Follow the Light

Virtual studio road diary Day 3: whenever I set up a new space I let one thing guide me - the light.

In this space, the strongest light source is actually the pair of track lights by the door. There are countless articles suggesting you face a window, mainly because in most cases the sunlight is your brightest light source. But in this case, it's a west-facing window with a slight awning. It only gets bright, direct sunlight at dusk, which at this time of year is after business hours.

This angle fits three criteria:

1. It faces the strongest light source
2. There's depth of field (from shooting into a corner
3. There's opportunity for good framing

Framing properly is key in a new space. You don't always have the luxury of moving things like artwork off the walls. And there's nothing I can do about the colour scheme of this room. Even though it's not my brand colours (black, white, green, blue) I'm not about to make any bold changes. I'm only here for two weeks.

The first step was framing out the actual artwork. I've already held a meeting from this vantage point and had a client ask "why are there feet behind you?" My mother loves being a grandma, so ALL of her artwork in the spare bedroom features children of some kind.

If you have art behind you, make sure there are no recognizable faces, body parts or objects. It will distract your audience. Opt for abstracts with pattern and texture. Ideally using your brand colours. If you can't change up the art, crop it out. In the final look I've kept the frame and some of the matte, but there's no child.

Make the most of colour contrast. The walls are yellow and the curtains are burgundy. I managed to dilute the yellow in my frame by extending the curtain rod and curtain. Not only is this a decor hack to make the window look bigger, but it breaks up the yellow.

I further broke up the yellow by adding my go-to accessory: a green plant. This one is fake. I bought it at HomeSense. If you can't travel with a plant, chances are the city you're going to has a home decor store. And they usually allow returns after 30 days if this decor is temporary. I worked with a set designer for years who said: "living things bring life to a space". And she's absolutely right. Just make sure the plant is to the side of you so it doesn't look like you have leaves sprouting from your head.

So that's how you can find and create an attractive video background in an unfamiliar space.