professorwheeze Loc: Maine, USA

Does any one here have experience using "green screen" software. It is used to allow the subject, usually a person(s) image be placed in different kinds of back grounds. Or has anyone experience with using physical green (or blue) screens as for TV. The concept seems simple but I can't get the hang of either technique.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Green screen is overrated, IMO. I would much rather shoot on gray as it is easier to extract an image if shot agains gray. Much less color contamination than the green screen and better separation than if shot on white or black.
But just my opinion - I realize lots of people like the green screen thing.

professorwheeze Loc: Maine, USA

Thank you for your response. Ray

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

Hello,
I use Green/Blue screen tech for Broadcast/film purpose on a regular basis. Is there something specific you would like to know?

Captainc, I read about your profile shot (I Believe it was set up and the student clicked to preserve?).
Love the lighting!

jimberton Loc: Michigan's Upper Peninsula

totally agree..i shoot a lot of green screen..but recently found that gray works much better...and i use primatte by digital anarchy to remove backgrounds automatically. primatte doesn't care if it's ble, green, white, black..etc..you pick the background color and it erases it.
guess i got tired of correcting the green overspill.

i have used greenscreen for quite a number of years....and the only way it works perfectly is to make sure your subject or model is at least 10-15 feet in front of the screen and the screen is lit properly. i don't have the luxury of that many square feet anymore. so all shots are done against gray..and there is no overspill..even if the product or model is 1 foot from it.

if it's a fun photo and you are not charging a customer...green overspill is ok..i guess.

i know over 100 professional photographers and not 1 uses green screen.
my exboss has a tshirt printing biz in an outside market and he uses greenscreen to put photos on tshirts and he makes a lot of money....but he does no cleanup and on a heat transfer, overspill doesn't matter. he's a one-shot amatuer and his photos could never be mounted on a wall.

i still have the green screen on a side wall in my studio..but i have been using gray..so i guess it's grayscreen!! the technique is the same.
my clients have a lot of local places they would like to be photographed....but if they do not have the funds...i have a complete set of photos of all the local attractions i can put them in. i ran around and made a huge photo collection of all the local cool stuff.

so i use the technique at least once a week...but i use grayscreen!!!

billybob40

I use green screen wizard it great, try his 30 day trail, and see if it works for you.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

This is good info... I was in the market to purchase a green screen. Perhaps now I should reevaluate. I know there is a reason for green as I've seen it in news studios for weather persons. Can someone give me a quick lesson? Thanks.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Now this is just my opinion. The green thing works fine for TV as it is far from any skin tones and most clothing. So you can tell the electronic magic to "look through" the green. It absolutely can work for photography - tons of people use it.

But for shooting a subject you later want to extract, there is often color contamination that is a bear to remove. If you keep the subject far enough in front, it seems to help that a lot, but it does require more shooting room space. The gray just seems to work better for that purpose. I attended class by one to the shooters who does this for a living and he always uses gray - or white if it is not well lit so it appears gray.

The idea is to shoot against a background that makes the job of the selection/extraction tools easier. Heck, use purple if you want.

billybob40

Go to greenscreenwizard.com he has lesson. And youtube.com has 100s. If you want to know or do something go to you tube.

professorwheeze Loc: Maine, USA

Thank you for your direction. I'm heading over to the site now. Ray

professorwheeze Loc: Maine, USA

Thank you Captain. I had read about using gray screen too but more so green/blue. Will consider your input. Ray

km2000 Loc: NashVegas

And now some considerations to consider.

I use chroma screen everyday... and here's a few tid-bits:

Consider: unless your 'environment' is totally non-reflective, the light from the screen is going to reflect back on to your subject.
Be sure to color balance right on your subject (gray card on the nose). This will help in your all over color cast.

Consider: (in post) crop and garbage matte around your subject. You only need a half inch or so all around, and you software will go so much faster!

Consider: no matter how far you are from your screen, there is no way possible to correct color key wisps of hair and ultra fine details. However you can certainly key them and re-color. (!)

I would dearly love a "one step process" to do this, but alas it requires some work to get it right.

Almost got this one finished! (still got to do the eyes)
As you see, there are single strands of hair.