It's like when you hear a recording of your own voice, and you're like, "That's not my voice!"

I change the background to a beach scene. Suddenly, I look better!

Repeating a lot of other tips here, but I'm conventionally "pretty" in person and look terrible in most photos. Zoom took a bit but I feel pretty confident:

Situate the camera higher than you think it needs to be. If I'm sitting at a desk with my computer, I elevate the computer by 3-5" depending on how high my chair is. Play around with this - it makes a huge difference.

You don't need perfect lighting, but avoid terrible lighting. Overhead lighting is terrible. The most flattering for me, since I don't have a window near my desk, is a regular lamp about two feet away, behind the computer. The lamp should have a shade, not a harsh bare bulb.

Use the touch up feature on Zoom! I was embarrassed to do this at first, but my supervisor admitted she did it, and I realized I never would have known if she hadn't told me. It just makes everything more forgiving. Blurs you just enough.

Have a bit of color on your cheeks and lips. It can be neutral and not very dark, but just a bit of something really helps. I use a bronzer and some tinted Burts Bees lip stuff, so I don't look very made up, but my features are more "there" on camera.

Wear earrings. I don't know why this helps, but I've noticed it helps everyone's appearance on zoom. A little shine/sparkle goes a long way to brightening your overall appearance.

Experiment with your hair a little to see what looks best. My everyday styles don't look great on zoom. I have long hair, and pulling it over to one side looks a lot better, for some reason. I noticed a co-worker started putting half her hair up in a way that sort of "bumps up" at the top, and it helps her zoom appearance a lot. She has long narrow features. I have softer rounder features.

I think that's about it. Also, recognize that a lot of people don't look amazing on zoom and it's fine. Really anyone who's judging your zoom appearance right now is not someone whose opinion should be valued highly.

Lighting matters. You need to play around with lamps and positioning. The people who don’t look good on zoom generally don’t because their lighting sucks. And I have a ring light and actually don’t like it. I just have a few lamps in the room.

You can use the touch up feature, but you can also download Snapchat for the desktop, which blurs you a little more. You can do silly things with it too, but I usually just use the general filter which I think smooths you out a little more than the touch up my face filter.

Also, angles.

There’s no magic in it. You may just be too critical of yourself. I’m not Angelina Jolie, and I think I look pretty good on my zoom calls.

Anonymous wrote:I look ugly on Zoom, too. All you can see is sagging skin under my chin and jaws. I've tried better camera angles, but it only helps a little.

Same here. Zoom makes my skin look saggy and really emphasizes my double chin. I'm always resting my hand under my chin to hide that. I don't think I look that bad IRL or in pictures, but Zoom ages me! Any pointers for these problems?

The absolute best thing about Zoom is the Hide Self View. Then I'm not parakeeting, secretly checking out my own picture, and I can focus on what other people are saying. It's a sanity saver and I hate that I have to use Blue Jeans, Teams, Skype, WebEx, and whatever other ridiculous platforms that either don't have or I can't find this option!

Anonymous wrote:Softer, rounder faces look terrible on video and in photos.

Yes!!

I look like a different person- in person.

People are surprised I’m so fit and thin when they only have seen a headshot or on zoom.

I’m 50 with a round face. I haven’t suffered wrinkles or the guant, facial hollowing many people get with age...and I’m a runner. Just waiting on the jowls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put a ring light on. They are fantastic!

+1. I bought a ring light and it gets rid of the shadows. A must have!

https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Dimmable-Headboard-Flexible-Included/dp/B07K33JZSS

I got this light early in the pandemic and turned off my overhead light--made a huge difference. Worth the $20, small, easy to clip in place.