Whether you’re talking to your parents who are thousands of miles away, or to a business colleague in an unknown location, FaceTime is the way to go. This app allows you to speak with others face-to-face, even when you’re in remote locations. It’s a hugely beneficial tool. 

That said, it’s not without its faults. As such, if you want to get the best FaceTime experience possible, you have to be a little strategic. Without further ado, here are four tips to maximize your FaceTime experience. 

1. Shoot from Face Level

First and foremost, you’re going to want to shoot from face level. This is important, as it will provide you with your overall best appearance. Shoot from below face level, and you’ll appear to have a double chin; shoot from above face level, and you’ll just look awkward. 

Ideally, you’ll have a stand upon which you can position your phone. Place this stand on top of, say, a desk, and then adjust the height of your chair so that your face is directly in front of the camera’s lens. 

When looking at the camera, lower your chin slightly. This will provide the fullest shot of your face, pronouncing your jawline and ensuring that all of your features stand out. 

2. Keep the Light in Front of Your Face

One of the keys to good video calls is to light yourself properly. Generally speaking, the best way to do this is to keep the light in front of your face. This will illuminate the features on your face, while keeping the background in the, well, background. 

If there’s light behind you in the shot, it’s bound to leave a glare around your face. Not to mention, your face will appear dark and gloomy. This doesn’t make for a good or comfortable conversation. 

A good course of action would be to set a lamp on your desk behind your phone as it’s recording you. Then, you can use ambient lighting throughout the rest of the room as a means of providing an inviting atmosphere. 

3. Take Real-time Pictures

Whether you’re video calling with a Mac or an iPhone, you have the ability to take real-time pictures while the conversation is going on. This, in essence, allows you to preserve memories from hundreds and even thousands of miles away. 

Taking pictures on FaceTime is easy. All you have to do is press the shutter button. This should be located toward the bottom of the video of the person you’re calling, laid out over the top of the video. In most cases, it’s on the left side of the screen. 

Every time you take a photo, it will end up in the Photos app on your phone or computer. From there, you can use the picture as you see fit. 

4. Stay Still

Something you might notice with FaceTime video calls is that they tend to lag and cut out from time to time. This can ruin the flow of the conversation and create an awkward encounter overall. As such, it’s best avoided. 

But how do you avoid it? Perhaps the biggest tip is to stay still. The less you’re moving around, the more consistent your WiFi signal will be, and the less disturbance you’ll have to contend with. 

If your camera isn’t working at all, you should take a look at this article from setapp.com. It will tell you everything you need to know to get your camera up and running again. 

5. Do Away With Background Noise

When FaceTiming, you’re liking going to be using your phone microphone as a means of transmitting audio. This works perfectly well, especially on the newer versions of the iPhone. That said, this is still not a pro-quality microphone. 

As such, if you want to transmit the best audio possible, you’re advised to do away with background noise as much as possible. This includes everything from running fans to running dishwashers to humming radiators and more. 

Those seemingly quiet sounds will be picked up on your phone’s microphone, and because your microphone is of less-than-professional quality, they will compete with your voice for prominence and clarity. 

So, if you want your voice to come through as clearly as possible, you need to put yourself in a totally quiet room. 

6. Use Effects

FaceTime is loaded with all sorts of fun effects, some of which may or may not enhance your FaceTime experience. These effects run the gamut from animating your face and body to adding stickers to the screen to using filters and more. 

These effects are always being added and updated, so check them out and see whether or not they’d benefit your conversation. They’re probably not going to be appropriate for professional calls. However, they could greatly improve FaceTime calls with your close friends and loved ones. 

7. Block Other Calls

Hoping for your FaceTime call to go undisturbed? If so, there’s a setting that will allow you to automatically block other calls throughout the duration of your FaceTime call. 

You can either block individual contacts or block calls altogether. To do this, get into the FaceTime app setting and click on ‘Blocked Contacts’. Once on the new page, scroll down and click on numbers that you wish to block. 

This will prevent calls from coming in during your face-to-face conversations, ensuring that you’re not bothered for the duration. 

Do FaceTime Right With These Tips

FaceTime isn’t exactly rocket science. However, there are rights and wrongs when it comes to getting the best results. If you want to do FaceTime right, follow these tips. 

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