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February 11, 2016 by Karen Jensen, MLS

MakerSpace: Green Screen Photo Booth, app review and tips and tricks

February 11, 2016 by Karen Jensen, MLS   2 comments

As part of our MakerSpace, I decided that I wanted to set up a Green Screen Photo Booth, though the truth is that I know nothing about doing green screen photos. So I started by trying out a variety of apps on our iPad stations.

makerspace

Apps investigated include:

  • Green Screen by Do Ink ($2.99)
  • Green Screen Studios ($4.99)
  • Green Screen Wizard Mobile ($4.99)

Verdict:

For our purposes, I felt that Green Screen Wizard Mobile was the easiest to use. It doesn’t have as much versatility as the others, but as a pure shoot, snap and replace your background type of app it is hands down my favorite.

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Green Screen Studio, for example, wanted you to wipe away all the green screen, which was time consuming and required a delicate hand. I wanted an app that would automatically replace all the green, which the GS Wizard app did quickly and easily.

The Green Screen by Do Ink app is a really more complicated app and needs more hands on tutorial to get teens using it. I recommend it more for a classroom or program setting.

There are several other green screen apps that you can try, but if you want a simple 3-step process app then this is the app that I recommend and am using. We wanted and need an app that is easy to use so that casual users coming into the MakerSpace can have a fun photo session but not have to have a lot of background instruction.

How it Works:

gs7
Step 1: Take Your Photo

It is literally a 3-step process. You take your first picture, which you have set up in front of your green screen. Here I used some of my Doctor Who Funko Pop toys and a green piece of poster board purchased for $1.00 at a local store (I tested this all out at home first and then in my Teen MakerSpace):

You can then take or upload a background picture. There are some backgrounds you can use with the app or you can add your own. You will, of course, want to be careful about copyright.

gs1
Step 2: Load your background image

As you can see, the app replaces everything that is green with your background image. It’s quick and simple.

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After you save your image, you can then make a few small edits if you would like. For example, you can make your foreground image larger or smaller. You then simply save your image and it’s truly magic.

gs4
The 10th Doctor and Tardis in space via green screen

We tried several different scenarios to see what worked and were pretty happy with them all:

gs5
Thing 2 visits the beach from our living room
gs3
Thing 2 floats in space
gs6
Thing 2’s stuffed panda bear floats in space

Setting Up Our Green Screen Photo Booth:

To set up our photo booth in our MakerSpace, we simply used a green colored tri-fold presentation board. It cost us $3.47 at a local craft store and fits perfectly in our window space.

gs12
Green Screen Photo Booth with instructions for teens

I put up a variety of props close by and some tools to make their own additional props.

gs14
Our assistant director tries out the Green Screen Photo Booth in the Teen MakerSpace at The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County (OH)
gs13
Our teen page tries out the Green Screen Photo Booth

The GS photo app is loaded onto our iPads so that they can be easily used. Here you will see a teen editing his picture.

gs11
Our teen page edits his Green Screen photo

And just for fun, we took it to the next step and printed them out in smaller sizes and used the images to make buttons on our button makers.

gs15
The Green Screen Photo in various stages, including as a super cool button

We’ve had a lot of fun with this station, both at home and at the library. It was very inexpensive. But the best part was how quickly and easily we were able to make successful projects and feel like we had learned something new while having fun.

You can also take this a step further if you would like, uploading your GS images into an app like GIFfer or stop motion to make a stop motion movie.

Additional Resources:

How to Do Green Screen Photography on an iPad at School

Diary of a Techie Chick: Green-Screen Effect on the iPad

How to Use Green Screen Effects on iPads – HubPages

Filed under: Makerspace

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App ReviewsGreen ScreenPhotography

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leslie Maniotes says

    March 10, 2016 at 11:21 am

    Hi!
    Thanks for this! I’ll be sharing your blog post in my webinar! I think it’s so wonderful that you are finding ways to include more video production! I hope to inspire others to do the same. Here’s a link to the webinar where I’ll be talking about it and just making mention of this post! 😀 http://home.edweb.net/webinar/your-guided-inquiry-program-part-ii-sharing-the-learning/
    THANK YOU!!

Trackbacks

  1. FAN-ing the Flames: Quick Tips on How to Create Fandom Programs at Your Library - ALSC Blog says:
    December 25, 2017 at 12:02 am

    […] a costume or cosplay contest. In addition, you can DIY a Green Screen Photo Booth to create thematic photo […]

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