Why Your Stream Looks Washed Out: Color Correction 101

Let’s talk about why your stream looks like it was filmed through a potato soaked in dishwater.

You spent money on a decent webcam, but everything is:

• Grey
• Blurry
• Lacking contrast

Congratulations. You’ve discovered the default webcam experience.

💡 Why Does This Happen?

🔧 1. Default Camera Settings Suck

Manufacturers assume you’re using it for Zoom calls under fluorescent office lighting, not broadcasting your face to dozens of goblins on Twitch.

🔧 2. OBS Doesn’t Auto-Fix It

OBS Studio is powerful, but it’s not psychic. Your camera feed comes in exactly as your device outputs it – washed out and flat.

🎨 Color Correction 101: The Fix

Here’s how to stop looking like a Victorian ghost.

✅ Step 1. Add a Filter

In OBS:

1. Right click your webcam source
2. Click Filters
3. Add Color Correction

✅ Step 2. Adjust These Settings

🔹 Gamma: Slightly down
- Reduces milky greyness

🔹 Contrast: Slightly up
- Adds depth to shadows

🔹 Brightness: Careful here
- If you raise contrast, you may need to lower brightness to compensate

🔹 Saturation: Increase until you don’t look like you have scurvy
- Adds life back to your face

🔹 Hue Shift: Leave alone unless you want to cosplay as a Smurf

✅ Step 3. Add Sharpness (Optional)

Under Filters → Sharpen:

• Helps cheap webcams look slightly less like they’re broadcasting from a Minecraft block.

💡 Step 4. Lighting Matters More Than Filters

Even the best color correction can’t fix bad lighting.

✔ Key tips:

• Use a soft front light (ring lights are cheap and effective)
• Avoid strong backlighting unless you’re aiming for Mysterious Shadow Demon Vibes™

🎬 Final Thoughts

Your camera isn’t trash – your settings probably are.

Because at the end of the day, viewers want to see your facial expressions, not guess them like it’s a CAPTCHA.

Now excuse me while I go adjust my saturation so I stop looking like I died in Oregon Trail.