4 Easy Tips To Look Good on Video Calls Outside
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How to make your video calls look and sound professional
In this episode I offer practical tips to help you improve how you look and sound during video calls. This is the first of two episodes. This episode focuses on outside video calls, and the next episode focuses on video calls inside. I explain how camera angle, distance, background, and sound can make a big difference in presenting yourself better on calls.
I also help you avoid common mistakes, like using bad lighting or holding your phone too low, which can affect how you look on camera. Whether you're using a phone, tablet, or computer, these tips will help you appear more professional. And I share some humorous insights and personal stories to make learning fun and easy.
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Hi, I’m James from Learning English with James.com
Today we’re going to talk about how you can look and sound better on video calls.
To make video calls, no matter what platform you use, you’re on camera, and today we are going to talk about making you look better.
Before we get started, let’s address the elephant in the room. I know what you’re thinking “How can a guy that looks like that improve how I look?”.
C’mon, there’s nothing I can do about this! It is my face!
What we’re going to do is help you improve how your video calls look and sound to the people you are talking to. If you make videos for social media, you know, TikTok, Instagram, and the rest, everything that we’re talking about today will also help you with your videos for these platforms.
Because I am an online English tutor, I video conference with people from all over the world. Most of the people that I have worked with look great on video. Some even look like they’ve been producing videos professionally.
Then…
Well then, there are the others. I’m not sure where you fall on this scale but hopefully, we can help you to improve.
Four major topics
[01:25]
So, today we are going to talk about four major topics.
Your camera angle.
Your distance from the camera.
Your location and background, and
Your sound quality.
We will show you some common mistakes and help you avoid them.
While video calling, you could be using a cell phone or tablet or sitting in front of a computer. If you are using a mobile device, you could be at a park, or the beach or just about anywhere with phone service or Wi-Fi. If you are using a laptop, stay away from the beach. Laptops don’t really like sand and sea water.
If you use video calling for work, you are supposed to be at work, so beaches and parks are not your best options.
I do, however, have a friend who manages to work with his laptop in his front yard, sitting in a beach chair and throwing a tennis ball for his dog. He even manages to video conference like that. I am so jealous. But you might not be able to get away with that and if you’re working, you are probably inside.
While we’re going to talk about video calling inside and outside, we have a lot of ground to cover. So, we’re going to film two videos. One inside, and one outside. It is a beautiful day today, so we are going to go outside and talk about how to make your impromptu, on the go, videos and video calls look and sound better.
Page orientation
[03:05]
But, before we go outside, we have an important issue to cover. Page orientation, which is just the difference between holding your device like this, which is called portrait mode. Or, holding your device like this, which is called landscape mode. Whether you video in portrait mode or landscape mode is entirely up to you. It depends on what you’re most comfortable with, and what you are trying to show.
If you want to be the focus of your video, then you probably want to use portrait mode. If you have a beautiful background that you want to show, or if you are trying to capture a group of you and others, then landscape mode is probably best.
Since most of the people that I have seen making video calls or videos outside have used cellphones in portrait mode, then that’s what we are going to do when we get outside. But if you are lucky enough to be able to work from anywhere, or if you have to take a business call while you are on vacation, I suggest using landscape mode. It just looks more professional.
Since holding a cellphone in portrait mode is more comfortable, more natural feeling, than holding it in landscape mode, I suggest getting a small tripod or selfie stick if you know that you are going to be shooting in landscape mode.
Okay, let’s continue this outside.
Your camera angle
[04:30]
Welcome to Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.
If you’re a film buff, you may recognize the castle behind me as Hogwarts from the Harry Potter film series.
We are going to talk about some of the same challenges here that you’ll find working inside. And some other things that are just a bit different.
So, let’s begin. In order to get the best picture of you, and whatever else you are trying to show, you need to hold your mobile device, at about eye level or slightly above eye level. This is important for a variety of reasons.
First, if you hold your camera down low, like this, you won’t be able to see your face very well and neither will your friends and family because the sky behind you, or in this case, behind me is too bright. This will make your face look washed out.
The second thing to remember about holding your camera down low is, if you worry about having a double chin, this camera angle will definitely make you look like you have one. I don’t really worry about that kind of thing, but you might. So, to avoid that dreaded double chin look, you want to raise your device up, like this. Your face, or mine right now, is visible, the double chin has gone away, and we’ve made quite an improvement.
A few moments ago, I mentioned that you could hold your device slightly above eye level. This improves your shot in two ways. Looking slightly upward has a nice slimming effect because it stretches the skin of your neck. Also, it helps you to show off your background. And why would you go to the trouble of bringing your mobile device outside if you didn’t want to share your location. Especially if you’re on vacation, you know you want to make your friends and family just a little bit jealous of where you are. You’re on vacation, enjoying yourself and seeing amazing things, and they’re not.
I know the feeling. Sometimes when I work online, I set up a table and chair outside my front door. Since the town I live in is in such a beautiful area, I sometimes have to pick up my laptop and move it around to demonstrate that I’m not using a virtual background. And if you still insist on holding your phone down low, at least trim your nose hairs. Okay? I’ve seen inside way too many noses in my time.
Your distance from the camera
[07:00]
Next, you will look better if you hold your mobile device at arm’s length. If you hold the phone too close, it makes you look weird, and your background is harder to see, and what you had for lunch may become visible. So, hold your phone at arm’s length, make sure your background is in focus and well framed and smile.
Your location and background
[07:20]
Which brings us to our next point. Location and background. Since you are outside, part of picking your location is to see where the sun is and how this affects your shot. You don’t want the sun, or a streetlight if you are out at night, directly behind you. As I mentioned earlier, too much light behind you and your face can become obscured. You want your natural light source to shine on your face and also on the background that you’ve chosen to share.
Some people say that you want the sun directly in front of you. I disagree. You’ve known since you were a child that you don’t want to stare directly at the sun. Besides being really bad for your eyes, you will have to squint your eyes in self-defense. Having your light source off to the side, just slightly, is perfect.
Your sound quality
[08:10]
Now, let’s remember that the microphone on your cellphone was designed to pick up and record your voice while you’re facing the screen. If you want to focus on your backdrop for a moment or two, that’s fine. Step off to the side, out of your shot, but make sure that you’re facing the screen. If you get behind your device, or turn your face away from the screen, your voice will be muffled and extremely difficult to hear. If you do want to turn your phone completely around and still be heard, or if you are a naturally quiet person, you should probably use a microphone.
What? You didn’t bring a microphone with you. Well. Then your earbuds are your best friends. Most earbuds come with a fairly decent set of microphones. And while a lot of people use them for video calls, most people don’t think about using them for filming videos. If your earbuds are wireless, make sure to keep them charged, just in case.
If you plan on communicating with someone over any video feed, you need to find a place that does not have a lot of background noise. If not, you will find yourself bringing your device closer to your face, screaming at it and the sound of your voice will distort. This will make everyone around you think that you are a lunatic, and you will have your phone right in front of your face, where you don’t want it. Remember, we talked earlier about a close-up view. It could show any bits of food stuck between your teeth from lunch. This is not the scenario that you are looking for. So, a good rule is, if you have to speak loudly or yell at your cellphone, then you’re just in the wrong place.
I think that’s all we have to talk about here, so let’s go back to the studio.
Hi, and welcome back. We have just a few more things to cover so let's get going.
First, we have an important safety message. You should try to avoid multitasking while making videos or video calls. Walking and video calling don’t mix. Since I live in a beautiful location that gets a lot of tourists, I’ve seen lots of people almost get run over by a car because they just walked into the middle of a highway with their cell phone in front of their face.
Sure, your friends and family want to see the glorious scenery that you’ve encountered on your vacation. But they don’t want you to die sharing it. At least I hope not. You may want to check.
One last thing to remember when videoing while you are out and about. While you may be the star of your own show, the rest of the world may not see you that way. Be courteous and polite to those around you while video calling. Just like you don’t want to hear the people in line with you at the local coffee shop, they probably don’t want to hear your conversation either.
And the person trying to help you at a retail store actually does deserve your undivided attention. Just remember, everyone that you meet deserves to have as nice a day as you're having.
Now that we've given you some tips on how to make your videos and video calls look and sound better, it's time for a quick review before we go. So.
Enjoy yourself while you are out and about making your video calls and videos. A smile on your face actually makes your voice sound better.
Make sure your device is pointed at you and at the proper angle.
Hold your device at about arm’s length from your face.
Check to make sure that you and your background are visible.
Make sure that you can be easily heard.
And don't forget to watch our next video about video calling while you're inside.
English phrases explained:
The elephant in the room - To talk about a big, obvious problem that everyone is avoiding.
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