Setting Your Zoom Background

Setting Up Your Space

When you join a Zoom meeting, it is important to remember your surroundings. If you can, find a private place to participate in your meeting. Having a plain wall behind you can also help to not distract other participants. Set up your camera to have a clear view of your face without any obstructions and with plenty of light. Try not to have any lights on directly behind you, but instead try to maximize the natural lighting. Clean your surrounding area and be sure there is nothing around you that you would not want anyone else to see. 

Setting Up Your Camera

Check your camera setup before turning on your camera for all participants to see you and your surroundings. You can check your camera by opening the camera application on your computer. You can also use the Zoom application to check before you join a meeting within the Video options of the Settings. After you join a meeting, you can check your video settings by clicking the Video Settings option from the drop-down menu:

Virtual Backgrounds

Recommended setup

• To achieve the best virtual background effect, Zoom recommends using a solid color background, preferably green.
• Higher quality cameras result in a better virtual background. See camera recommendations for details.
• Use uniform lighting and color.
• Do not wear clothing that is the same color as the virtual background.

Background image

• There are no size restrictions when adding your own virtual backgrounds, but we recommend cropping the image to match the aspect ratio of your camera before uploading it. Example: If your camera is set to 16:9, an image of 1280 by 720 pixels or 1920 by 1080 pixels would work well.
• If you're not sure about your camera aspect ratio, use a background image with a minimum resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels.
• Use these sources for royalty-free images: Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay.
• Vol State also offers 2 free backgrounds for you to use which you can download in the Attachments section of this article.

Using Virtual Backgrounds

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click your profile picture, then click Settings.
   
3. Select Virtual Background.
   
4. Check I have a green screen if you have a physical green screen set up. You can then click on your video to select the correct color for the green screen.
5. Click on an image to select the desired virtual background or add your own image by clicking + and choosing if you want to upload an image or a video. 
   
   If prompted, click Download to download the package for virtual background without a green screen. 
   
   Notes:
   • Ensure that you are using a solid background color.
   • After you select an option, that virtual background will display during your meetings.
   • To disable Virtual Background, choose the option None.

Enabling Virtual Background during a meeting

1. In a Zoom meeting, click the upward arrow (^) next to Start/Stop Video.
2. Click Choose Virtual Background....
   .
3. If prompted, click Download to download the package for virtual background without a green screen.