Can you change the background of a photo in Lightroom?

[ilzho]

Hello:

I have someone who wants some head shots, but wants the background a certain color.

I have lightroom 6, can this be done?

I do not have a studio.

This is just for a friend needs some professional looking head shots.

 We will probably take some photos outside when it's bright.

I'm still trying to get a solid idea of the type of background he wants.

[Waddizzle]

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@ilzho wrote:

Hello:

I have someone who wants some head shots, but wants the background a certain color.

I have lightroom 6, can this be done?

I do not have a studio.

This is just for a friend needs some professional looking head shots.

 We will probably take some photos outside when it's bright.

I'm still trying to get a solid idea of the type of background he wants.

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I don't think so.  When I have wanted to redesign the image, I turn to an image editor: i.e.; Photoshop: Paint Dot Net; etc.  Photoshop is non-destructive.  Paint Dot Net is destructive, so give it a copy of your image.  A program like MS Paint will fall woefully short of the mark.

Your problem is one of the most basic tasks that an image editor can address.  I would solve this problem by separating the image into layers.  I would use at least a foreground layer and a "virtual" background layer.  Once the image is "built" in this fashion, you begin inserting whatever imagery you want on the virtual background layer.  This technique is similar to what you may see in movies when they film special effects scenes against a green screen, virtual background.

There are other ways to approach this problem, too.

[kvbarkley]

No, LightRoom is a photo editor/organizer not a compositor. The real problem is selecting the subject out of the background. Photoshop and its ilk have specialized tools for that.

[TTMartin]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

No, LightRoom is a photo editor/organizer not a compositor. The real problem is selecting the subject out of the background. Photoshop and its ilk have specialized tools for that.

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And even with Photoshop a cluttered background can make the process difficult.

Your best bet is to buy a background kit. For occasional use a light duty one like those sold on Amazon by Cowboy Studios is fine. 

[kvbarkley]

But that requires thinking ahead...

[Waddizzle]

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@TTMartin wrote:

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@kvbarkley wrote:

No, LightRoom is a photo editor/organizer not a compositor. The real problem is selecting the subject out of the background. Photoshop and its ilk have specialized tools for that.

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And even with Photoshop a cluttered background can make the process difficult.

Your best bet is to buy a background kit. For occasional use a light duty one like those sold on Amazon by Cowboy Studios is fine. 

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[EDIT]  Like I said above, there are different approaches that can be used to solve this type of problem.  [EDIT]

A Layer Mask can be created in a fairly short amount of time in post processing.  True, a background can make it one click simple to do.  The only critical issue with creating a Layer Mask are the edges of it, which really isn't all that difficult.