A short YouTube tutorial by TJ Walker offering practical, low-cost tips to improve how you appear and sound on Skype calls. Covers camera placement, lighting adjustments (avoid backlighting), simple staging (raise laptop), and inexpensive lavalier microphone recommendations to achieve clearer audio.
Chapters
So how can you look better on a Skype call? Because let's face it, we've all seen people on Skype, and you got that shot up their nose. The white window in the background makes their whole face look so dark you can't see it. The sound is all tinny, and it just makes most people look awful. And it's not a pleasant experience. The good news is it's relatively easy with a couple of changes to make anyone look great on a Skype call, you can look like you're in a network TV studio. For starters, you don't want to have the camera low. And if you've got your camera on your laptop and it's sitting on the desk, chances are it's shooting up your nose. Well, nobody looks good with a camera shooting up their nose. You can just get a stack of books or anything else and put that underneath your laptop. You want the camera right around your eye level, maybe just a couple inches below, but you don't want it a foot below the next step. You want more light in front of you, not behind you. That means you can't have a window behind you or a window that's open with the blinds not shut, because the camera is going to latch on to the light. And if there's more light behind you, it's going to darken out your face and you can't be seen. So either change the angle of the camera so you're not pointing to a window, or make sure your blinds are shut and make sure you have more light in front of you. I've had times where I've just taken lamps off. Lampshades off. Put it in front of me, and then the light looks okay on me. And finally, you need to improve your audio. For about 15 bucks, you can go to Radio Shack and get a plug in lav mic, and you just pin it right on your jacket or shirt. And now the audio quality is much, much better. You'll sound like a network news anchor and not this tinny sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. You'll sound much, much better. Follow those tips and you'll look and sound great on a Skype interview or a Skype call with business colleagues or friends and family.
