04/21/2020
All you zoom people!
I have some hints from a photo\vidoegrapher
1. Don't center your head (or eyes) in the middle of the screen.
Instead: make the top of your head almost the top of your screen, no one needs to see the wall and ceiling behind you they would rather see more of you.
2. Rule of 3rds
I know most everyone likes to make everything symmetrical and for these video calls it is fine but to make things more pleasant to the eye set yourself a bit to one side of the screen
3. Choose a backdrop
Make it more interesting behind you, a plant, a painting, the outdoors even a pretty color
4. Don't place the camera too close or too far away.
Too close and nose gets huge on your face
Too far and you are a small part of the big shot of your office or living room
A nice medium shot like how they present reporters on the news (without half the screen being the background above your head)
5. Lighting
Make sure they can see you, maybe with some soft shadow and you aren't a dark backlit shadow or a bright overwhelming whiteout star
6. Most importantly and I can't emphasize it enough...... See #1
I have seen some horrible video composition, some where all you can see are their eyes and more than half the screen is the ceiling behind them.
If you can only do this one change do this
Whatever you do keep improving your video skills, some people are doing job interviews by internet so represent yourself in the best light and include composition with the way you smile, the way you dress and the way you speak.
Good luck zoomers
