No need to rent a studio space… create professional backgrounds at home instead!

How many of you are shooting out of a home office? Or if not an office, maybe a spare bedroom or a quiet corner of your house?

There’s no shame in that. In fact, I do it all the time. You can absolutely create professional videos with pro backdrops from your own home.

Plus you can take some of the money you’ve just saved on not renting a studio space and invest it toward items that will help dress your set and represent your brand. We’ll get back to decorations in a sec, but first let’s talk setup so you can really start utilizing that background space well.

Setting Up

First things first. More space is not necessarily better. Aim for no more than eight to ten feet of space behind you. More than that opens you up to more distractions in your background… like your dog speeding by.... or your kids chasing after the dog... or your husband chasing the kids chasing the dog. You get the picture.

Now that you have your place, position your camera. I have a whole video on framing and composition you can reference for this so make sure to check that out.

Also pay attention to the windows behind you. This is my biggest pet peeve, and I see it happen all the time. Never have a window behind you… unless you want to become a silhouette. In which case, go right ahead.

Lastly, tidy up your space. No one wants to look at your dirty coffee cups, lunch plates, and crumpled laundry. Avoid hanging cords too.

Embrace Colors

We've all seen enough zoom calls with the classic bookshelf background. Yes, it’s impressive you have lots of books--and I'm sure you've read all of them--but we're a little bit more creative than that. So let's add some personality and life to your backdrop!

Let’s start with color. When you're using a phone or webcam as your camera, that's fine, but it's hard to make a white wall behind you look pure white. 

Why? Essentially the white balance gets messed up and makes it look yellowish, bluish, or creates a burst of light, like a halo behind you, if you’re using an extra light source, like a ring light.

For this reason, avoiding a plain white wall is best. Consider slapping some paint on an accent wall in your house that matches your brand. (As you can see, that's what I did here.)

I realize not all of you can paint your walls. No worries. Maybe you add just a nice large piece of art to your background. 

Feng Shui that Setup

Which leads us to another facet of interior design… all the fun little decorations!

Do you have a door in the background or a window you can’t avoid? Then consider hanging a curtain. Having one over the door will give the illusion of a window--as long as it’s not sheer.

I’m also a big advocate for floating shelves. They're clean, minimalistic, and you can add and subtract decorative items with ease. When placing these shelves, make sure they're not so high up that they're going to be out of your shot (especially if you're sitting down). 

Once you have those shelves, it's nice to have things on them that are at varying heights. If you already have a bookshelf behind you, consider subtracting some of the books and replacing them with intriguing pieces like a candle or an air plant.

But before you start enthusiastically throwing a bunch of decorations or props in the background, think about something that ties back into you and your brand. 

As you can see behind me, I've styled my space to incorporate the colors of my brand’s palette. That was no coincidence! 

Maybe you want to display some awards or diplomas. Add some life to your background with plants. Even fake plants add life. (On camera, you won’t be close enough to tell they’re not real.)

So get creative! Infuse your personality! It'll make all the difference and people will notice.

If you like what you’ve heard and you want to learn more about how to create video for Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, or TikTok then don't leave without signing up for my * newsletter * to gain more "quickie" video tips, course content and exclusive video coaching offers that will give you the confidence to do it on camera.