The Best Lighting for Zoom Meetings, Video Calls and More

As remote work remains as popular as ever, thinking about your lighting and camera placement is just as important as your choice of outfit for your next professional Zoom meeting. Even the most seasoned professional can look like a panicked intern if they don’t have the right video setup, and one of the most important factors is proper lighting for video calls. But what exactly makes a light good for Zoom meetings? 

In this post, we’ll go over the qualities that will give you the best lighting for Zoom or any other video conferencing platform.

WHY YOU NEED A LIGHT FOR ZOOM MEETINGS

A light source specifically for video calls may seem excessive on paper. After all, if your room is already well-lit, why do you need a light for video conferencing? A personal video light is one of those things that’s a total game changer and once you try it, you’ll never go back. A well-placed light can take your video from looking flat and blurry to detailed and defined, highlighting details and depth to your face that reads well on camera. Everyone from movie stars to news anchors rely on great lighting to look their best on screen, so why not take the same approach for your video calls?

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LIGHT?

The best way to get the best lighting for Zoom meetings is to know what components make a good light. A light for video calls has slightly different criteria than an average room light: the latter helps you see things, while the former helps people see you. That’s why dedicated video lights like Logitech’s new Litra Glow will give you the best results for achieving the pro look you want. Here are some factors to remember when figuring out the best light for Zoom. 

Brightness

Lights made to simply illuminate a room may look fine in person, but might not translate well to video. You may love the natural light coming through your window, but if that window is in your camera frame, it will look like a blinding, glaring blob to your viewers. Your video light should be bright enough to make a difference on camera, but not bright enough to cause image issues. 

Note that perceived brightness depends on a variety of factors other than the light itself, like room size, camera framing and even the time of day. Luckily, Litra Glow adapts to all of these factors with adjustable brightness and color temperature via Logitech’s free G HUB desktop app.

Diffusion

Diffusion refers to having your light look like a natural part of your settings. In other words, you probably don’t want a full-on spotlight for your next Zoom meeting––a light that strong and defined would be distracting. Instead, a light that keeps you well-lit and also seamlessly blends into the background is the goal for video lighting. Simply put, you don’t want your viewers to notice the light at all until you turn it off. Thanks to its proprietary Truesoft diffusion, Litra Glow creates soft, borderless LED light that sits naturally in any setting. 

Color Temperature and White Balance

If you've ever logged onto Zoom and wondered why your skin tone looked different than usual, then that probably means your lights’ color temperature was off. In a nutshell, color temperature refers to the appearance of a light’s color, which is measured in kelvins. Lower-kelvin temperatures are warm and more orange-tinted, while higher kelvin temps are cold and blue-tinted. 

For professional meetings over Zoom, somewhere in the middle of the color temperature spectrum is a good starting point since that will give you a neutral white light.  Again, external factors can change your on-camera light temperature––a cloudy day will naturally emit colder light, for instance––so having a light that can easily adjust to your surroundings is a must. Litra Glow emits shades of light across the temperature range with ease, from warm candlelight to daylight-esque blues, so you’ll be able to easily dial in the balance you’re looking for. 

Placement Options

Whether you’re taking a Zoom call from home, the office or on the road, the best light should be flexible enough to be effective in any setup. You’ll likely have your light sitting on top of your monitor, but depending on your setup, you might want to place the light next to your camera or on a tripod. That’s why you need a versatile light like Litra Glow, which comes with a monitor mount that can convert to a desktop stand. The light also works with any standard tripod mount.

Eye Comfort

Finally, long meetings in front of a light can take their toll. Long periods of screen time already cause eye strain, headaches or even migraines, so adding a bright light right next to your monitor can exacerbate these side effects if you’re not careful. That’s why video lights like Litra Glow go through rigorous testing to ensure that they’re safe for all-day streaming to keep your eyes feeling comfortable. 

ZOOM WITH CONFIDENCE

Whether you choose Litra Glow or another video light, following this criteria will help you find the right lighting for Zoom meetings and other work-related digital endeavors. For more info on the best gear for home offices, check out the rest of our blog.