Video conferencing is very common these days. Due to the many working from home, we are no longer used to it. Are you suddenly surprised by an appointment and you don’t have time to tidy up your home office? Nobody needs to know that if you adjust your background beforehand. Here we consider the possibility of Zoom and Microsoft Teams to apply background filters. Also looks more professional!
When you think about removing a background, the first thing you probably think of is a green screen. Fortunately, today’s video conferencing software is smart enough to recognize you and disconnect you from your environment, so to speak, without having to find yourself in a green screen need to invest. It does help, because with such a green screen, the result looks a bit neater. But it certainly doesn’t have to.
The nice thing about background filters is that you can imagine yourself in the craziest places while you are actually just sitting in front of your PC. Think of a sunny place, the North Pole, the moon, you name it. However, it should not distract colleagues too much, so it is preferable to choose a neutral or business-like image. Search Google Images for ‘interior’ and you will find plenty of images that lend themselves well to it.
Zoom and Microsoft Teams are both popular video conferencing services. That’s why we’ll cover both in this article, starting with Zoom.
Background Image Adjust Zoom
We assume that you already have Zoom on your PC. Open the software and click on your profile picture at the top right. A menu will appear, where you Settings chooses. Then go to Background & Filters. Make sure your webcam is turned on so you can see immediate results. Zoom also sometimes gives an error message if no camera is found. You will now immediately see some virtual backgrounds.
blur ensures that you still see your own background, but more blurred. Furthermore, the default backgrounds are quite busy, especially ones that are also animated like the Northern Lights or the tropical island. We prefer not to, so click on the plus icon to select your own image. Through Add image choose the file from your disk.
You don’t have to do more. If you ever want to get rid of your background, choose none.
Customize Teams background image
Then Microsoft Teams. Again, we assume that this software is already present, possibly because it is a standard part of Windows 11. You will only see the option to change the background after you have created/schedule a meeting. click on Participate and you’ll be taken to a preview window where you can adjust video and audio before actually joining the conversation.
Below your webcam’s preview, you’ll see Background filters to stand. Click on this and a panel will open on the side with about 40 images to choose from. A much larger range than at Zoom and the appearance is also a lot more neutral. If you nevertheless want your own picture as background, click on the top Add new and select the image.
Meeting open!
