etzee

Camera, light and sound for a live show

A phone, a window and something to prop it on. What actually ruins a show is backlight, shake and echo.

The Metzee team13 Oct 20261 min read

You already own everything you need. The three things that ruin a show are free to fix.

Light

Face the window. Item between you and the daylight, not with the window behind it. Backlight turns your stock into a silhouette and no amount of talking fixes it.

Do not mix light. A yellow bulb and daylight together makes colours that are not real, and a buyer who receives a different colour than they saw has a legitimate complaint.

Evening shows need a lamp, placed in front of the item rather than above it.

Camera

Prop it. Books, a tin, a cheap clamp. Handheld reads as chaotic and makes detail impossible to judge.

Frame the table, not the room. The item should fill the frame when you hold it up.

Clean the lens. It is a phone that lives in a pocket.

Sound

Underrated, and the most common reason people leave.

A hard room echoes. Soft things help — a curtain, a rug, even a blanket out of shot.

Get closer to the phone than feels natural, or use earphones with a mic.

Connection

Upload matters more than download for streaming. Test it before the show, not during. Wired or close to the router beats the far room.

Close other apps. A hot phone throttles, and a throttled phone drops the stream.

Questions people ask

Do I need a ring light?

No. A window is better. A lamp is enough for evenings.

Can I use a proper camera?

You can. Most sellers never need to.

Why does my stream keep dropping?

Upload speed, a hot phone, or wifi distance. In that order.

Should I use two devices?

Many experienced hosts do — one filming, one for the chat. It is a comfort, not a requirement.

Next: what to say on camera.

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