What Does Your Zoom Background Look Like?

We’ve all been online a lot lately and seen some good and bad zoom and youtube video backgrounds. Right?

I’ve been getting by with a minimal effort so far, (I even tell people I don’t zoom) but it is time for me to address the video thing!

I’ve become rather obsessed (or judgey) with zoom or video backgrounds these days when watching tv or youtube videos.

I’ve come to realize that I love looking at a well designed interior, behind someone’s face, now more than ever. If you are doing a talking head video, doing that kind of video in a well-appointed room or in front of a nicely styled bookshelf, makes you soooo much more interesting to me. :-)

As charming, interesting and good-looking as Jason Bateman and Will Arnett are, I would much rather watch Sean Hayes and take a peek at his book titles behind him, while on video.

While it is nice to have a beautiful room behind you, filled with great furniture, art, lovely color, etc., a bookshelf or bookcase is much easier to come by sometimes. It reveals just a peek at your interests and private life, without giving away too much to the viewer.

It also eliminates the possibility of a photo bomb by a family member or pet!

Mandy Moore’s chunky bookshelves intrigue me. I love that her shelves are filled with just books and no extras with their thick shelf design. (Cool idea to remember!) She gets an A+ for her background!

John Krazinski has a built-in bookshelf set up for his youtube show, Some Good News. I just want to scooch that typewriter over a bit to the center section. Maybe a plant over the right side there behind his left shoulder? And a few more real books would be nice. Love the “Dad” stuff though, and his kids’ sign for his show. :-)

Renae Christine is a successful youtuber that tries lots of different passive money making strategies and then reports on their success to her audience. She does all her video in this room that appears to be an upstairs empty bedroom (see the angled doors on each side of the room). It has always bugged me that there is almost no furniture in here, it just feels so temporary and unsettled. Although her content is great and she has a great video delivery and presence, it just feels like she’s about to move out.

I really don’t like those fake backgrounds either, they are so obviously fake and the border that is created around your face looks weird, especially when you move around.

I’m sure most people don’t really like their whole room shown in a zoom call or video. I’m not crazy about that either. So, maybe it is worth setting up a zooming or video station, especially these days when we are doing this more often.

I need to upgrade my zoom / video situation

I might be doing an Instagram Live for a brand here soon, and really, I need to get much better at this whole video thing if I’m going to keep up with all the other designers and bloggers out there.

I can’t believe how many designers have turned into video stars these days with youtube channels and instagram videos. They’re so talented and natural in front of the camera!

I was featured in 3 live segments on the Weather Channel at Thanksgiving, with tips on taking your Thanksgiving dinner outdoors. Luckily, I filmed that out in my back garden and the weather was perfect, so there was good lighting and everything worked fine.

I was able to capture a few still shots during the Weather Channel videos for my updated headshots. You have no idea how much I hate photos of myself. This is so painful for me!!!!

Originally, I thought that my little studio I built out in my garage would be perfect for zooming. It’s private, quiet, and has some natural light. However, at my desk, the lighting is bad and all the stuff around me looks a little messy and disorganized. I look like I’m in a sample room, which really, I am. :-)

I love it, but it’s not very sophisticated for video or zooming.

For awhile I had that marker board up, in my garage studio. It was behind me when I was on the computer at my desk. It really looked boring and I was always self-conscious about having my to do list or some info up there when on a zoom call.

So, I have another set up devised for my occasional video/zoom calls, that I’ve been starting to use in my inside home office. It is especially nice because there are windows (for natural light) directly across from a filled bookshelf. (I have a glare on my glasses though that I don’t know how to get rid of!)

I am definitely TEAM BOOKSHELF BACKDROP, so I have started experimenting around with this bookcase behind me for video.

My home office bookshelves are filled with design books, a few pieces from my wooden box collection, some pottery, shells, a few family photos, and my daughter’s ceramic sculptures from college.

I think this will work for the Instagram Live. Wish me luck!

If you have any tips on lighting or whatever, let me know in comments, below. :-)

I’ll be trying out this backdrop for awhile to see if it works for zooming and video.

If you need some tips on bookshelf styling for zooming or just for upgrading the look of your bookshelves, I’ve got some links below that might help!

My friend, designer and former professional photographer, Linda Holt, sent me this tip for the glasses glare. So easy! Try it out!