How do you keep yourself looking good while working from home, without turning your home into a workplace?
Let’s face it, Zoom meetings are here to stay. Not that I mind. As someone who has already spent more than my fair share of time fighting Los Angeles traffic to make an appointment, the idea that I can handle everything from a doctor’s visit to a pitch meeting without ever needing to change out of my pajama pants is definitely appealing. Ever since the pandemic that shall go unnamed stopped being an official pandemic, more and more of my meetings have returned to being the in-person variety, offering me the opportunity to try out some of my new sport coats and remember how to apply proper pressure during a handshake. But, I still spend an inordinate amount of time sitting in front of my computer talking directly to multiple talking heads inside of assorted boxes with only 70% certainty that they can even hear what I’m saying.
There is also one additional truth that must be addressed. While the new-found Zoom world means that I now spend a great deal of time on camera, I am decidedly not an on-camera personality. There’s a reason people call me to be behind the camera as opposed to wanting me to take on the lead romantic role opposite Margot Robbie in her next film. Thankfully, as a person who makes other people look good in front of the camera for a living, I do know a trick or two about how to light someone to maximize their on-screen appearance.
At the height of the pandemic, when I was in multiple Zoom meetings a day, this got a little out of hand. Without having much better things to do and quarantine meaning I didn’t have to worry about an unexpected houseguest, my living room had turned into a mini production studio. Aside from the couch and television, the bulk of my living room was now inhabited by multiple C-stands, large softboxes, and bounce cards. I may or may not have even thrown in a hair light at some point. And, I’m here to tell you, I looked fabulous on screen. Well, as good as I’m ever going to look. Of course, the only problem was that my carefully styled living room was now no longer fit to be used for anything but Zoom calls.
As the pandemic receded a bit, along with the number of Zoom calls, I tried to scale back. I moved my Zoom setup into my home office. I even came up with an insanely efficient system that allowed me to keep my softbox and camera arrangement setup full time without completely overtaking my room. It wasn’t quite as good-looking as the full production studio in my living room approach. But, it was far less likely to have my house guests looking for other accommodations.
Lately, I’ve been looking for ways to scale down even further. And that is what brought me to try out three different lights from Lume Cube. I had checked out some of their strip lights a few weeks ago. The benefit to those being that they were small, portable, and well priced. I wondered what they might have as a Zoom solution, so I checked out three different fixtures. The Edge Desk Light, The VC Light, the RGB Panel Pro 2.0.
Now, I should make it clear that these fixtures are not only for Zoom calls. In fact, some are better used in more production-oriented applications, which I’ll address in a second. But, as my own immediate need was continuing to wow my clients with an online appearance that I can’t live up to in real life, I wanted to see how they would work on my own virtual avatar.
The RGB Panel Pro 2.0 was the first one I tried. It’s a small 6 x 3.14 inch flat panel RGB light. It’s not going to light up Dodger Stadium, but that’s not really the point of a fixture like this. On set, I would use this type of light for two things. Either to add a small pinch of light to a section of the set without needing to set up heavy stands. Especially if that area of the set is in a hard-to-reach area. Or, perhaps my favorite use of a light like this would be to use it as an on-camera catch light. It even comes with a hot shoe mount so that it can easily sit atop your camera. Pumping a light this small directly into a subject’s face is not likely to be super flattering. But, using a small light like this in combination with other light sources can help provide shape and detail, especially as a small source to provide a catch light in a subject’s eyes. In this scenario, it’s not on full blast. Rather, it’s on just enough to create a pinpoint light to reflect in your subject’s eyes to draw attention to them. This light also has the benefit of RGB, meaning that you can dial up the entire color spectrum. So, if your tastes lean in the direction of Vittorio Storaro, you can pack a lot of punch in something that can fit into your pocket.
The RGB Panel Pro 2.0 and the VC Light are both super small. The advantage of that small size is that they don’t take up a great deal of power or space. The VC Light in particular is especially designed for portability. It mounts to the back of your laptop, desktop, or just to a nearby wall through the use of a suction cup mount. The idea being that if you are taking a Zoom call or making a short video on the go, you don’t need your own stand to use it. Just suction it on to the back of your laptop, flip it on, and voilà, let there be light. An intriguing design. However, like the RGB Panel Pro 2.0, I think this light is probably best suited as an accent light in production rather than as a key light for a subject (or in combination with another key light), the simple reason being that their pint-sized nature, while making them portable, isn’t always the best fit for making the subject look great. There’s a reason why I was using a large softbox. Larger source, softer source. So, by their very nature, I would lean towards using the Panel Pro and VC light as accents or secondary lights rather than as primary key lights.
The Edge Desk Light, however, offers perhaps one of the best options on the market for Zoom presentations. It’s not a huge light at 6 inches in diameter, but it is larger compared to the previous two I mentioned. More importantly, the light comes with a desk-mounted flexible arm. You connect the base of the light to your desk with a clamp, then you can move the light around to where you want it. So, while the light itself might not be huge, the design of the arm makes it really easy to move the light in close (thus softening the light). Assuming you are sitting within a reasonable distance from your desk, swinging the arm into position is easy. And, since I am a big fan of efficiency, being able to tuck it away when not in use, without having to completely detach it from my desk, is a major plus. The light can live on my desk full time without becoming an eyesore when it’s not needed. Ranging from 3,200 to 5,600 K, this light is a great permanent key light for people’s faces, especially a face like mine that can use all the help it can get.
All three of these lights are useful and affordable solutions for your tool kit. The Edge Desk Light is the clear winner for my own Zoom setup. But the RGB Panel Light 2.0 is a great choice as an eye light or accent light. While the VC light is great on the go when space is limited and you want a little illumination to look your best. You can even purchase it in combination with The Edge Desk Light for a one-two punch. Now, if only I could find a way to have a key light travel with me in the real world when I’m not on Zoom.
