Zoom allows you to set your own background during video conferences. Read here how to use and personalise a virtual background in the tool
How to set a virtual background in Zoom
You shouldn’t miss out on this feature because a virtual background looks professional and is quick to set up:
- Start Zoom and click on the cogwheel symbol in the top right-hand corner to access the settings. You will see the “Backgrounds and effects” tab there.
- You will now see pre-installed backgrounds. To select one, simply click on the desired image and confirm the selection.
- If you want to use your own picture as a background, click on the plus symbol. You can now select a photo or graphic of your choice.
- The virtual background looks best if it has the format of the video camera. In most cases this is 16:9, so it is best to crop the photo beforehand.
- If you want to activate the background during a conference, click on the circumflex, i.e. ^, and then on “Select virtual background”.
- Tip: In order for the background to be easily visible to the other conference participants, make sure that the lighting and the background are even.
This is a virtual background in Zoom
Normally, you sit in front of a white or at least neutral wall during a video conference. With a virtual background in Zoom, you can change this and thus personalise the conversation. You can find Zoom Cloud Meetings for Android, iOS and Windows in our download section.
- During a meeting, you can fade in an image of your choice as a background. This can be the logo of your company or a special place.
- The virtual background is then visible to the people who are in the video conference with you.
Virtual background via Snap Camera
If Zoom’s offer is not enough, you can help yourself with another filter tool. With Snap Camera you can primarily apply face filters, but also adjust the background. Since all users can also upload and share filters, the selection is large. You can find Snap Camera in our download area for Windows, Mac users will find it on the developer’s page. How to use Snap Camera in Zoom:
- Install and open Snap Camera first. The programme will now create a virtual camera.
- To use the filters now, you can either try out the suggestions beforehand or in parallel in Snap Camera or browse the entire range using the search field.
