Create a beautiful remote meetup background with these easy tips

by Robert Canning on June 24, 2020

Create a beautiful remote meet-up background with these easy tipsFind out how to ensure your virtual meetups, both professional and personal look fantastic with a gorgeous background.

Remote working has become increasingly popular over the last few years, with 5% of Americans working at least half of their working hours from home. A considerable percentage of people choose to work as freelancers or in jobs that allow flexibility in terms of where they can complete their tasks. Meetings have been taking place virtually for many, for a while, but now more than ever, we all rely on face-to-face meetings happening via the latest technology. Personal use of video calling has also become incredibly popular, and more recently, essential for maintaining contact with those we love.

People have become so innovative with the way that they use video calls, hosting quizzes, concerts, and even using them for virtual family meals.

With all the challenges the world is facing, working and personal meetups are likely to continue to at least be in part online for the foreseeable future.

Turning up on camera is an essential part of creating a great meet up. However, if you're going to be doing this regularly, and especially if you're doing it on a professional basis, why not give yourself a gorgeous background?

Why not make it a little fun when you connect with your co-workers and your friends?

Here's how to create the perfect background for your next virtual meet up;

Keep It Virtual

Keep It Totally VirtualIf you don't want even to bother tidying up before you make a video call, then you could opt for a virtual background.

You may well have already seen some video backgrounds that cover a multitude of sins. Messy houses, half undressed partners, questionable book choices… It just doesn't bear thinking about. So if you also want to keep the spotlight off how you keep your home, then a virtual background could be a great idea.

If you do opt for a digital background rather than a real one then consider the following tips to make sure you choose the best option;

  • Make sure you stand out from the real background and contrast well so that the image doesn't cross over and cover part of you on screen. Check tones don't match, such as black hair and a black chair blending into one.
  • Contrast with the background that you choose so that it pops. For example; wear a black T-shirt if you select a wooden cabin background type effect.
  • Consider the purpose of your virtual meeting background and ensure that it isn't more interesting than what you are saying. A busy background may end up causing your message to be lost.
  • Think carefully about the tone that you want to convey during your meetup. Remember that visually, it might seem fun to have a particular background for a meeting, but that may end up making you look unprofessional.
  • If you want to draw attention to your clothes or makeup, then consider the colours in those items and how they might work with your background.
  • Don't try to make it real. This is virtual reality, and it will feel weird. Don't think that your background has to look like you're sat in a coffee shop because no one is expecting the situation to feel real.

Here are various virtual background sources to help you pick the perfect fake setting for your next online meeting.

So You're Going For A Real Background? OK, But First, Vetting...

Don't assume any one thing in the background of your video is going to be left unscrutinised and that it will be considered reasonable by 100% of people who look at your video.

You need to look at everything in the background with a critical eye, and do allow family members to help you with this if you need help.

Consider the following when clearing out the room you want to use as a virtual meetup background;

  • Declutter everything
  • Get rid of anything dirty like used dishes, dusty ornaments or grubby tissues as just one dirty item could take the whole tone of the room down
  • Remove any potentially controversial or embarrassing books
  • Remove anything likely to detract from your presentation
  • Get rid of any dead plants or dead flowers
  • Ensure that any information about your location, contact details or personal life is not in the frame, or they are covered - people can zoom in more than you think
  • Don't have anything that moves in the background like a fish or another pet as that may be distracting

If it seems like the whole room as it is can't be made to look any better, then don't be afraid to clear the background of your video completely. You only need a well-lit corner of a room or one side of a room, so if that means taking everything away and starting fresh don't be afraid to do that, especially if you are using virtual meet up a lot. To help you feel inspired to clear your background, take a look at these prime examples of when video calls have gone wrong. 

What's The Vibe?

What’s The Vibe?It may be that you only use your virtual meetups for business, in which case your background has to be professional. 

If you only use your virtual meetups for casual calls, then you can be more fun and steer away from anything corporate or professional. If you use it for both personal and professional reasons like many people, then you're going to want to hit that tricky middle ground of the decor version of smart casual.

It needs to look professional, but it should also not be devoid of any personality at all. The best way to go about that middle ground is to start with a professional base and then add a few bits of more interesting decor like a beautiful orchid, or some colourful books.

Nature Always Wins

Upscale and Posh Tutti Frutti available for flower delivery DubaiUpscale & Posh Tutti Frutti available for flower delivery Dubai

With both professional and personal setups, nature is a perfect neutral background to have.

It doesn't have to be animals and things like that, but less specific natural subjects like plants and outdoor scenes look great.

Outdoor scenes, or even pictures showing nature, are known to be good for mental health according to science and including nature in the back of your virtual meeting background is only going to boost the feelings of the people you're meeting up with.

It also says a lot about your general ethos when it comes to health and nurturing your environment.

Why not consider including the following ideas in a complete nature-themed background. 

  • One significant feature plant like a huge cactus or palm can be an excellent feature for a room
  • Plants on the shelf like trailing Pothos and philodendron combined with miniature succulents and maybe an aged terracotta pot or two
  • The aesthetic of hanging plants is one that's taking the world of decor by storm, and it will look perfect in the background of your virtual meet up. All you need is a clothes rail, and then you can hang a few hanging pots from there, including any plants that you like.
  • You could display fresh flowers sent to your door using our online flowers Dubai services. Why not display products such as our tulip bouquetharmony bouquet or stunning symphony bouquet. Displaying flowers in abundance will always look great in the background of your video. You could even just have one large flower shop bouquet like our incredibly popular garden bouquet. You could also have a few different levels of floral arrangement like a flower shop, depending on the size of your background. Just don't forget to continue to top up the flowers using flower delivery or a local flower shop. A service like our floral subscription service from our flower shop in Dubai is perfect for this exact situation made as it means you don't have to think about getting those fresh flowers delivered to your door every month. Instead, from our professional flower shop in Dubai, we get gorgeous flowers UAE to your door and help keep your video background look beautiful.

Alternatively, you could stick with nature-themed art or photography in the background. Any touch of nature will enhance your background aesthetic without much effort at all.

Get The Balance Between Physical Items And Space, Right

Get The Balance Between Physical Items And Space, RightThere have been a few video calls publicised where the person had cleared a bookshelf or cleared the room not to have it dictate the virtual meetup.

Although this is a wise first move, it shouldn't be the only step as an empty room can look vastly impactful and it can be just as distracting as an overly full room. Do make sure you have something in the background, even if it is just a table with a vase and a bouquet of our beautiful flowers.

 

Be Careful With Reflective Surfaces

 

Be Careful With Reflective Surfaces

If your light source is facing you, or the space behind you in some way, then you have to be careful with reflective services behind you.

Too much light can cause reflections on those items which will be distracting in your videos. You also need to be mindful of any mirrors or glass reflecting parts of the room you do not want to be seen.

Try Swedish Design As A Base

 

Try Swedish Design As A Base

If you are unsure how even to start when it comes to creating a beautiful looking background, then take a look at Swedish design.

It's a beautiful and straightforward aesthetic that even beginners at decor can follow and create something beautiful with. Even better, at its heart, it's minimalist, so you don't need much money to create something beautiful.

 The base colours are always natural tones and materials, so they tend to be inexpensive and very easy to source. You also don't need to worry about it looking too bland as Swedish design uses natural elements like plants and flowers to boost the aesthetic. You can also use a couple of bold colours, a technique often used in Swedish design, ensuring the tones stand out because of their background of neutral tones and natural materials. You can find out more about designing in this way in this handy YouTube video.

Set It Up Right

 

Set It Up Right

Once you think that your background is ready, treat it like you're about to go on video doing an audition. You especially should be practising with your video calls if you are about to do a job interview or an urgent meeting with somebody online.

A great start to setting up a good looking video is to test the levels of light at different times of the day, which will tell you whether or not you need to add any artificial light or not.

You also need to watch the video back to check if what you're wearing is distracting in any way, or if it reacts strangely on video as certain colours and patterns are known to do.

You can also do practise videos to check your gorgeous background, to see if it works well. You will notice quite quickly if something is distracting, if you need to add more flowers, or if something is not in the right place. You really should film a video and watch it back rather than look through the viewfinder at your background because you need to see how a real video will look. That includes you interacting with the camera in your environment, which is very different from a completely still environment without you in it.

"Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is." —Charles M. Schulz

Hopefully, one day soon, many of us won't be relying on virtual meetups for all aspects of our social life. However, we should expect video calls to become part of our lives in the future because remote working and virtual communication are part of life now, and global networking is here to stay.

With that in mind, it makes sense to create your very own virtual meeting background for both personal and professional purposes. Do be meticulous, and do have an eye for detail. If you'd like some help filling your background with stunning cut flowers and healthy houseplants, please do take a look at our Upscale & Posh collections all available for delivery, including flower delivery Dubai.

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