Ideal lighting conditions

ShareTheBoard is constantly optimized to deliver clear, crisp board contents in a variety of lighting conditions. Still, there are certain setups that work better than others.

Ideal situation: abundant natural light

If at all possible, nothing beats a whole lot of natural light – it not only makes it easier for ShareTheBoard to detect your board contents clearly, it makes you as the presenter look the best! This applies to any situation – whether you’re speaking to a fully in-person crowd or working with a hybrid/remote audience.

If you’re lucky enough to have such a light source, just keep an eye out for glare or odd shadows on your board. If possible, use your window treatments or the position of your camera to address them. If that doesn’t work, read on for more tips.

Second best: cold light

OK, it’s not the coziest of things but there’s a reason our offices and lecture halls use cold lighting: it just makes things easier to see. The same is true for your cameras – cold light makes it easier for them to detect more detail which, in turn, makes it easier for ShareTheBoard to do its job.

If you’re using ShareTheBoard in an office or at school, odds are you don’t need to worry about lighting (apart from that pesky glare – again, read on…). If you’re setting up a home office or working from the road, consider using colder light bulbs when sharing your board.

To be avoided: warm light

Though that warm, soft light can cozy-up your home, it’s a disaster for cameras. Such conditions are hardest for cameras to work in. You may have already experienced this on a video conference: the person with gentle, warm lighting can look warbly or unclear, even with a great internet connection. Well, if your camera can’t see your board, neither can ShareTheBoard. Keep the warm light for setting the mood; avoid it when it comes to whiteboarding!

Light’s pesky pal: glare

Even if you have abundant natural light or strong cold light, glare might be an issue. While ShareTheBoard can intelligently ignore and smooth out lighter reflections, strong glare can cause all sorts of problems. If your viewers are seeing glare on your board, here’s what you can do about it.

• If possible, start by adjusting your light source: move its position until your viewers no longer see its reflection on the board
• If you’re relying on natural light, try using your window treatments to adjust how it falls on your board. Just take care not to cast strong shadows – those can also be distracting to your audience.
• If adjusting the light source isn’t possible or doesn’t yield the desired result, your best bet is to find the ideal position for your camera:
  • If you’re lucky enough to have a ceiling-mounted camera or a dedicated whiteboard camera, you’re most likely not struggling with glare!
  • For everyone else, a good rule of thumb is “the higher the camera, the better” but, ultimately, in this case you may need to move the camera around until you can confirm that glare is no longer an issue
• Finally, if you’ve tried everything and you simply can’t get that glare to go away, use the Spatial Zeroing feature to tell ShareTheBoard to essentially ignore the affected area

If you follow all of the tips above and your lighting conditions still feel less than ideal, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to advise. Simply book a free consultation with us and we’ll take a look at your specific case.