Digital Background – Digital Photography

By Fabian Barajas

If you love photography and have wondered if digital backgrounds are worth the hassle, please consider the following information. Digital backgrounds for photographers have been around for nearly ten years. Perhaps you seen them advertised at the photography websites you visit. The following will answer some of the questions you may have.

What is the Process for Using Digital Backgrounds?

Basically, you take a picture of your subject and remove or extract them from the background with photo editing software such as Photoshop, then paste them onto a new digital background of your choice. These backgrounds are generally pictures of landscapes, famous locations, churches, or even holiday related graphical themes such as birthdays, Christmas, etc.

Will Any Picture I Have Work With a Digital Background?

You can use whatever picture you want, but, you get the best results when the picture of your subject was taken in front of a solid color. This will make the extraction process so much faster and easier.

Do I Need to Use a Chromakey Screen?

Many people mistakenly think that they need to purchased a chromakey screen such as green or blue to work with digital backgrounds. Though this is certainly true for video work, it is not true of photography. Sure chromakey screens will work, but you can achieve great results with just a solid color background such as a white bare wall. The point to consider is the extraction becomes easier when the subject is not wearing the same color as the color as the background. For instance, if you are using a green chromakey screen, then you would want to avoid having your subject wear any clothing that is the same shade of green as your screen. The same goes for blue screens or a white wall or muslin.

How Long do Extractions Take?

If the picture of the subject was taken in front of a chromakey screen or white wall, then extractions are usually completed in less than five minutes.

Additional Benefit

An additional benefit when working with backgrounds is that it is a low cost way for a person to experiment with portrait photography without the large expense of purchasing custom made muslins which can cost over five hundred dollars in some cases. Aside from purchasing ready made digital backgrounds, one can easily create their own with either their camera or Photoshop.