THE DUO JOURNAL ·
Lighting for iPhone video: a simple teleprompter setup at home
Start with light in front of you, place the rear recording lens near eye level, and check your face while reading from your actual presenting position. A window or one suitable video light can be a useful starting point. Fix the room and light before assuming that choosing 4K will fix a dark recording.
This guide helps you arrange and compare a home lighting setup for a scripted, talking-head video. For camera selection and recording formats, use the separate rear-camera teleprompter guide. The protocol below is a suggested exercise, not a report of equipment we tested.
Choose a repeatable place before adding equipment.
Look at the room at the time you intend to record. Which direction does the daylight come from? Can you keep the same seat, camera position and background for the whole explanation? A location that works in the morning may look different later.
Start with a simple background and enough space to keep the phone secure. Put the rear lens toward you and leave the reading display visible. Move the chair and phone together when changing the direction of the light; do not solve a shadow by turning so far away that you can no longer address the lens.
The University of Aberdeen’s talking-head guidance recommends light coming from the camera direction or slightly to one side, and warns against a bright source behind the presenter. Use that as a starting arrangement, then judge your own preview.
Setup one: use a window in front of you.
- Face the window and place the phone between you and it, with the rear camera toward your face. Keep the phone and its support out of the main path of light where possible.
- Turn slightly toward one side of the window if that gives a more useful face shape. Check both eyes and your mouth, rather than choosing a fixed angle by rule.
- If direct sun makes a bright stripe across your face, change your position or use an existing sheer curtain. Do not compensate by making the rest of the image excessively dark.
- Check the background. If the brightest window is behind your head, rotate the arrangement so it helps illuminate you instead.
- Recheck after a long pause or a weather change. A successful preview before lunch does not establish identical light for an afternoon take.
Keep a short setup note: seat location, phone height, window side and curtain position. This makes the next recording easier to reconstruct without buying anything first.
Setup two: one light when daylight is unreliable.
If you record after sunset or need repeatable light, try one video light with an appropriate diffuser, placed in front and slightly above your eye line. Start near the camera direction, then adjust its position while watching the preview. Use the fixture’s intended accessories and keep supports stable.
A bare lamp close to the lens is not automatically soft light. Canon’s video lighting notes explain that softboxes, reflectors and umbrellas increase the apparent source area and soften illumination. You do not need to reproduce a three-light studio to begin assessing one light.
Switch other room lights off individually and compare the color on each side of your face. If one side appears orange and the other much cooler, simplify the combination before adjusting app controls. For a practical example of mixed-light cleanup and wall bounce, see Wistia’s webcam setup guide. Keep fabric and improvised coverings away from hot fixtures.
If you wear glasses, watch for a reflection covering your eyes. Change the light’s height or move it farther to one side while keeping your reading position comfortable. Wistia’s lighting-on-the-fly guide discusses source placement and glasses reflections. A ring light is one option, not a requirement for teleprompter recording.
Compare arrangements without changing everything.
Use the same short paragraph, seat, camera, framing and available recording format for each comparison. Change only one lighting variable at a time: for example, curtain open versus partly closed, or light near the lens versus slightly to one side.
Write a small comparison log with four fields: arrangement, face visibility, reflections and consistency. “Both eyes visible, bright patch on forehead” is more useful than “looks cinematic.” Choose the arrangement that lets the viewer see your expression without distracting bright areas or changes during the explanation.
Free in Teleprompter Duo includes timed rehearsal and one completed recording; further recordings require Pro. Compare preview arrangements and rehearse before using that completed recording. If multiple recorded comparisons matter to you, check the Free and Pro recording limits first.
Check the actual Duo controls and saved result.
Teleprompter Duo’s camera settings include exposure adjustment and “Lock focus and exposure,” where supported by the selected camera. Set these before recording; camera settings stay disabled during capture. The focus/exposure lock does not establish a white-balance lock or manual shutter control.
Stabilize your light, settle into your presenting position and check focus before locking anything. Recheck if you change your distance or move the light. An exposure lock is not a substitute for making your face visible in the first place.
Rear main camera capture supports up to 4K (3840 × 2160), with formats dependent on the camera and device. Resolution describes the recording dimensions; it does not establish that the lighting is good. Review a saved take for face visibility, focus and reflections, not only the resolution label.
Keep the words near the recording lens and use a readable column. See the Duo setup guide and natural eye-contact guide for reading placement. If a product moves through the scene, rehearse that movement with the product demo script template so it does not block your face or change the light unexpectedly.
Final lighting checklist.
- Light reaches the front of your face; a bright background does not dominate it.
- Your eyes and mouth remain visible from your actual reading position.
- Glasses reflections and harsh bright patches have been checked in the preview.
- Mixed room lights have been compared rather than all left on by default.
- Phone, seat and light positions stay stable through the explanation.
- Focus and exposure have been checked before recording and after any setup change.
- The saved clip has been reviewed at a useful viewing size, with sound as well as picture.
Still evaluating an app? Use the iPhone Duo teleprompter buying guide to compare the whole reading-and-recording workflow, then visit the Teleprompter Duo app destination for current availability.