This tutorial will show you how to take photos in front of a green screen (or any color) and replace the background with an image of your choice. You can also add overlays to give your images depth or to simply add branding.
Green Screen in PBU can be used with photos, Page Designer, GIFs, and Zoom-Scape. Video, Morph, and VR360 can also use Green Screen, but the controls for those Green Screens are in their respective tabs or edit windows. However, the controls are nearly identical.
The following video will give a brief overview of Green Screen functions (or use the written instructions below):
1. Open PBU Settings by pressing S or double clicking on the bottom right corner of the screen. Click the Green Screen tab and click the button that says Create New Green Screen.
2. At the top of the Window that pops up, name your green screen. Add a JPEG background and/or PNG overlay by clicking the Browse buttons. Note: For 4x6 images, use graphics that are 1200x1800 or 1800x1200 pixels in size.
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3. The Photo Holder is the area in the middle that will show the image taken by the camera. By default the Photo Holder will be set to fill the frame. You can place it wherever you like by clicking and dragging it around. You can resize and rotate it by manipulating the green circular handle. You will see red indicators showing angle of the Photo Holder and relative size to the full green screen image.
You can also move the Photo Holder with these keyboard shortcuts:
- Move Left, Right, Up, and Down with the arrow keys
- Increase the size with N and M
- Rotate with Z and X
- Center with C and Right-click
4. Once you are satisfied with the Photo Holder placement, press OK to save your green screen and go back to the main Green Screen window.
5. To apply the photo holder and color settings from one Green Screen to another, Right-click and select Copy Settings, then Right-Click and Paste Settings to apply them to another Green Screen, or Set All to apply them to every Green Screen in the folder.
6. Technically, Green Screen is called Chromakey, as you can remove or "key out" any color, not just green. Green is most commonly used because it is the farthest color from human skin tone. Therefore, a green background makes it much easier for a computer to distinguish between the background and a person's face.
The Chromakey settings for PBU are on the right side of the main Green Screen window.
Note: The Chromakey settings in this window ONLY affect green screens used with photos, Page Designer, GIF, and Zoom-Scape.
Video, Morph, and VR360 have their own Chromakey settings in their respective tabs and edit windows.
7. You can make Chromakey adjustments for both DSLR and Webcam. Adjustments for DSLR should always be made for BOTH Live view and Photo.
Single click the thumbnail of your Green Screen at the bottom of the window, and move the Chromakey sliders to see the effects. You can use the mouse or arrow keys to make adjustments.
Key color determines what color will be removed and replaced with the background. You can set it manually or with the Pick Color eye dropper by clicking it in the Green Screen Preview window.
Threshold determines the amount of colors removed relative the the Key color. Setting Threshold to 0 removes no colors, and setting it to 100 removes all colors.
Softness is a finer adjustment that mostly affects the edges of your Chromakey.
Gray can help the appearance of dark colors on guests' clothing, but is usually set to 0.
8. Once you're satisfied with your Key, select Auto Apply or User Select in the Green Screen Mode box at the top, and click the Select button on the thumbnail of your Green Screen.
