Samuel Levinson Trade Publication

There are times when you cannot find the best location for photographing a subject in a given area. The picture we have in our mind may not necessarily translate into reality. We may have even thought of a location for the subject; however, due to constraints such as money and time we are unable to reach a preferred destination. We may think that our desired photograph can not become a reality. However, the old constraints no longer hold true in todays world of photography and digital effects. s technology becomes more advanced and readily available, with constant upgrades and lower prices, soon professional!grade effects can be available for everyone. "n this situation, if you wanted your subject to appear on a beach and did not want to purchase a plane ticket, then chroma key #also known as green screen$ technology may be used to achieve the desired effect. "n this article, " will e%plain how anyone with a camera and the correct software may create photographs that are eye!catching, with the possibility of generating great interest and creating a masterpiece. s any photographer knows, lighting is one of the most important elements. nd so it is true when you are working with a green screen. "n fact, it may be even more important to have proper lighting when using this techni&ue as compared to others. With some situations, lighting may be auto!corrected using software; however, when shooting a green screen, it is not the case. There must be the correct lighting to achieve the effect. "f your image appears to be too light or too dark, then the software may not allow the user to insert a background behind their subject. 'y suggestion is to find a well!lit area, with even lighting. "t is important to have the light source near the screen, or at the very least to have the light shining towards your subject. " have seen e%amples of green screen effects that appear grainy, similar to a

television that is not properly adjusted. " always conclude that the lighting is problematic in such situations that produce a grainy photograph. (nce your screen is set up, and your subject is in place #for e%ample, your subject may be a person, an animal, or an inanimate object$, then it is the appropriate time to light the area. )or indoor photography, my suggestion for lighting a green screen is to use multiple sources of light, such as two or more lamps. )or e%ample, to the left of the subject, a lamp could be positioned over the green screen, and an e&ually positioned lamp to the right could also be used. The value of the screens color must be preserved, which is why lighting is one of the most important elements of the process. While using multiple sources of light is a great way to ensure that the screen will be lit, you do not want to make the surroundings too bright. "f the area is overly bright, the color may appear washed out once the photo is viewed on your computer. Therefore, the key is to find a balance between the color that the camera will be capturing and the lighting that surrounds your screen. *ou may need to e%periment with the green screen, by taking several pictures with varying degrees of light. That way, if you misjudge the appropriate level of light, you will have other versions of a photograph to use for the project. When attempting to provide even lighting, you may be advised to place lights in the background behind the screen as well. +,,!watt light openface on each side of the

screen, with a -,,!watt pro light may be good choices. These are not the essential lights to use, only suggestions. The best techni&ue is to make the lighting as bright and even as possible, but not so bright to the point that the color is washed out of the image. .%perimenting is the key, as everyone who attempts to light the screen will be taking their photographs in different locations with various sources of light.

nother issue to think about when setting up a green screen is the possibility of shadows. When viewing the subject of a photograph, if shadows appear on the screen, it would be best to readjust the position of the lights. The reason for this adjustment would be to eliminate a contrast in the color of the screen. What may look like a slight difference in color could potentially be problematic for the software that you may use for the green screen effect. shadow, although not a complete change in color, could be

interpreted by software as an object or an entirely different color in the photograph. "t may work in producing the effect, but then you may encounter a grainy part of the image. This grain would be even more noticeable if the image was a part of a video, as the grain would appear to be moving. This is not to persuade you to become obsessed with lighting, but only to give you the information needed to perfect your techni&ue. With the lighting under control, we are now ready to e%plore the screen itself. The reason green is used is that it is a contrast to human skin tones. Therefore, when the green is electronically removed from the background, it will not affect the person #unless they are wearing a clothing item that is similar in color to the screen itself$. /ome software programs allow any color to be used for chroma key effects. 0reen #or in some cases blue$ is the common color, because as mentioned it does not have an affect on human skin tones when it is electronically removed to allow an image to be placed in the background. "f for some reason you wanted to use a color such as orange or purple for your screen, you may do so, but only if the program recogni1es this color. 2eon green may be your best choice for the screens color, as it is often the choice of film producers seeking to place their subjects in out!of!this!world environments. When shooting a subject in front of a green screen, you should imagine the background you desire in its

place. "t would be helpful in deciding on the area in which the subject occupies the screen, or when dealing with a human subject, a certain pose could be decided on. The material of the screen itself is something to take into consideration. Two of the best materials for a green screen background include poster board and fabric. "f you decide to use green fabric for your screen, you will need to be careful to stretch the fabric so that it resembles a smooth surface. ny wrinkles or bunched sections will interfere with the &uality of the screen. When hanging up the fabric, wrinkles may be smoothed out before taking the photograph. " think poster board is a better choice, because it wont need to be smoothed. However, a problem with poster board is that if it is creased, it is nearly impossible to remove the crease. *ou would want your green screen to be uniform in color and shape. Those traveling to locations and having a need for compressed space may want to use fabric. The fabric may be better when it comes to storage, as it can be folded, unlike poster board. .conomic decisions may also be a factor, depending on the budget for your project. /tore prices may vary; therefore, you may want to compare the prices of selecting green poster board versus green fabric. "t is also easier to use one large piece of fabric, by having several yards of it cut from a bolt, as opposed to trying to locate a particularly large piece of poster board. "t would not be practical to tape or glue poster board together, and the separate pieces may be noticeable. /maller subjects, such as a wristwatch or model airplane, would be the proper si1e to appear in front of a piece of poster board. s for larger subjects, such as people, they may be more suited to having fabric as their backdrop. The material used is ultimately at the discretion of the photographer, based on the subject. n unconventional way to create a green screen backdrop, that does not include a

physical backdrop or lighting, is that of the digital green screen. "t would re&uire an entirely different set of skills on the part of the photographer, and would not take place during the photo shoot. "f you used this techni&ue, you would not need an actual screen at all. This may seem confusing, but it may be accomplished if you have a software application such as 'icrosoft 3aint. /ometimes the simple route to accomplishing an effect is the best way, but not always, and as in this case one would start the 3aint application and import their photograph. (nce the photograph is imported into the 3aint program, the photographer would need to select the color that is neon green. The ne%t step in this process is to carefully paint the background this solid color, paying attention to the details of the person, animal, or object that you wish to feature in the photograph. The end result before inserting the background would be the subject of the photo, surrounded by the color that you painted. "t is an easy way to achieve a green screen for a subject, and if you have the software to insert a background, you will most likely be successful in achieving the effect. However, you would still be re&uired to use efficient photography techni&ues when capturing the image before painting the green screen. With a green screen successfully displayed behind the subject in the photo, it would now be the moment in the process to use the chroma key to transform the green background into the location of the photographers choice. "n this e%ample, " will be using 3innacle /tudio, a program primarily designed for video editing, which allows for chroma key effects. The user should start by placing the photograph #in this situation, the foreground image$ in the overlay track of the video timeline. The main video timeline, above the overlay, would contain the image that you would wish to insert into the photographs background. The foreground picture should then be selected, and by using

the picture!in!picture and chroma key tool from the video toolbo% for this program, the key color may be selected. )rom this step, the video transparency bar underneath the image may be moved until the image in the overlay track appears on top of the other picture. 4epending on the lighting techni&ue, including how well the color matches the programs interpretation, the subject of the original photograph will now be present in front of the background of choice. The green screen effect #or chroma key$ has been achieved. With the capability of placing a subject virtually anywhere with green screen technology, the possibilities are nearly endless. 'y best advice for anyone who wants to produce a professional!grade green screen technology photograph is to gather the needed materials and software. fter that, you should e%periment with the technology. 5se different lighting techni&ues and materials for the screen, and anything that would apply to this process that is convenient for the photographer. With the digital background inserted into the photograph via green screen, you may create images that are inspired by your own personality, for recreation or professional use. When you have the skill of a green screen mastered, photos may be enhanced beyond the materials that are physically present.