How to Use Your Monitor as a Light

The quick version

1. Open a white screen or this page in your browser.
2. Turn your display brightness all the way up in your system settings.
3. Press F to go fullscreen, so nothing but light is on the screen.
4. Place the screen in front of you, at arm's length and roughly at eye level.
5. Set the warmth to match your room: about 5600K by day, 3500–4500K in the evening.
6. Turn off any bright light behind you, then check yourself in your camera preview and adjust.

Why a screen works as a light

Small, bright lights such as a bare bulb or a phone flash cast hard shadows. Large lights wrap around a face and make shadows soft. A 24-inch monitor is about the size of a small softbox, so at close range it gives the same flattering, even light. It is also dimmable and can be any color, and you already own it.

The limit is power. A screen is much dimmer than a studio light, so it works best close to you and in a room that is not already full of daylight.

Step 1: Pick the right screen

A second monitor

The best option. Put it next to the screen you are using, angled toward your face, and leave it on the light full time.

Your laptop or main monitor

Works with one screen, too: make your call or camera window small and leave the light around it. See video call lighting.

A tablet

Bright, light and easy to move. Prop it beside your webcam or below your face for fill light.

A phone

Small, so hold it close and use it as a fill or accent light rather than the main light.

A TV

The biggest, softest light in most homes. Open this page in the TV's browser or cast a browser tab to it.

Step 2: Put it in the right place

Light from the front is what matters. The screen should face you, slightly to one side of your camera and at or a little above eye level. Light from below looks spooky; light from far above casts shadows under your eyes.

Distance changes everything. Every time you double the distance, you get about a quarter of the light, so a screen at 50 cm gives roughly four times the light it gives at a metre. Start at arm's length and move closer if you need more.

For an even look, use two screens, one on each side of the camera. For more shape and contrast, use one screen at about 45 degrees to the side.

Step 3: Get the most brightness

The page can only be as bright as your display. Turn your screen brightness all the way up in your system settings or with the brightness keys, and switch off battery saver and night mode, which dim and tint the screen.

Plain white is the brightest thing a screen can show. Every color, and every warmth warmer or cooler than about 6600K, turns some of the pixels down and gives less light. If you need every bit of brightness, use the white screen at 100%.

Step 4: Choose the color

Warmth is measured in kelvin. 2700K is the orange of a household bulb, 5600K is daylight, about 6600K is a screen's plain white, and higher values look blue. Mixed colors look odd on camera, so match the main light already in your room. If you look orange in the preview, raise the number; if you look blue or grey, lower it.

For a creative look, put a second screen behind or beside you showing a red or blue screen as a rim light, while a white screen lights your face from the front.

Setups for common jobs

Video calls

One screen behind or beside the webcam at 5600K and 80–90% brightness. Full guide: video call lighting.

Selfies and streaming

A ring light puts a round catchlight in your eyes and keeps the center of the frame dark.

Makeup

Face the screen in a dim room with plain white or daylight, so colors look the way they will outside.

Product photos

Use a large monitor as a softbox at the side of a small object, and a second screen or white card on the other side to fill shadows.

Tracing

Lay a tablet flat at full white and trace through thin paper. See the tracing light box.

Mood light

A fireplace or a warm candle effect on a spare screen makes soft ambient light.

Mistakes to avoid

A bright window behind you

The camera exposes for the window and you turn into a silhouette. Face the window, or close the blinds.

Battery saver and night mode left on

Both dim the screen and tint it orange. Turn them off while you use the screen as a light.

The screen too far away

At two metres a monitor barely lights a face. Move it closer before you buy a lamp.

Mixed light

A warm ceiling lamp plus a cool screen gives patchy color. Switch one off, or match the warmth.

Your glasses reflecting the screen

Raise the screen a little higher, or tilt it slightly, until the reflection leaves your lenses.

Questions