How to Look Good on Camera for an Interview

You opened your camera to check how you look before a video interview, and the person on the screen looks tired, shadowed and slightly too far below the frame. You do not look like that in person. The camera, the light and the angle are doing it.

The good news is that almost all of this is fixable with things you already own: a window, a lamp, a stack of books and about fifteen minutes. No ring light or new webcam required.

To look good on camera for an interview, face a soft light source like a window or lamp, raise your camera to eye level, and frame yourself head and shoulders with a little room above your head. Sit back far enough that small hand gestures show. Then lift your energy a notch, because a relaxed face reads flatter on video.

How to look good on camera for an interview: the four levers

Everything below comes down to four things, in order of how much difference they make:

1. Light. Where it comes from and how soft it is.
2. Camera height. Eye level versus looking up from below.
3. Framing and distance. How much of you is in the picture and where.
4. Presence. Expression, posture and energy once the call starts.

Fix them in that order. Great posture does not help if your face is in shadow.

Best lighting for a Zoom interview

Light is the single biggest factor in how you look on camera. Webcams are small sensors, and they struggle with dim or uneven light far more than your eyes do.

Face the light source. A window in front of you, or slightly to one side, gives soft, even light that is more flattering than nearly any lamp. If your desk faces a wall, turn the desk or move the laptop for the day. This is worth the effort.

Never sit with the light behind you. A bright window behind your head makes the camera expose for the window, which turns your face dark. If you cannot move away from the window, close the blinds and light your face from the front.

Do not rely on overhead light alone. A ceiling light shines down, which puts shadows under your eyes, nose and chin. It is fine as fill, but you need something in front of you too.

Use a lamp as your key light. If there is no window, put a lamp behind your laptop, slightly above eye level and a little off center, so it shines toward your face. A lampshade softens it. If the bulb is harsh, bounce it off a white wall or tape a sheet of printer paper over the shade opening.

Balance the sides. If one side of your face is noticeably darker, add a second lamp on that side, or put a white pillowcase or poster board just out of frame to bounce light back.

Check at the right time of day. Window light changes. Test at the hour of your interview, and have a lamp ready in case clouds roll in.

Camera angle for a video interview

A laptop sitting flat on a desk points up at you. That angle shows your chin and ceiling and makes you look down at the interviewer. It is the second most common problem after bad light.

Raise the camera to eye level. Put the laptop on a stack of books, a sturdy box or a shoebox until the lens lines up with your eyes, or sits just a touch above them. A slightly higher camera is more flattering than a slightly lower one.

Use an external keyboard if you have one. Once the laptop is up on books, typing becomes awkward. You probably will not need to type in an interview, but if you do, a separate keyboard helps.

Level the camera. Make sure the screen is not tilted back. The lens should point straight at you, so vertical lines in the room look vertical.

Know where the lens is. Put a small sticky note arrow next to it. You will look at the lens when you are making a key point, which reads as eye contact.

Framing and distance

Framing is where in the rectangle you appear and how much of you is visible.

Head and shoulders, with headroom. Your frame should run from roughly mid-chest to a little above the top of your head. Leave about a hand’s width of space above your head. Too much space and you look small and sunk; too little and your head gets cropped when you move.

Center yourself. Eyes should land about a third of the way down the frame.

Sit back far enough for your hands. An arm’s length or a little more from the camera usually works. At that distance, a small gesture near your chest shows up naturally. Too close and your face fills the screen, which feels intense and makes every movement look large.

Keep the chair still. A rolling or swiveling chair invites drifting. If you have a choice, use a fixed chair, or plant your feet.

For what goes behind you in that frame, see our post on the best background for a Zoom interview.

Clothes and glasses on camera

Clothing, briefly. Solid mid-tone colors work best on most webcams. Fine stripes and small patterns can shimmer, bright white can glow under strong light, and all black can lose detail. Pick something that contrasts a little with your background so you do not blend into the wall. For what level of formality to wear, see what to wear to an interview.

How to stop glasses glare

Glare happens when a light reflects off your lenses straight into the camera. It often comes from your own screen or from a lamp placed directly in front of you.

1. Move the main light up and to the side. Light that hits your face at an angle reflects away from the camera instead of into it.
2. Lower your screen brightness. A bright white window on your monitor shows up as a rectangle on your lenses. Dim it, or switch apps to a darker mode.
3. Tilt the glasses slightly. Lift the arms a little off your ears so the lenses angle down a few degrees. It is barely noticeable and often kills the reflection.
4. Raise the camera a touch. A slightly higher lens changes the reflection angle.

Test each change with your camera open and keep the one that works.

Posture, expression and energy

Once the setup is right, how you carry yourself does the rest.

Your resting face reads flatter on camera. In a room, people pick up small cues from your eyes, posture and presence. On video, much of that is lost, so a neutral, listening face can look bored or tense. You do not need to grin. Lift your energy about ten percent: a slight smile when you listen, a little more expression in your voice, and a small nod when the interviewer makes a point.

Sit up and slightly forward. Lean in an inch or two from upright. Leaning back reads as detached on camera, and slouching drops your head lower in the frame.

Keep your shoulders square to the camera. Sitting at an angle looks casual and can put one shoulder closer to the lens.

Use small gestures. Hands near chest height, within the frame, add warmth. Big movements outside the frame look like you are reaching off screen.

Pause before you answer. A one-second pause looks thoughtful on video and gives you a moment to settle.

A test-recording routine: five things to check

Do this the day before, at the same time as your interview, in the same seat.

Open your meeting app, start a recording or a test meeting with only you in it, and answer one real interview question out loud for about a minute. “Tell me about yourself” works well. Then watch it back at full screen and check five things:

1. Light. Is your face clearly lit and brighter than the wall behind you? Any dark side or shadow under your eyes?
2. Angle. Is the camera at eye level, or are you looking down at it?
3. Framing. Head and shoulders, centered, with a little room above your head? Do your hands show when you gesture?
4. Glare and color. Any reflection on your glasses? Does your top blend into the wall or shimmer?
5. Energy. With the sound off, do you look engaged? With the sound on, do you sound like you want the job?

Fix whatever failed and record once more. Two rounds usually gets it right. If a camera or connection problem shows up during the call itself, our post on technical difficulties during a video interview covers what to say and do. The broader video interview tips checklist covers audio and connection.

Get an outside read before the real call

A test recording shows you what the camera sees. It is harder to judge how your answers land, because you already know what you meant to say. A mock interview with someone who watches you on video catches both.

Interview prep coaching runs practice interviews over video and gives honest feedback on your presence and your answers. If you have a video interview coming up, get matched with a coach in about two minutes.