Early in the 2020 shutdown, we had a call I still refer to as the "Kids, Cats, and Cowboy Hats" meeting, for reasons that are exactly what they sound like. Funny once. Not a long-term personal brand strategy.

So I wrote up five fixes, using various setups in my home office to show the difference small chances can make. Move the water bottle out of frame; it wanders across the shot like a cat and nobody can stop watching it instead of you. Turn your desk so a window isn't backlighting you into a silhouette. Raise the camera to eye level — a stack of printer paper under the laptop works fine — so you're not looming down at everyone like something out of the Blair Witch Project.

None of this requires new equipment or a studio. It requires noticing, once, what your own camera has been showing people the whole time.