Why are words backwards in videos?

When words are backwards in videos, that is not the best viewer experience, but it’s an easy fix for many live-streaming podcasters. But first, why are words backwards in videos to begin with?

That happens because the camera is mirrored. To make things even worse, shooting video with the iPad Pro, the front-facing camera, looks like it’s shooting the text backwards. But then it looks correct when you look at the saved video.

When it comes to live-streaming or recording in softwares like Restream, they usually have a “mirror camera” toggle switch,

Mirrored makes the text backwards and untoggling it makes it readable for the viewer. Getting ready for a live stream, I typically ask the other person on the episode to see if they can read the text. That usually works.

Read next: Do podcasts have video?

Consider not having any text on or behind you

The biggest question, of course, is do you really need the live text on screen that is viewable? If you are wearing a special T-shirt, there might be a reason to have it. Or if you’re trying to showcase your book it can make sense to have a copy behind you. But on my live streams, I just put the book on the screen anyways like this so that additional live picture isn’t really necessary anyways.

So it’s good to consider:  Why do we need natural text on the video anyway? Sometimes it might be a poster behind somebody which it is in my studio, but consider if it’s truly necessary. And if you decide it is necessary, make sure that it is readable.