It is easy to take web camera pictures. However, the results might not always look the best. To help you with that, we have come up with some great tips for making your webcam pictures look better. Whether inbuilt or not, follow these steps to progress your photography skills on your webcam.
How to Take Web Camera Pictures?
Before we get started with the steps, make sure to give your webcam permission to take pictures. Also, make sure to select the correct camera source if you are using an external web camera. Here’s how to take good pictures on your web camera.
On Windows
On Mac
Steps to Take Good Web Camera Pictures
Compared to digital cameras, mobile phones, or other devices, the inbuilt webcam of computers has fewer megapixels. The higher graphic resolution gives a higher-quality image. However, despite the low resolution, you can do a few things to make your pictures look better. Here’s how you can take good photos using your computer’s web camera.
Wipe the Camera Lens
When moisture and dust stick to the lens, it might make the pictures look blurry. You can use lens wipes to clean the webcam. If you don’t have it, a piece of microfiber cloth should do the work. Gently rub the webcam with the lens wipe/microfiber cloth to get rid of the smudges. Tissue works just as fine as well, but it might not clean all the dust particles on the lens. As for the wet wipes, the moisture on them might make the lens look greasier. Make sure to brush it gently and not in a circular motion. Doing so might smudge the greases even further. You can use a lens cleaner solution to wipe off the smear if you can’t get rid of it. A lens cleaner is a solution of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. You can mix these two ingredients in a 1:1 ratio in a container, spray them on the lens, and clean it with a wipe to remove the smudges and fingerprints.
Find a Good Lighting
The webcam sensor only works when light is hitting the lens. It converts this light into a digital image. So, when the lighting isn’t good, the picture might end up looking grainy and dark. Nowadays, many people like adding grain effect to their photos, and if that is what you are going for, taking pictures in low light is the best option. If that’s not the case for you, we suggest you move to a place with brighter lights. Sunlight is always a good option. The more light there is in the room, the better the picture will be. However, ensure the light is not coming from the back but instead facing toward you.
Use External Light Source
You might also consider purchasing a led or ring light for your computer. It helps to distribute light evenly and gives finishing similar to the picture taken in the sunlight or the studio. If you don’t want to invest in lights, a desk lamp or paper lanterns work just as fine too. While setting these lights, it is better to place them slightly above your web camera or directly in front of you. It makes the picture look smooth and blunts out all the shadows.
Place the Webcam in the Correct Position
The best angle to keep your webcam is at your eye level or a few centimeters higher. It is known to be the perfect angle to take pictures, especially for portraits, close-ups, or headshots. Placing it at such an angle makes your feature pop and makes the image look more natural. In case you use an in-built webcam on your laptop, tilting your camera will likely make the image look squished. If not tilted, you might have to look down or a hunch, which might not be the best angle to flaunt your features. You should set the web camera in such a place that makes your profile look good. And to achieve that look, you can keep your laptop on top of a box or any flat object of about 5-10 cm where you can easily place it. Also, make sure not to sit way too close to the webcam. When you do so, it might make the picture look distorted. To avoid this from happening, sit at least 30 cm away from the camera.
Look at the Camera
Most people tend to look at themselves while taking pictures. Instead of looking at yourself on the screen, look at the webcam’s lens to make the picture look more appealing. It might vary depending on what kind of pictures you want to take.
Organize or Clean the Background
Cleaning up the clutter from the background is essential, especially if you want to take formal pictures. We suggest you have as minimal things in the background as possible. As long as the background is clean, even the plain boring wall can make your picture look good. You can also come up with a theme and take pictures accordingly to reflect your creativity.
Go Through Camera Settings(On Windows)
Sometimes, no matter how good you look or how tidy the background is, the pictures can end up being bad. When this happens, you can toggle through your webcam settings and turn on the following things to make it look much better. Features like grids and pro mode are available for your webcam, which helps you take even better pictures on your Windows. Let’s see how you can turn it on to take good web camera pictures.
Turn on HDR
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range which lets you take decent pictures even when the contrast is high. When you turn this mode on, it makes the image look much more vibrant and colorful.
Turn on the Pro Mode
Pro mode lets you construct advanced control for photos and videos. Turning on this mode allows you to control white balance, exposure, ISO sensitivity, etc. You can manually set these things. However, not all computers have this feature yet. Here’s how you can turn this mode on to make your pictures look better.
Use Framing Grid
Grids are a series of horizontal and vertical lines that appears before taking pictures. It gives you a proper vision of where the subject is. Mostly, photos with the subject in the center comparatively look finer. Here, you can choose between the Rule of thirds, Golden ratio, Crosshairs, and Square. Rule of thirds: This grid is a three-by-three grid consisting of two vertical and two horizontal lines. It creates nine equal sections on the frame. With the help of this grid, you can make your picture look more captivating as it gives you a better observation of the subject’s position. Golden ratio: In famous paintings like Mona Lisa and many other great things, the golden ratio is used to align subjects in perfect order. When aligned perfectly, this ratio makes your facial features look more attractive. This grid also consists of two vertical and two horizontal lines and has approximately a 1.618:1 ratio. Crosshairs: The crosshair grid consists of perpendicular lines that intersect precisely at the center of the frame. It fragments the frame into four sections. This grid gives you a better sense of where the center point is. Square: A square grid is a square box that forms in the middle of the frame. You can use this grid to take photos in such a way that the subject on the picture always stays in the middle, and for that, the subject should be inside the square grid. Here’s how you can turn grids on.
Using Higher Megapixel
There are multiple options for photo quality for your webcam. It is true that the more megapixel, the finer the picture is likely to come out. Here’s how you can set higher quality for your image.
Use Time-lapse
You can also use the time-lapse option from your web camera settings. Using this feature, you can take many pictures in a period of time. You won’t have to press the camera button repeatedly. Here’s how you can turn it on. Aside from adding effects, there are no in-built web camera settings available for mac yet. However, you can easily install a third-party app and take control over your mac web camera settings to make your pictures look better.
Use Third-Party Apps
With the help of software like Youcam, Logitech Capture, Webcamoid, and many more, you can easily take captivating pictures with your computer webcam. This software allows you to manually set brightness, exposure, white balance, and many more features, which helps to enhance your features. You can also add effects, filters, and stickers using these apps. There is both free and paid webcam software that you can easily access through the internet. Before installing, make sure the software is compatible with your device.
Invest in a New Webcam
If you want to take high-quality pictures on your computer, purchasing a good webcam with a high-resolution sensor would be best. Since the in-built web camera doesn’t have many features, you can install a new webcam with a better photo quality of about 720p to 4k to successfully take good pictures using your computer. It is not a necessity but investing in a good webcam will definitely take your photos to the next level. Alternatively, you can also consider using a mobile phone as a webcam for better pictures.
