Although your personality is your most important asset as a live broadcaster, having some simple gear to make your stream quality as high as it can be is very important, and will go a long way towards helping you be successful. Here are some of the pieces of gear that we highly recommend:
Phone Tripod
The single most important piece of gear you can have for BIGO. Without one, you will either be forced to constantly hold your phone in your hand, which often makes the camera very shaky and not always enjoyable to watch, or you will have to find ways to prop your phone up in place, which can be frustrating, time-consuming, and not very reliable. It’s also very jarring for viewers if your phone suddenly falls over. Having a phone tripod solves all of these problems and gives you tremendously more freedom for what you can physically do during your streams.
Our recommendation: https://amzn.to/2TKdUbO
A solid, affordable phone tripod that doubles as a selfie stick!
Lighting
The second most important element of your stream is lighting. Good lighting can often be the sole difference between a stream that looks good and a stream that looks terrible. Dark streams are less enjoyable to watch and make you look worse on camera than you would otherwise, so experiment in different locations of your home to see what parts of the space look best. If you live in a place with a lot of windows and natural sunlight, try to pick a specific spot to be your “live” area and set up your phone in front of the window, facing you, so you’re nice and bright and not back-lit.
If your living space doesn’t have many windows or doesn’t get much sunlight, we recommend investing in some lighting equipment if you don’t already have some. In general, try to avoid overhead lighting (such as traditional ceiling-mounted lights) as it tends to be very unflattering on camera. Even a small standing lamp with a pose-able neck pointed directly at you would be highly preferable to overhead lighting. Either way, though, it’s a good idea to invest in some standing lights or a ring light, and they don’t have to break the bank either!
Our recommendations: https://amzn.to/325s63L
An affordable ring light that also doubles as a phone tripod!
https://amzn.to/321G7Q7
https://amzn.to/3mL28u6
Panel lights are professional gear that will go a long way towards making a dedicated stream area look great!
This ring light is on the expensive side, but it’s very powerful!
If you’re on a budget, this ring light is cheap and clips onto your phone!
Streaming Device
It is also recommended that you have a decent phone or tablet with a good camera – a bad camera will make your live look bad. Of course, we understand that phones and tablets are expensive – that’s why if your phone doesn’t have a great camera, it’s even more important than usual to invest in some good lighting. That will make a big difference, even with a bad camera!