arelatively simpleone,and ifsome basicguidelines are
followed, the outcome can be very successful.
To begin, you need to choose the correct backdrop on
which to take the image of thesubject. The norm here
wouldbechromakeygreenorblue;thesetwocoloursare
specificallyusedas theyarecoloursthatarethefurthest
awayfromhumanskintones,andsoaneasierseparation
canbeachieved.Greenchromakeyismorecommonlyused
inaportraitphotographysettingasthecamerasensorsare
moresensitivetogreen,sogivingamoreaccuratereading
of what will need to be subtracted from the image.
Youwillhavethechoiceofeitherpaperormaterial(most
commonly muslin) backdrops; either will produce the
desired outcome, if the subject and backdrop are lit
correctly, and certainother details are adhered to. You
mustmakesurethatwhicheverbackdropisusedthereare
nocreasesorwrinklesinthematerial,asthiscouldlessen
the effectiveness of the process.
The key to a good separation lies with the ability to
separateacolour(eithergreenorblue)asawholefromthe
original image, so thesubject must not be wearingany
clothing thatcouldbeseen assimilarto thebackground
colour,asthiswillmaketheseparationprocessdifficultto
achieve cleanly.
Tolightthesubjectandthebackdropyouwillonlyneed
twolights,asthelightingneedstobefairly‘flat’tocreate
theperfectcut-out. Thelightsshouldbe placein sucha
waythat thelightis very evenlyspread acrossboth the
subject and thebackdrop. The ideal positioning for the