Video-call lighting and camera setup in a small room

What you are aiming for

On a video call, people want to see your face clearly, at eye level, with nothing distracting behind you and your voice coming through cleanly. In a small room you have fewer choices about where to sit, so the setup comes down to five things: light, camera height, framing, background and sound.

This walkthrough draws on video-setup guidance from Elgato and the University of Alberta, plus lighting research summarised by A*STAR. Links are at the end.

What you need

• Your laptop or a webcam
• Something to raise the camera: a laptop stand, a monitor arm or a stack of books
• A soft light source: a window, a desk lamp, or a small light bar
• Optional: a headset or USB microphone

Step 1: put the light in front of you

The single biggest improvement is where the light comes from.

• Face the window, or sit side-on to it. Both Elgato and the University of Alberta advise putting a window in front of you rather than behind you.
• Never sit with a bright window behind you. The camera adjusts to the bright background and turns you into a silhouette, as the University of Alberta warns.
• If the window is in the wrong place, draw the curtain behind you and add a lamp in front.

In a small room with no good window, a lamp does the job. Elgato suggests a soft light at face level to fill in shadows. Put it behind or beside your screen, pointing at your face, slightly above eye level. Bounce a bright lamp off a wall, or diffuse it through a lampshade, so the light is soft rather than harsh.

Light colour

Match your lights to each other. Mixing a cool daylight bulb with a warm lamp gives your face two colours at once. ENERGY STAR's lighting guidance describes warmer light (around 2700 K) as similar to old incandescent bulbs and cooler daylight-style light as good for reading. For daytime calls, a neutral to cool bulb near the colour of daylight from the window usually looks most natural. If you use one of the desk lights in our guide with adjustable colour temperature, set it to match the room.

Enough light overall

A*STAR's summary of Singapore's office lighting standard recommends about 500 lux on the desk for reading and typing. A single ceiling light rarely provides that, which is why a lamp near your screen helps both the call and your everyday work. Our guide to lighting a home office with no window covers this in detail.

Step 2: raise the camera to eye level

Laptop cameras sit low, so the other person looks up your nose. Elgato advises raising the laptop on books, a stand or a monitor mount until the camera is roughly at eye level, and the University of Alberta suggests keeping the screen at head height on a desk rather than on your lap.

If you use an external monitor, put a webcam on top of the screen you look at during calls, so your eyes point roughly at the lens. The same height also helps your neck: OSHA's monitor guidance suggests the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level. See laptop stand or second monitor for setups that do both.

Step 3: frame your head and shoulders

Elgato's framing advice:

• show your head and shoulders,
• place your eyes in the upper part of the frame, not dead centre,
• leave a little space above your head.

In a small room you may be close to the camera. Sit back a little, or tilt the screen, rather than filling the frame with your face.

Step 4: check the background

Turn on your camera and look at what is behind you.

• Aim for something plain and tidy: a wall, a bookshelf or a tidy corner, as Elgato suggests.
• Look at head height. Elgato warns about plants or lamps that appear to grow out of your head.
• Avoid doors someone might open during a call, as the University of Alberta notes.
• Bedroom setups: angle the camera away from the bed, or use a simple screen or curtain behind you. Our bedroom office guide has more ideas.

A virtual or blurred background is a fallback, but Elgato notes a real, well-framed background looks better.

Step 5: sort out sound

Small rooms with hard walls echo, and laptop microphones pick up keyboard noise and the room. Elgato recommends a microphone close to your face and testing it at normal speaking volume. A headset with a boom microphone is the simplest fix, and it also keeps the call private if you share the room; see headsets vs speakerphones.

To cut echo in a small room: soft furnishings help, such as curtains, a rug, a sofa, or a full bookshelf behind you.

Before every important call

1. Open the camera preview and check light, framing and background.
2. Test your microphone, as the University of Alberta suggests, and remember to unmute before you speak.
3. Close the door, silence notifications, and plug in your laptop.
4. Have a glass of water and any notes within reach, off camera.

A simple small-room layout

Lights for video calls in a small room

Two small lights that put soft light in front of you. The Litra Glow clips to the monitor and needs no desk space; the Key Light Mini is brighter and runs on its own battery, but needs a stand or clamp. Specifications come from Tom's Guide and Digital Camera World.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a ring light? Not usually. A ring light can work, but any soft light in front of you, including a window, does the same job. Ring lights directly in front of glasses can cause reflections; move the light slightly to the side and higher.

My glasses reflect the screen. Lower the screen brightness slightly, raise your light source, or angle it from the side.

Is a webcam better than my laptop camera? Usually, especially in lower light, and it can sit at eye level more easily. Good light matters more than the camera.