In Part 1, I looked at the various ways you can record, edit and produce your video. Now, let’s take a look at how you can build your studio at home or the office and make your images look even better.

These tips are specifically for those of you who will be recording your video in an area that doesn’t have natural lighting.

1. Have at least 2-3 light sources. I have a ceiling light, but alone, it casts a shadow over my face. I added a table lamp that sits behind my laptop. It’s pointed towards a sheet of aluminum foil so that the light reflects off of that and on to my face. Before, the lamp shined directly towards my face, but there was a glare across my forehead, cheeks and chin. In Richard Harrington and Mark Weiser’s book called Producing Video Podcasts, they actually recommend a third light source. I found that 2 are perfect for me due to the size of my office, but if you’re in a larger room, you’ll have to invest in the third light source.
2. Get the right type of light bulb. I find that light bulbs that are similar to flourescent lights give off the best light source for your video recording. It casts a nice white glow. The ones that give you a yellow glow look very ugly in the video recording and tends to darken your face. I buy energy efficient light bulbs that are cool white. The soft white energy bulbs give an ugly yellow glow.
3. Put on some make up. Take a look at the before and after shot. The before is how I look without makeup. The after, I’m wearing some. Makes a huge difference because not wearing make up can be a distraction. You don’t have to lay it on thick like Tammy Faye Baker, but put enough on to even out your skin color and hide any blemishes and scars. Sometimes, a light dusting of face powder can remove the glare from your face. Someone who I know doesn’t wear make up, but looks amazing is my mastermind buddy, Sherman Hu. Also, check out Nancy Marmolejo. She looks stunning and her make up isn’t on thick.
4. Do something about that background. Be very careful what’s in your background. If you want to show off your office, that’s fine. But if you’ve got a poster of Metallica on your wall and you’re producing a video for a business audience, you may want to take it down or select another area to record. To create a backdrop that you see in my video, I simply took a room divider and covered it with a blue blanket made out of flannel. I like flannel because it doesn’t have any creases in it,  which means no ironing. I’ve seen people use drapes for their backdrop, so that’s an option as well. The only issue with the dark blue as my backdrop is that I HAVE to wear make up. On the flipside, the dark blue helps the light to reflect nicely against my skin since I have a darker tone.
5. Take note of your clothing. In Canada, whenever a leader of a political party speaks on camera, his tie is the same color as his party’s colors. I would recommend that you adopt this for your own videos. Wear colors in your clothing that match with your brand. Check out the Blog Squad videos on YouTube. Do you notice that they wear one primary color in each and every video? If you said pink, you’re right. Pink is part of their branding. I try to stick with pastels because those are the primary colors on my blog. I also try to record myself wearing business attire because my videos are meant for a business crowd.
6. Watch that eye level. Position your video camera so that it’s at eye level. If you’re looking down towards your video camera then the person viewing your video will feel like you’re speaking down to them. I place my video camera above my laptop on a speaker and then, I lower my office chair so I can look into my camera at eye level. That way, the viewer feels that I’m sharing information, not scolding them.
7. Practice, practice, practice. Video is unforgiving when it comes to your facial expressions. You can’t hide your frustration in video because it will show in your eyes. Or, if you’re nervous, the camera will show it. To lessen your nervousness in front of the camera, practice what you’re going to say a few times so it looks natural when the cameras start rolling. A teleprompter will help, but given the costs, you may well be better just to practice what you’re going to say. No need to memorize, just be you.