look good on zoom

How Can I Look Good on Zoom?

Start with finding the right lighting

Ask The Kit is the real-talk advice column you never knew you needed. Every week, editor-at-large Kathryn Hudson answers your pressing beauty and style questions. What’s the best blazer for work? How should you deal with errant chin hairs? What’s the best way to fight frizz? Send your Qs to ask@thekit.ca.

I am constantly getting invited to Zoom meetings now that my office has transitioned to working from home. I hate it! I always look terrible. How can I look good on Zoom? —Amy, Toronto

I have always dreaded the initial moment of a FaceTime call, when your own beleaguered face fills the screen, always at an angle so terrible even a giraffe would have a double chin, and always managing to somehow simultaneously highlight a weird cowlick and a countertop mess you’d never noticed. Pre-physical distancing, that split second was bad for morale, but worth powering through in order to let my kids show their grandparents the Lego tower they built, or to engage in other deeply casual conversations.

In our new social landscape, however, those dark moments happen more often and in much more formal scenarios. Many of us are now forced, multiple times a day, to puzzle in horror at our own slightly-up-the-nose angle while attempting to concentrate during a “touch-base meeting” before later realizing that there is a visible pile of laundry in your virtual board meeting.

For those of us who don’t love contemplating our own image, it can be grim. (I assume those who find joy in snapping constant selfies aren’t experiencing the same pain, but I can’t be sure.)

But we needn’t despair; we must simply prepare. Importantly, the prep needed to achieve a flattering setup will take less time than you spend tinkering around with sourdough starter—and the results will be more satisfying. With that goal in mind, I called talented Toronto-based fashion photographer Riley Stewart, who creates editorials so dreamy they’ll make you forget about this messy world for a moment.

The first step to help you look good on Zoom? Find your light. “You want to achieve that perfect Rembrandt kind of light,” he explains, already exceeding my more muted expectations. “So indirect natural light is best.” So during the day, you want to set up your device in front of a window, letting light shine directly on the front of your face. But since very bright sunlight can make you look blasted-out and squinty, either pull thin white drapes closed or hang a thin white sheet over the window. “That will soften the light a bit, so it evens out your skin and features, which is what you want.” (If you’re lucky enough to have several windows to choose from, pick the room in which the walls are lightest so it’s bright and reflective.) Then, shut off any overhead lights or other lamps, which will just muddle the light.

If you’ve got an evening call (sorry about your luck), you’re going to need to create your own little studio rig. Don’t worry, I won’t suggest you order an influencer-approved ring light; you just need to sit at your desk or table and angle your desk lamp at the wall in front of you, ideally at the same height as your face, so that the light bounces evenly onto your face. (Again, it’s best if the wall is white and even better if your desk is white, too, since that will help reflect the light onto your face to “give you that extra glow and to get some light in your eyes”; not to mention brighten those why-do-I-look-like-a-crypt-keeper shadows. You can also just throw down a white tablecloth.) Stewart again suggests shutting off overhead lighting in the evening as well, since it’s often unflattering, but leaving on a dim lamp in the background or a door ajar. “It makes the room glow without being distracting, and also makes it clear that you’re not, you know, sitting in a dark closet,” he says with a laugh.

Then it’s time to get your angle figured out. “I logged onto my first Zoom call casually, and by the time I realized the angle was terrible, it was too late,” he says. “Don’t do that.” Instead, put your camera in selfie-mode and prop your computer up on books. “You don’t want the camera looking down on you since that makes you look less confident—and you want to feel confident; you want the lens directly at eye level or a little bit lower, depending on what’s most flattering for your face shape.” If you’re using your phone, again, prop it up on books about arms-length away from your face. Holding your device so close that you look like a floating head is fine when checking in on your family, but less ideal for a client call. “Make sure you’re framing your shoulders and leave a few inches of space above your head.”

The other benefit of this framing and lighting setup? The background fades gently away. (But even still, don’t place calls from bed; it’s weird and everyone can tell.)

Your mantra for the rest of the visuals? Keep it simple. Avoid wearing graphic tees and sitting in clutter-filled corners. Slip on a white shirt if you need some extra light on your face, a black shirt for a little added definition and a grey shirt if you don’t care to think about the issue. (Again, if you’re not sure, simply try out options in selfie-mode.)

Once you get these DIY home-studios set up, you won’t have to tinker around every time a meeting invite pops into your inbox. You can just sit in your designated Zoom spot and relax.

Try to chill when it comes to your hair and makeup, too. “Just keep it very simple,” advises Stewart. “The good thing about Zoom and making video calls is that the resolution is terrible, so you don’t see blemishes or fine lines.” So don’t waste your time getting fully glam; just aim to look clean and tidy. Bare, well-moisturized skin will reflect the light well enough on its own; a simple low bun looks natural and professional. “The lighting in your home is going to be natural, and it makes sense for your look to match that. We are all working from home; if you feel pressured to wear a full face of makeup, then it’s just going to look uncomfortable.” If mascara feels essential for you, go for it; if you want to put on a daub of concealer or lip colour, feel free. But while we all want to put our best face forward, the reality is that we are also grappling with countless complications, like caring for kids or caring for our peace of mind, so the normal rules don’t apply. You don’t need to recreate your full Monday-morning-meeting look when the world is upside down.

“To be honest,” adds Stewart, confessionally, “I’ve been on a few Zoom calls in which I purposefully give myself ‘bad lighting’ by backlighting myself so I’m just a kind of shadow. Sometimes, you don’t want to be the focus of attention and that’s okay, too.”

 

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