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| Tip #4 |
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| Using a Chromakey |
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| Copyright © 2004 Photobacks.com. All Rights Reserved. |
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When using a Chromakey, you'll be photographing your subject in front of a solid color screen, usually bright green, blue, black, or white, in a studio with great lighting. Then, in the digital process, you'll use your photo/graphics editing software to replace that solid color background behind your subject with any digital backdrop you choose. We recommend trying different color screens (or even sheets) and then trying them with digital backdrops, before you buy, if possible. That way, you can see which works best for you. We normally shoot against a white color screen, as we find it's the easiest color for us to key-out, when we take our images to the computer. Green can sometimes leave a glow that's difficult to disguise or remove. Most people don't have bright white skin, or hair, and as long as they're not wearing bright white clothing, you should be fine with a white color screen for chromakey. Also, we find that it's easier when working with hair, especially if there's any white "glow" left behind your subject that's difficult to erase -- as you can easily mask that with your graphics software by adding a white drop shadow effect behind them. (Give it a try and you'll see! And, green drop shadows don't look great most of the time!)
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We recommend that when you set-up your color screen that your light is bright (but not over powering), clean and balanced with the subject, and that there are no shadows of your subject being projected on your screen. You'll want a clean/even color behind your subject. Don't have your subject closer than two feet from your color screen, perhaps 5 to 6 feet in front. Also, placing a light behind the subject can help control any color from the screen that could "spill" in the photo. Your color background should also be as flat as possible, or stretched out with no folds or wrinkles if it's made of a softer fabric.
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