It's handy to have for lighting your subject, but also useful to light your greenscreen for a more consistent key. The softbox spreads the light more evenly and cuts down on harsh shadows.

This one from Emart ($72) has served me well for years. This is where softbox photography lights come in handy. These still aren't super stable, but as long as you're not throwing your subject against the screen, they should work well. (This bundle we linked earlier includes a backdrop stand and the greenscreen.) These are very similar to the photography stands but come in pairs, have longer screw tips, and have a telescoping crossbar you can hang fabric screens from. It's still lightweight and can be knocked over, so don't put anything too expensive and heavy on it.įor larger screens, backdrop stands like this one ($46) can be more helpful. For your camera, however, you're better off paying a little more for a more sturdy tripod like this one ($76). These have 1/4-inch screw tips that you can use to mount lights, clamps, or hold up backdrops. Some of the most common (and cheapest) are photography tripod stands.

Picking the right ones will depend on how heavy the gear you're using is, how much space you have, and your budget. There are also quite a few kinds of stands you can keep around. Whether you need them to hang a fabric screen or to set up lights, they're always useful. It's almost impossible to have too many stands. Updated October 2022: We've added more LED panel recommendations and info on using grids to direct lighting. It's incredibly useful if you want to improve your Twitch cam setup, talk to yourself in a boundless void, or sneak into the Vatican. This process takes a single color of a shot-often green or blue-and removes it, leaving just the subject on a transparent background, which can then be added to any other background. In fact, the term for the process used with greenscreens is called chroma-keying. While we're going to refer to “greenscreens” throughout this article, it's worth pointing out that these screens don't have to be green. And it's never been cheaper to do at home. In recent years, it may have developed a bad reputation, but it's still one of the best tools you can add to your kit. Overlaying one image on top of another is a technique that's simple enough to have been used for around 100 years, and you can build your own with fabric from a crafting store. The greenscreen is the perfect filmmaking tool.

4k green screen background