There are plenty of types of video content out there, especially on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and beyond. While there’s certainly a fair amount of recycled, repetitive content, there’s also a fair amount of educational and inspirational stuff out there. Perhaps you’d like to make some of your own! Hey, the more great, authentic voices online to drown out lesser content, the better!
While you can record anything and everything that comes to mind, it’s also nice to have a backdrop from which you explain or talk to your audience. This is especially true if making a vlog channel, explaining something on your desktop screen with a face camera, or just wanting to come across as more personable in your home office environment.
No matter the background you show, perfecting it can help your content look lively and of the moment. In this post, we’ll offer some tips to nail that space for the better.
Remove Any Personally Identifying Items
Your home most likely has family photos, mail lying around, or personal documents that you don’t want strangers on the internet to see. You might not even notice these items when you’re setting up to record, as we all have items that fade into the background, but your camera will pick up everything there and you never know what you could give away. Perhaps you just don’t want people to see photos of your kids, which is utterly understandable..
It’s wise to take a few minutes before filming to scan your space and move anything that shows your address, full name, or other private information. After all, your audience doesn’t need to see your electric bill sitting on the counter or that photo with your house number visible through the window.
Consider Soft Lighting & Backlighting
Harsh overhead lights can make you look washed out or create unflattering shadows on your face. This certainly doesn’t demand professional studio equipment, but having some control over your lighting makes a huge positive change in how polished your videos appear.
A simple desk lamp positioned to the side or behind your computer screen can provide a gentle glow that gives you a comforting and flattering highlight. Of course, ring lights are popular for good reason, though even opening curtains during the day or repositioning your setup near a window can improve how your footage turns out.
Use Flowers & Nature
A bare wall behind you can look pretty sterile and boring on camera, even if you’ve removed the pictures as we said. Adding some life to your background is easy, though if applied well, and if you make it warm and welcoming or appropriate to what you’re talking about..
Silk flowers work particularly well for video backgrounds because they stay looking fresh and colorful no matter how long your recording sessions run. You can arrange them once and know they’ll look the same in every video, which helps create a reliable aesthetic that viewers come to recognize as yours. You can balance this with shelf decorations or wall art, as needed, or just superimpose this entirely on a green screen.
With this advice, you’ll be sure to make online video content look better than ever.
