Remapping Resource: "The Eyes are the Windows to the--" WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT ME?!

A new (to me) style of webcam that makes me feel like the know-it-all Gen X again.

I just had my first Substack Live with Jenny Skoog Mondesir and didn’t love how my webcam made me look. It might’ve been fine for corporate meetings where we’re lucky if anyone turns on their cameras let alone makes eye contact, but it’s not fine for this post-layoff era when I want to connect. Instead, as you can see above, I’m talking to Jenny who’s apparently in the corner. She’s not getting my eyes…and the audience certainly isn’t either. Ugh.

Really, it’s also that I felt like I was everyone’s parent answering the video call with the camera looking at the underside of my chin. This is the equivalent.

I knew there had to be a product to fix this, though, and not just that we’re training ourselves to treat the camera as if it’s our friend. We’re too far along into this post-pandemic world (after everyone got video conferencing software and hardware) to not have a product that does most of the work for us. I did my research and found a few options. Some are center-mount cameras, some involved clear acrylic camera mounts so you can see through the the mount to the notes/person you’re talking to…like a teleprompter.

I needed to find one that also mounted on a curved monitor, so I chose the Center Cam V2. It’s small, it dangles down my screen like a bug, and I have no problem looking around it to see the person I’m talking to and the notes I’m reading. It seems to be the simplest of the options. And it’s very flexible in length and angle, too.

Here’s how small it is. TINY.

The reviews are all over the board, but it’s better than what I have. Do let me know if you have a better option for a center-mounted webcam, though. I’m always interested in the better-built mousetrap.

Affiliate link: Center Cam V2

Disclosure

This article includes products I personally used in real‑life contexts. I have purchased all of them; some after significant product research…and some on a whim. Some links are affiliate links, meaning I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only include items that were relevant to the situation described and share both benefits and limitations.