Green screen photos issues?

[dry3210]

I have a person wanting full body shots on a green screen. My issue is how do you not get that green outline on the person. ie: the edges of the person (especially hair) seem to pick up the green.

I'm shooting with a two flash set up with softboxes if that matters any.

Any input?

 

[ImageArray]

I know this is a rather old thread, but if you're still interested in knowing... I use PhotoKey by FXHome. It's $150 but it's such an awesome program, takes all the guess work out of green screen work. You can try the demo (free) and see what you think.

FXhome.com :: Products :: PhotoKey 3

 

[Big Mike]

1. Less light on the backdrop.

2. Move the model farther away from the backdrop.

3. Don't use green. Black, white, grey...whatever will stand out from the subject, should work just as well and won't give you the color backwash.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Don't use green. Black, white, grey...whatever will stand out from the subject, should work just as well and won't give you the color backwash.

If the client wants a green (or chromakey) background, that is what you give them. Who knows what it is they want to do...

For that kind of shots, the software available only works with two colors: green and blue. You pick the one the subject is not wearing.

And to the OP, if the customer doesn't give you any more info, try and make the light as flat as possible. The biggest problem with this kind of stuff is matching the light of the background to that of the subject.

 

[Big Mike]

Yes of course...if that's what they want, that's what you give them. But if they just want an extracted subject, then you can do without the green or blue.

 

[burgo]

it's easy really. first you have to evenly light the green screen. Then have the person well in front of it. You have to virtually light the green screen and then light the person. Otherwise you will colour spill. I use fluorescent diffused light on my green screens to give an even light. Make sure your green screen has no shadows on it from creases or folds. It has to be nice and taught.

Take the image so that the person is in focus and the green screen is blurred. That will prevent a lot of colour spill. The next biggest thing I learn't when doing chroma key shots is that apart from your model not wearing anything the same colour as your screen, make sure they don't have too much white clothing on as well. That will colour spill regardless of how well you set up and light your screen. Trust me I am talking form horrendous experience there.

Big Mike is right that in photoshop you can extract someone from any background colour, the green or blue screen is best as it is least like skin tones. The program I use is so good it even leaves in fine hair etc.

youtube has loads of video tutorials on how to shoot green screen and it is a good place to start.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Yes of course...if that's what they want, that's what you give them. But if they just want an extracted subject, then you can do without the green or blue.

You are correct.

However, most people only know of green/blue screen because there are software out there that allow you to do the work in seconds.

TBH, none of them look that good to me. But doing your own extraction in PS doesn't look any better unless you are going to spend an awful lot of time on it.

How many clients do you have willing to spend a thousand dollars (or more) to get extracted in a very nice way?

 

[burgo]

I do green screen portraits a lot and use ultimatte advantedge as a photoshop plugin. Costs about $500 and is the best program I have found. It is the same program TV stations use for their weather reports. So it doesn't cost thousands to extract the images as you suggest. There are cheaper versions like Green Screen Wizard that does an OK job for $150. You can use Photoshop colour picker to extract the background but it isn't as clean as other programs in doing it.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I do green screen portraits a lot and use ultimatte advantedge as a photoshop plugin. Costs about $500 and is the best program I have found. It is the same program TV stations use for their weather reports. So it doesn't cost thousands to extract the images as you suggest. There are cheaper versions like Green Screen Wizard that does an OK job for $150. You can use Photoshop colour picker to extract the background but it isn't as clean as other programs in doing it.

I have to go so I don't have a lot of time to explain but....

if you look at the results of your green screen extraction, it is not the best that can be done. Machines (which is what software is in a way) will never do as good a job as motivated humans. They do a half-assed job that we consider decent because we've been trained for quite a while to accept lower and lower quality work.

To do a quality extraction that doesn't look like one, it will take time. Therefore it will not be cheap.

I have no problem with green screen studios but don't tell me how good they are. Please. They are not. Get over it.

 

[Big Mike]

It's a matter of what quality is needed. You don't need a high quality extraction for the weather report, but for a high end fashion shoot, you probably do.