, you can prop your phone or laptop on a box or two or a shelf, basically any surface higher will help. Bonus tip - If you’re using your phone and have it propped a little higher but you feel like it’s not quite the most flattering angle and if you have a pop socket on the back of your phone, you an actually unpop it and hang it off the rim a mug and it will make a great little tripod!

Number 3 - What you shouldn’t wear.

Don’t wear super busy prints. Some print is okay, but really busy prints actually look different on video and can be very distracting, paying with the eye of the viewer. Florals and muted animal prints are fine, but tops with lots of lines, stripes, plaid, checks or zigzags are the worst on camera. If you happen to be wearing something like that and a call gets sprung on you, try to pair them with a solid to tone it down and break up the print. Also, try to steer clear of clothes with logos on them. They can be distracting as well.

Also don’t wear a full white shirt on a video call. White will make you look washed out in video, but also don’t wear full black either. Black is very harsh on video and if you have a dark background, wearing black against it can tend to make you look like a floating head. If you are wearing black or white or prints and a video calls sneaks up on you, just throw on a cardigan or blazer in another color to break up the harshness of the top alone.

Number 4 - What you should wear.

Jewel tones. Jewel tones do wonders for your skin when you’re on video! So how do you know which jewel tones work best for you? If you’re cool toned, the best jewel tones for you are blues, purples and emerald greens. If you’re warm toned, you look best in earth toned colors such as reds, oranges, and olive greens. If all of those colors look good on you, then you’re a lucky neutral tone gal and can rock all of these colors on your video call!

Number 5 - Keep your jewelry simple.

A video call is not the time to wear armfuls of bangles that jingle every time you move. Nor it is the time to wear long jangly earring or super busy necklaces. I mean, I love a statement necklace and think they’re totally fine for video because it will draw focus to your face, just make sure it’s not too distracting. Simple jewelry is your best bet for video.

Number 6 - Wear a flattering neckline.

Necklines can be tricky and I’m happy to go into them and explain which types of necklines are most flattering on which body types, but for now, remember that a universally flattering neckline for any woman is a V-neck. A V-neck will draw attention to your face and makes you look leaner overall.

It really doesn’t take too much effort in looking you your absolute best for a video call, just a little planning. And it you only have time to do one thing, then diffidently make sure your lighting is good! That will make the biggest difference!

Now happy Zooming, Facetiming and video chatting, gorgeous!