Apple has made some significant advancements in this area
Secrets of Sonoma
EVERY MAC MODEL (except the mini and the Mac Pro) has a built–in webcam, and even screenless Macs benefit from a 12MP Ultra Wide camera if you pair them with an Apple Studio Display. In macOS Sonoma, Apple has paid attention to the camera with a range of new and improved features.
1 Studio Light
If you have an Apple silicon Mac, you can use the Studio Light feature directly from your Mac’s webcam. This increases the lighting on your face, and dims the background. In a video chat app, click on the camera icon —the white video camera on a green background, found in the menu bar. In the menu, click on Studio Light to turn the effect on and off. Click on the right–facing chevron to the right of Studio Light to open a slider that lets you increase and decrease the effect.
2 Portrait, for background blur
Also found in this menu is the Portrait option. Again, this can be activated and deactivated by clicking it —the icon to its left turns green when it’s on —and the chevron once again opens and closes a slider that sets the strength of the effect. Portrait mode blurs the background, while keeping your face and body sharp. It’s ideal when you need to video chat but your room is untidy.
3 Center Stage
With a recent Apple silicon Mac and either a built–in camera or an iPhone 12 or later, connected to your Mac using Continuity Camera, you can enjoy the new features offered by Center Stage. Again, click on the green and white camera icon in the top bar while using your webcam. Is there a Center Stage option at the top of the menu? If not, try connecting your iPhone and using it as an external camera. To do this, in the Video menu in the top bar, you’ll see a Camera section. Click on your iPhone here. You should now see the Center Stage option when you click on the top bar’s green camera icon. Again, turn the feature on and off by clicking on it; a green icon next to Center Stage means it's on. Turn it off and the icon turns gray.
