You gotta love Strobist. I stumbled upon this website, and it's the perfect example of what the blogging is all about: taking a very small aspect of the human experience, and refining it through sustained and intelligent commentary.

In this case, the corner of human experience Strobist has taken is camera lighting. Or, more specifically:

At Strobist, our goal is to promote more effective use of small, shoe-mount flashes.

Whilst the connection with Skype is not obvious, as anyone who consistently makes Skype cam to cam calls will testify decent lighting is absolutely key to making this a useful method of communication. So today David at Strobist focused his laser-like attention on how to light a decent camera call properly.

As you can see from the comparison above, with a couple of simple tweaks you can turn yourself from looking like some kind of scary cyber pest into the model of dashing web loveliness simply by ensuring an adequate light supply and making sure you appropriately set the lighting controls on your camera.

I really encourage you yo read the entire post, which is essential reading not only for the perenially vain but for anyone who wants to have a half-decent conversation over their cam with friends or family.

In a nutshell, the main points of David's exhaustive post are these:

• Don't Use Your Monitor as a Light Source
• Soften the Light
• Kill the Computer's Reflection in Your Eyes
• Give Your Webcam What it Wants (worryingly subtitled: Here's a little secret: Sometimes, when I am using my webcam, I like to clinch my buttocks tightly together and see how red I can make my face. " Don't ask....:)
• Clean Up Your Background
• Lots of diet and exercise
• A visit to a plastic surgeon

Whilst the last two require slightly more planning and investment, David's tips should really get you well on the way to sorting out those washed out psycho web pest disasters and ensure that you don't give the dog nightmares next time you Skype home. And for a completely comprehensive view on the relative merits of webcams, Cowboy Frank is the utterly undisputed source of knowledge on such matters. Also check out the Skype-certified webcams available in the Skype Store, in the UK, Europe, and the US.

 Above: Cowboy Frank.