The Fill Light effect turns your screen into a soft secondary light that lifts dark shadows without becoming the main light in the scene. Use it opposite a key light, window, or bright room lamp when one side of your face looks too dark on camera.
Before you start
- A screen you can place on the shadow side. A second monitor, laptop, tablet, or phone works. The screen needs to face you, not the camera.
- A main light source. Fill Light is meant to balance an existing key light, window, or room lamp. If it is your only light, it will still brighten your face, but it will not create the same controlled two-light setup.
- A camera preview. Keep your video app, recording app, or camera preview visible while you adjust the light.
- Room lighting you can keep steady. Changing lamps, windows, or monitor brightness after setup can make your camera exposure shift.
Set it up
- Place your main light first. For a typical video call, that might be a window, lamp, or Key Light screen on one side of your camera.
- Open Fill Light on a second screen and place it on the opposite side of your face, angled toward the darker cheek.
- Start with Brightness around the middle of the range, then check your camera preview before raising it.
- Set Color Temperature to match the main light. Mismatched temperatures are the fastest way to make one side of your face look blue or orange.
- Select Go Fullscreen so the whole screen becomes the light source. Move your mouse if you need the controls again.
- Lower or raise Brightness until the shadow side is visible but still slightly darker than the key side.
You'll know it worked when both eyes are visible, the dark side of your face still has shape, and the Fill Light screen is not visible in the camera frame.
To leave fullscreen, press Escape or move your mouse and select Exit Fullscreen.
What each control does
| Control | Range | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 10–100 | 80 | Overall output of the Fill Light. Lower values keep shadows natural; higher values reduce contrast and can make the image look flatter. |
| Color Temperature | Daylight, Cool White, Neutral, Warm White | Daylight | The color of the light. Daylight is 6500K, Cool White is 5000K, Neutral is 4000K, and Warm White is 3000K. |
Those are the only two settings. The shape of the light is fixed: it is brightest toward the upper-left of the screen and softens toward the edges, with a very gentle pulse. There is no position control, so aim it by moving the screen itself.
You can also add a logo from the Logo tab. The logo is remembered in this browser on this device; Brightness and Color Temperature reset when you reload.
Common setups
- Key light plus fill on two screens. Put Key Light 30–45 degrees to one side at higher brightness, then place Fill Light on the opposite side at Brightness 40–60. This lifts the shadow without erasing it.
- Window on one side of your desk. Put Fill Light on the side away from the window. Use Color Temperature Daylight or Cool White, then adjust Brightness until the window side is still the brighter side.
- Office lamp with warm bulbs. Set Color Temperature to Warm White and keep Brightness around 30–50. If your camera still looks orange, reduce the lamp or switch the fill to Neutral.
- Single-device fallback. If you only have one laptop, place the browser window beside your call window and keep the call window small. It will not be as strong as fullscreen on a second screen, but it can soften one-sided shadows.
Troubleshooting
My image looks flat, not professional. The fill is too strong or too close to the camera axis. Lower Brightness until the shadow side is visible but not identical to the key side. If it still looks flat, move the fill screen farther to the side.
One side of my face is still too dark. The fill screen is too dim, too far away, or aimed past you. Raise Brightness gradually, move the screen closer, or turn it so it faces the shadow side of your face. If the screen is small, distance matters more than the exact value.
One side of my face looks blue or yellow. The fill does not match your main light. Change Color Temperature until both sides of your face look like the same white balance. If your camera app supports white-balance lock, set the lights first and lock it after the image settles.
The light seems to breathe or pulse on camera. That gentle pulse is built into Fill Light. Lower Brightness or move the screen a little farther back so it stops showing up in your camera preview. If you need light that never moves at all, use Ring Light or Key Light instead.
The controls disappeared in fullscreen. In fullscreen, the controls fade out after a few seconds without mouse movement. Move your mouse to bring back the settings button, then adjust Brightness or Color Temperature.
Next steps
Use Key Light with Fill Light when you want a controlled two-light setup, or switch to Ring Light when you want more even, shadowless light from one screen.