I was on a great chat today, the Instructional Designers In Offices Drinking Coffee webcast! The topic was starting with virtual classrooms, and Gert Jan Rozing asked this question that we didn't get around to answering on the session:

What about the background on your webcam?

Whereever you are with your webcam, you need to make sure you have as tidy and as professional background as possible. That could be removing clutter and personal items from a home location, home office or at work. It could mean getting out of the line of sight of other people, or distracting bookshelves. 

Lighting is another key factor. Try and face the light source so that your face looks good. If the light (or window) is behind you it will dark your features. This can be anything from looking a bit dark to, depending on your skin tone and face shape, actually making it hard to see your facial feautures and expressions. 

The third element is where your camera is. If it's at the top middle of your screen, all well and good. If you have a laptop where, for some awful reason, companies have put the camera at the bottom left of the monitor, you'll probably want to raise it on books/reams of paper to get a better level.

If you google the topic, you'll find no end of videos and articles with lots more detail.

In another Community post, Mike and I had experimented with the green screen/virtual background in the Zoom platform - which you can read more about and see a video of here: https://lightbulbmoment.community/groups/opencommunity/forum/green-screen-in-zoom-us

What are your webcam top tips?