QUESTIONS ABOUT CHROMAKEYS

What color Chroma key should I use - Blue or Green?
Can I clean the Chroma key if it gets dirty?
How should I light the Chroma key Screen or Background?
What is better - Fabric Chroma key or Paper or Paint?
How to use Photoshop and Chroma key?

QUESTIONS ABOUT ORDERING & SHIPPING

Where do you ship to?
How long does it take to get my order?
Can I return an item if I ordered the wrong item or am not satisfied?

QUESTIONS ABOUT CHROMAKEYS

What color Chroma key should I use - Blue or Green?
Choose a color that is NOT prominent in your subject. For example, if the subject has green clothing on, choose the Blue Chroma key Screen / Backdrop. If the subject has blue clothing, you would then choose the Green Chroma key Screen / Background. Many photographers have both a Blue and Green Chroma key backdrop for this reason.

Can I clean the Chroma key if it gets dirty?
Try to keep your Chroma keys as clean as possible - the less you have to clean them the better. The GREAT feature of our fabric Chromake screens / backgrounds is that they are washable. If it's a small spot - try to spot wash it with warm water and a mild detergent. If it's large or a tuff stain - go ahead and put it in a washing machine (gentle cycle) with a mild laundry detergent. Now don't try that with seamless paper! Also - make sure you don't use a detergent that has bleach in it.

With seamless paper - the only thing you can do is to cut off the paper that has the stain on it and continue using the roll that way until the paper runs out!

With Paint - when it gets dirty ... it's time to paint again!

How should I light the Chroma key Screen or Background?
Remember two things .. (1) Keep the lighting flat on the subject - using two lights at 45 degree angles, (2) make sure there's enough separation or space between the subject and the blue or green screen/background. One of the biggest mistakes is to allow the light spill over. Another advantage of space between the background and the subject is the color of the background won't bleed or spill over onto the subject (you don't want blue or green halos around your subject).

What is better - Fabric Chroma key or Paper or Paint?
They each have their strong points - you'll have to decide what's best for you.

The Fabric is (1) easier to transport and store, (2) easier to shoot and is (3) washable.

Paper is cheaper initially but will have to be replaced more often as it gets damaged (so it can actually end up costing more). Paper is also large and bulky to transport. It's best in a studio and not really good for location work.

Paint is great if you have a studio with a cove. You can paint the cove and have a chroma key the size of the cove. Not all of us have this luxury but it is an option.

How to use Photoshop and Chroma key?

Introduction

Chromakey com positing is a technique that has been used for many years in the TV and film industry for separating actors and presenters from a background, and then adding (com positing) a different background electronically, it is sometimes referred to as matting. Take, for instance, the weatherman that you watched last night on TV, he/she was not actually stood in front of a map with clouds and rain on at all, he/she was, in actual fact, stood in front a plain green background, the map, clouds and rain symbols are set up in a different part of the studio using a separate camera. The final image that we see is a composite image that has had the blue or green background of the presenter replaced by the picture of the maps and symbols, this technique is called Chromakey and is done with in-picture electronic switching between the two cameras.

This technique is just an automated process of making cut-outs, a process we do every day in Photoshop. So, can we harness this techniques to make cut-outs easier in Photoshop?, yes we can, providing we know in advance that we want to make a cut-out of our subject or an object.

Blue or Green is generally chosen as a key color because there is no blue or green in a flesh color, you want to use the a chromakey color that is very saturated and that it is not present in the foreground subject that we want to cut-out. The most effective colors are Blue and Green.

Materials

As we have already stated the blue or green screen that is to be positioned behind the subject has to be very saturated in color.

Technique

Step 1: Select the Color of the Screen to Use

Choose Blue or Green – based on which color will NOT be present in the subject you are photographing or videoing.

Step 2: Setting Up and Lighting the Screen

There is nothing magic, or complex, in setting up and lighting the scene, just a few simple rules that we have listed below:

• Light the subject separately to the blue screen, but ensure that, if anything, the subject is NOT illuminated more than the background screen.

• Ensure that the blue or green screen is evenly illuminated. Don't just guess this, it is the most important part of setting up the lighting, check it with a light meter. If this is not correct it will be more difficult to extract the subject at a later stage.

• Light the screen with 500 watt quartz lights, positioned one at each side of the screen, angled at 45 degrees towards the screen, and about 3 to 4 feet in front. Don't over light the screen as this will wash out the color and the saturation of the color will be diminished. If you are using flash lighting - use a light meter to make sure you lighting is flat and even (no variations) accross the entire background.

• Place your subject as far away as possible from the screen, 4 feet or more,  as this will prevent color spill from the blue screen being visible on your subject. If you see spill or light falling onto the subject - block off or "gobo" the light causing the spill.

• Light the subject with a soft light by using two sets of lights, position the lights left and right of the subject. Again, 500 watt quartz lights can be used pointing away from the subject into umbrellas, and angle them to bounce the reflected light onto the subject.

The subject may be lit to give a dramatic effect, however, you have to be careful that this does destroy the lighting on the background screen.

• Place, if possible, a back light on the subject as this will help to control the amount of color spill from the blue screen. A straw or yellow gel may be helpful in accomplishing this, as yellow will help kill the blue color (if shooting a blue chromakey).  If the amount of backlighting is too hot then the apparent rim lighting will become obvious and spoil the shot, so be careful not to over do it.

And that's it, its easy, just a few basic dos and don'ts! Now you are ready to shoot.

Step 3: Take the shot

Once the scene has been set up all that remains to be done is to take the shot.  Meter on the subject and zoom in on the subject as much as possible, we know this is not always possible or that it will not give the composition that you want, but it will help to define the edges around the subject. 

Step 4: Making the Cut-out in Photoshop

Use the Magic wand tool or Color Range feature to select the Blue or Green background in you imported image. If you got the illumination right the background should be selected easily.

QUESTIONS ABOUT ORDERING & SHIPPING

Where do you ship to?
We ship to the US and many countries overseas. If you are interested in overseas shipping - please email us for pricing and availability. For orders outside of the the United States - you are responsible for all import fees, duty, customs or taxes that you may be charged when your merchandise reaches you.

How long does it take to get my order?
Most items are in stock and ship between 24-48 hours of payment on weekdays.
Can I return an item if I ordered the wrong item or am not satisfied?
If for some reason you aren't satisfied with an order please email us for a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. Returns (less the shipping fee) are ONLY accepted with an RMA and there's a 20% restocking fee. All return requests must be made within 30 days of placing the order.