In the age where work/ study/ socialize from home is recommended, video calls became inevitable. But they usually come with a cost beyond the internet connection: your image matters way more. The background, clothes and hair can say a lot about a person. If you want to feel and look better on camera, here are five tips that can help you.

• Wash and Brush Your Hair

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This might be a surprise to some people, but having a clean and tidy hair can do wonders for your appearance and self-esteem. But if you already have both, take a cue from the TV ladies. Waves are perfect for hiding rebellious hair or a bad haircut, the same goes for the classic ponytail and bun.

• Focus on Your Top Half

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On most video calls people won’t be able to see your legs, so enjoy your comfy pants as much as you want. But wear a nice and neat top, maybe even an embroidered knit or jacket. It might also be a good idea to add accessories, be it a nice watch, rings or even a headband. Also, avoid prints, they can easily look chaotic depending on the background (more on that later).

• Apply Way Too Much Blush

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Makeup for real-life and for camera are different, and they usually don’t work outside their space. What looks good on camera is usually something way stronger, so apply more blush and bronzer that you normally would. Most video call platforms, especially ZOOM, has some kind of tint or recording code that makes the skin look ashy. The excessive amount of bronzer and/or blush will help with that and make you look even healthier.

If you want to learn how to not blend with your walls on Zoom, check out this video:

• Let’s Talk About the Background

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Photos from Pinterest

Your background can say a lot about you, so avoid anywhere messy or loud. If possible, also avoid taking calls near gray or whiteish walls, they will make you look even more ashy. And if you have very pale skin, you might even blend with the walls.

• Let’s Talk About the Background Again

It became quite popular on TV for reporters to talk in front of their massive bookshelves. Not long after everybody was taking calls in front of one (be it real or fake). But there is only one thing: when you make contortions just to fit some books in the background, you look pretentious, and not in a good way.  So, please, don’t use a fake bookshelf background or do contortions to show the real one for non-comedic purposes.