Getting ready for your video closeup

   With the coronavirus pandemic keeping most of us at home, more people are using videoconferencing to stay in touch.

    People are using Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other platforms for business and socializing.

    In many of these conferences, the participants look a bit pale, mainly lit by the glow of their video screens, which if there's other lighting in the room creates color shifts as the webcam tries to find a white balance.

    If the room is dim, the image will be grainy.

    And there's a lot of room tone as people use the microphone on their computer for the sound.

    For some people, that may be enough, but there are simple but effective ways to improve the quality.

    First, improve lighting. You don't need one of those three-point softbox setups some of the professional Youtubers use. I found that a simple desk lamp is more than enough to light me up properly, giving me a cleaner look on video.

This is where I do my work video calls/conferences. The light on the right just clamps to the desktop and lights up my face. I use a headset for the audio, and I've been pleased with the results these past two months.

    As for sound, you can either use a headset, a lav mic or even one of those hands-free devices for cellphones, as long as it has a plug that fits into your computer. That's usually enough to ensure you don't sound like you're talking from the bottom of a chimney.

Does your bag unzip on its own? Clip it

    My camera bag is a bit like a clown car.

    There's a camera body, a couple lenses, neutral-density and polarizing filters, flash light, audio recorders, mic, batteries, charger, cables, notebook and other things. Once, while going through a security checkpoint at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Calif., the guard found a mechanical pencil in there I thought I had lost.

    This does present a problem. The one compartment will tend to unzip itself due to the weight. And it's not just a problem with my Manfrotto bag. Joe Edelman, who does TogChat Live on Youtube, pointed out that a bag he got had the zipper positioned in a way that the weight of the bag would cause it to open catastrophically.

    (Please don't tell me to just carry less gear. Would you honestly tell Tiger Woods he only needs two golf clubs?)

    I've put the zippers to one side, but that can be a bit of a hassle. So, after another incident where things came tumbling out of my bag, I came up with an idea to put some kind of clip through the handles of the zipper to keep it closed. My first experiment was with a paper clip, which worked well, but I decided I could do better.

    I took one of those small carabiner clips you get at dollar stores for holding car keys or other things (I use one to attach a water bottle to the outside of my bag when I travel). I threaded it through the holes in the zipper handles, and it works. Plus, it also creates a deterrent to anyone who might try to pickpocket the bag.

The carabiner's a bit of a tight fit, but it doesn't let the bag zip open, and it deters potential thieves.