How to record yourself professionally
Rule one: do not be backlit. Most bad chapter videos are not a camera problem, they are a lighting-position problem, and it takes about thirty seconds to fix. This diagram comes from club member James Robinson, VP of the Philadelphia chapter.
Rule 1
Light in front of you
A window or a lamp should be facing your face, not sitting behind your head. If the brightest thing in the room is behind you, the camera exposes for it and you become a silhouette.
Rule 2
Camera between you and the light
Your laptop or phone goes between your face and the light source. That is the whole trick: the light travels past the camera onto your face, so the camera sees a lit person instead of a bright blob.
Rule 3
Plain wall behind you
Whatever is behind you should be dim and boring. No window, no lamp, no bright doorway. A plain wall keeps the attention on you and keeps the camera from hunting for exposure.
The order, from the top down
Light in front. You in the middle. Wall behind. Never reversed. If you only remember one line from this page, remember that one.
What goes wrong
- Sitting with a window behind you. This is the single most common one, and it is why you look like a witness in protection.
- A lamp or ring light behind your shoulder. Same problem as the window, just smaller.
- A bright or busy background. Open doorways, TVs, and windows all pull the camera exposure away from your face.
Check before you hit record
- Face the camera. Can you see your light source, or is it behind you?
- Look at the wall behind you. Is it plain and dim?
- Start a test recording. Is your face brighter than the background?
Running a chapter?
The leader guide covers the rest: defining your area, finding a second, and running a first meeting that people actually come back to.
Read the Chapter Leader Guide