Where to Find the Perfect Background for Zoom Videos
Forget looking for the perfect desktop wallpaper. Now that everyone is using Zoom – or one of the many Zoom alternatives – it’s all about choosing the right virtual background. Replacing one of Zoom’s built-in backgrounds might have generated a chuckle back when teleconferencing was new, but now that we’re all professionals working from home, the real power is uploading your own custom backgrounds. We’ll give you tips on how to find the best quality backgrounds, as well as highlight some resources from which you can download them for free.
Plus, our previous tutorial on how to create your own Zoom background will show you how to import new images into Zoom if you’re not sure how.
Know the requirements for Zoom images
Pretty much any image you upload with Google Image Search can be used as a virtual background as long as it meets the Zoom file size limit of 5MB , but if you’re really trying to sell the illusion, you’re somewhere other than your living room or home. office. , you need to refine your search criteria.
First, Zoom backgrounds can be JPG / JPEG, GIF, or PNG images. However, Zoom does not support backgrounds with transparency and paints them with solid white on load.
In terms of dimensions, the Zoom background is displayed in 16: 9 format, and you’ll want to find images that match those dimensions perfectly, otherwise Zoom will add black bars around the image. For best results, aim for images with a resolution of 1920×1080, which is the highest resolution that Zoom supports. PNGs are likely to be the highest quality images you find, but they are also larger than JPEGs and can easily exceed the 5MB Zoom limit.
Where to find Zoom backgrounds
If you don’t want to browse the Google Image results, there are several places where you can find perfect-sized, high-resolution images created specifically for Zoom backgrounds.
One of the best resources is Twitter. As Zoom and other video conferencing applications become more popular, many companies are publishing high-definition images of iconic movies and TVs for use as virtual backgrounds. Searching Twitter for “video call backgrounds” or “zoom backgrounds” will yield tons of great results from Marvel and Fox (Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy) , for example. Zoom’s official Twitter account also occasionally retweets some great stories.
Lucasfilm / Disney
Lucasfilm / Disney have released a collection of official Zoom backgrounds featuring famous landscapes, starship interiors, and classic footage from across the franchise.
Interiors of TV show Modsy
Interior design company Modsy has recreated living rooms from beloved sitcoms and turned them into Zoom backgrounds. You will find the entire collection here .
Commons
The Public Domain Review has a variety of free, high-resolution Zoom backgrounds featuring famous paintings, photographs, and illustrations from different eras.
New york bars
Virtualcheers.org allows users to donate to their favorite local NYC bars and upload a high-resolution image of the bar’s interior to use as a Zoom background. I hope other cities are opening similar sites – I know most of my brethren in Portland will love this.