5 ways to Upgrade Your Zoom Meeting Game
Whether you’re working from home or scheduling a virtual happy hour with friends, Zoom is the go to pick for videoconferencing and group video chats. Over the past month, millions of users have joined the video conferencing and messaging service. Not only is it an easy way to work remotely & check in with coworkers, it’s a fun way to stay connected to loved ones while socially distancing.
The DIY’er in me obviously has taken my “Zooming” to the next level. Because I’m not about to have some basic zoom conference call. So I’ve done a ton of research, trial and error & crafting to upgrade my Zoom meetings.
I get a ton of questions asking how I’ve set up my “Zoom Room” and customized my calls. So I’m going to share some fun tips and tricks so that you can upgrade your Zoom meeting game too!
Ok, I’m a Newbie. What’s Zoom?
Zoom is a cloud based service that allows you to virtually interact with people. This makes telecommuting and engaging with people feel much more human, helping you stay feeling connected. With the COVID-19 coronavirus wreaking havoc across the world, Zoom has become an essential tool for small-, businesses of all sizes, friends & families.
You can use it to virtually meet with anyone – either by video or audio-only or both, all while having live chats – and it lets you record those sessions to view later.
There are different plans, but most of us can get by with the free option. With the free level, you can host up to 100 participants and have unlimited one on one meetings. The only limitation is that you max out at 40 minutes per meeting.
The desktop app is available for Windows and macOS. You can also use it on your phone by downloading the app for Android or iOS.
All the apps let you join a meeting without signing in, but also let you sign in using a Zoom account, Google, Facebook, or SSO. From there, you can start a meeting, join a meeting, share your screen in a Zoom Room by entering the meeting ID, start Zoom Meetings, mute/unmute your mic, start/stop the video, invite others to the meeting, change your screen name, do in-meeting chat, and start a cloud recording.
5 Ways to Upgrade Your Zoom Meeting Game
Add A Custom Background
Did you know you can upgrade your Zoom meeting by changing the background!? \The virtual background feature allows you to show an image or video as your background during a Zoom call.
I love this feature because not only does it help me hide my messy office, it makes things way more fun. You don’t have to settle for a boring scene of your home office or kitchen. Opt for a virtual background instead!
There are a ton of awesome places to download fun backgrounds. I love Minted’s selection of free, themed virtual backgrounds. They have a ton of pretty options, but also have more specific ones for birthday parties, engagement celebrations, gender reveals, etc.
Make Your Own Custom Background
Here’s where it gets really cool. And definitely the easiest way to upgrade your zoom meeting. You can also upload your own images or videos as a virtual background! There are no size restrictions when adding your own virtual backgrounds, but I recommend cropping the image to match the aspect ratio of your camera before uploading it.
You can upload any of your own photos, or create something custom in an app like Photoshop or Canva. Canva offers of a ton of templates that you can start with & customize.
You can access a ton of the photo and video backgrounds I made HERE! You can also download and of the backgrounds on my Pinterest board and upload them.
Touch Up Your Appearance
Zoom hasn’t gotten quite as fancy as Instagram with their “filters”. But bless the souls at Zoom for offering the “Touch Up My Appearance” setting on videos. It’s basically like adding a soft focus that minimizes “imperfections”. So if you’re like me and too lazy to put makeup on, it’s an amazing hack.
The filter has makes it look you are wearing the tiniest bit of natural makeup. Your face will look slightly more dewy, more even-toned and smooth. If your work-from-home setup is not properly lit, it helps with that too, subtly brightening both the overall picture and your dark eye circles.
Upgrade Your Lighting
If you want to take things to the next level, I highly recommend upgrading your lighting. Natural light is always best. But if it’s dark, raining or you just don’t get a ton of light in your space, artificial lighting is necessary.
When I do Instagram Live videos, I use a ring light. I’m obsessed with the Socialite Ring Light Kit I have. You can upgrade your zoom meeting with the same lighting concepts!
First of all, it has a full face mirror attachment. Not only does it make filming content easier, it’s totally hands free. it also comes with various mounts for your DSLR, phone & tablet. My favorite feature is that it’s dimmable, so you can adjust the power of the ring light. It makes your skin look amazing & is so much better than harsh computer lighting.
My favorite hack – if you don’t have a ring light and don’t want to invest in one, is using a clip on selfie ring light. You can use it on your phone, but you can also clip it onto your computer or laptop! I like clipping it around the camera. It helps with lighting & gives that perfectly glowed up appearance. I know that it’s a challenging time, so finding inexpensive ways to upgrade is always helpful!
Share Your Screen to Play Games With Friends
Did you know you can also play a ton of games using Zoom!? You’re not stuck playing solitaire during self confinement – you can actually use Zoom screen sharing to play fun games.
We love playing Jackbox games with friends, but they’re usually played in-person with everyone gathered around the TV. But now Jackbox lets you play games with friends on your phone or computer!
You can find all Jackbox Party Packs here.
If you don’t want to download Jackbox, you can also play games on your phone like Heads Up. Or, whip our your Cards Against Humanity.
Click here to learn more fun hacks!
UPGRADE YOUR ZOOM MEETING lighting:
