Putting an image behind your camera in a screen recording
A camera bubble showing your ceiling is a webcam. The same bubble with a considered background is a scene. Reel lets you put an image behind the camera and compose it; here is what the controls do and how to choose an image.
How it works
In Camera in App mode, choose an image from your library as the camera background. It renders behind the camera frame in the composed scene, so what the recording shows is your camera over your chosen image rather than over whatever was behind you.
This is a composition, not a cut-out: the image is a backdrop to the camera frame, not a replacement for your real background. Choose images that read as a stage — a colour field, a texture, a brand panel — rather than a photo pretending to be a room.
Fit or fill
Fit shows the whole image inside the frame with letterboxing if the shapes differ. Fill scales it to cover the frame and crops the overflow. For backgrounds you almost always want fill; for a logo or a panel with text you want fit.
Rotate, flip, position
Flip the camera if you want the view to match a mirror — people expect to see themselves the way they see themselves. Rotate for a deliberate angle. Position to put your face where the composition needs it. All of this is set before recording and is captured as set.
Choosing an image
- Low contrast behind your face; high contrast draws the eye away from you.
- Consistent across a series — the same backdrop is how a viewer recognises your videos.
- Nothing with text at the size of your face, or it will read before you do.
