When you sit in the video call and can’t see the eyes of the other person or yourself, it always looks a bit strange. These reflections are quite annoying and it takes a little preparation to reduce them. Here in this article you will learn more about how to avoid the reflections on the glasses during the video call.
Beforehand, depending on the room and the illumination, it is necessary to try out at which angle the camera and at which angle the light is directed at you. It is important to understand that the light source and the camera should not have the same position in the room. Otherwise, the light from the reflection will be perceptible again in the video due to the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.
Change the position of the camera and the light in height and laterally. It makes sense to change the position by at least 30°, usually even better 45° in relation to you.
The type of lamp you use also plays a role in the intensity of the reflections. A diffuse LED panel (which should be dimmed) will usually produce less intense reflections than a light source with direct, directional light as with an LED spot.
If it is not possible to change the position from the lamp, then, try to position yourself differently. The reflections are always caused by a certain position you take. So, try different positions in which no reflections appear on your glasses.
In some cases, avoiding reflections is especially difficult because the light source of the laptop is direct and the built-in camera recaptures this light. So if the above tips don’t help, you’ll have to resort to a somewhat technical solution.
- Turn down the brightness of the display
- separate the light source from the camera, change its height and lateral position
- use soft light
- use dark mode
- use anti-reflective lenses
- Avoid having a window directly in front of you
Avoid Reflections on the Glasses in the Video Call With a Webcam
With a laptop, it’s harder to avoid reflections on the glasses because the light emitted by the monitor and the webcam are so close to each other. A simple solution here is to use a separate webcam and change its position significantly in height and sideways to the monitor.
Here, for example, can be mentioned with the software EpocCam Webcam for Mac and PC to turn your iPhone into a webcam. For Andoid devices you can use the software Droidcam.
Change the Lighting in the Room
Indirect lighting is better than direct lighting to avoid reflections on the glasses. If you have a lamp with direct lighting directed at you, you can try turning it towards the wall or ceiling to make the lighting more diffuse and indirect. As always, position the lighting well out of the angle of view compared to the camera to reduce or even eliminate reflections.
Windows also cause more reflections on the glasses during video calls. Therefore, you should always position yourself in the room in such a way that you are not sitting in front of a window or at least the camera’s height and horizontal alignment to the window is changed significantly again. If this is not possible, you can possibly close the blinds for the video call to avoid the direct light of the window.
Dim the Screen or Switch to a Dark Mode During Video Call
The less light emitted from your screen, the better. So dim the light of the monitor or switch to a dark mode. If possible, avoid having dark type open with a white background in the program. A dark background will result in fewer reflections on your glasses.
Is a Better Antireflection Coating the Solution to Have No More Reflections on the Glasses in Web Calls?
Even a good anti-reflective coating will unfortunately still produce significant reflections on the lenses if the light in the room and the camera are positioned unfavorably. It doesn’t matter which manufacturer you choose. The difference only shows in the color of the residual reflex.
Some reflections are then rather bluish or rather greenish. In any case, however, these are annoying, despite a super antireflection. So be sure to clearly separate the camera from the light in the room.
However, if you do not have an antireflection coating on the lenses, we recommend that you also switch to high-quality lenses, as these show significantly fewer reflections on the surface of the lenses.
This makes it much easier for you to look better in a web call with super anti-reflective glasses compared to non-anti-reflective lenses. However, even with the best anti-reflective coating, you can’t get around the optimizations in terms of the position of the camera and the light sources in the room.
Take Time to Try Different Settings of Lighting and Position of the Camera
To avoid the reflections during the video call, the preparation must already be done. So take your time to find the best position of the room in relation to the light sources that you cannot influence like a window.
For the light sources that can be changed, you should try everything in terms of position and beam angle of the lamp to avoid annoying reflections on the glasses. If you then also reduce the brightness of the screen and separate the position of the camera and the screen, you will have success.
However, these are a few things that need to be considered and tried out here, which is why you should allow 60 minutes to set up the setup perfectly so that you can look professional during the live call.
