OBS Webcam Background: How to Put an Image Behind Your Camera and Send It to Calls

The short answer

OBS Studio can place an image or video behind your webcam, but it does not replace your real background on its own. You first need a way to separate you from the room behind you. The usual choice is a green screen with OBS's Chroma Key filter, which is built in. The alternative is a third-party background-removal plugin that uses software to detect a person, with no green screen. Once the scene looks right, Start Virtual Camera sends the finished picture to apps such as Zoom, Teams, Meet or a browser, where you select OBS Virtual Camera as the camera.

Some people searching for this mean something simpler: putting the webcam in a small window over a full-screen image, with the room still visible inside the window. OBS handles that with no keying at all. The steps below cover both cases.

Three kinds of background, kept separate

• Physical background: the actual wall, curtain or green screen behind you. OBS cannot change what the camera physically sees.
• Virtual background in OBS: OBS removes or masks the real background in real time and puts an image or video behind you. The result goes to calls through the virtual camera.
• Built-in call effects: many meeting apps have their own blur or background replacement. These work separately from OBS. Running both at once can stack two effects and cause odd edges, so you usually want only one.

An edited photo background, where you change the background of a still image in a photo editor afterward, is a different task again and is not covered here.

Choose your method

Method | What you need | Strengths | Limitations

Image behind a webcam window | OBS only | Simple and reliable; no special equipment | Your real room still shows inside the webcam frame

Green screen with Chroma Key | An evenly lit green (or blue) backdrop | Built into OBS; clean edges when the lighting is even | Needs space and even lighting; green clothing or objects disappear too

Background-removal plugin | A third-party plugin installed into OBS | No backdrop needed | Not part of OBS; quality, CPU or GPU load and compatibility depend on the plugin and your computer

Step 1: Set up the scene and add the background image

• Open OBS Studio. In the Scenes panel, click + and create a scene, for example "Call camera".
• In the Sources panel, click + and choose Image. Name it "Background" and select your picture file. To use a looping video instead, choose Media Source.
• Right-click the image, choose Transform, then Fit to screen. If the picture's shape differs from the canvas, it will leave bars or be cropped, so a picture with the same aspect ratio as your canvas works best.
• Check the canvas size under Settings, then Video, Base (Canvas) Resolution. The virtual camera sends this canvas.

Step 2: Add your webcam above the background

• In Sources, click + and choose Video Capture Device (it may be named differently on some systems, for example macOS Screen Capture or camera source options). Select your physical webcam.
• Make sure the webcam source is above the Background source in the list. Sources higher in the list appear in front.
• If you see a black or empty preview, close any other app that may be using the camera. On many systems only one app can use a physical webcam at a time.
• For the simple picture-in-picture look, resize and position the webcam over the image now and skip to Step 4.

Step 3a: Remove the real background with a green screen

• Right-click the webcam source and choose Filters.
• Under Effect Filters, click + and add Chroma Key.
• Set the Key Color Type to Green, or to Blue if your backdrop is blue.
• Raise Similarity slowly until the backdrop disappears. Stop before parts of you start to vanish.
• Adjust Smoothness to soften the edges, and Key Color Spill Reduction to remove the green tint that reflects onto your hair and shoulders.
• If the backdrop does not fill the frame, add a Crop/Pad filter to trim the uncovered edges.

Even lighting matters more than slider settings. Wrinkles, shadows and hot spots on the backdrop create several shades of green, which no single setting removes cleanly. Light the backdrop evenly, and leave some distance between you and the backdrop to reduce shadows and spill.

Step 3b: Remove the background without a green screen

OBS has no built-in feature that detects a person and removes the room around them. Third-party plugins add this, and once installed they usually appear as another filter on the webcam source. No tested evidence was available for this guide on any specific plugin's quality, performance or supported OBS versions. Before installing, check that the plugin supports your operating system and your OBS version, get it from its official project page, and expect higher processor or graphics load than with a chroma key. Edges around hair and fast hand movements are where software removal tends to struggle.

Step 4: Send the result to your call app

• In the Controls panel, click Start Virtual Camera.
• Open your meeting app or website and go to its video or camera settings.
• Select OBS Virtual Camera instead of your physical webcam.
• In a browser, allow camera access when asked. If you already blocked it, re-enable camera permission in the site settings and reload the page.
• Turn off the call app's own background effects so they don't stack on top of the OBS result.

On Linux, the virtual camera relies on a kernel module (v4l2loopback) that may need to be installed separately. On macOS, the system may ask you to approve the virtual camera extension in system settings the first time you start it. Some apps only list cameras that existed when they launched, so restart the call app if OBS Virtual Camera does not appear.

Step 5: Verify that it works

Check three separate things, because each can fail on its own:

• Camera access: the call app lists OBS Virtual Camera and is allowed to use it.
• Video capture: the app's preview shows the OBS scene, not a blank frame, an OBS placeholder image or your raw webcam.
• Call quality: a test call or a recording shows clean edges and smooth motion when viewed by someone else, not just in your own preview.

Your self-view may look mirrored in the call app. That is usually just how the app shows your preview, and other participants typically see the unmirrored image. Check this with a test call rather than changing the OBS scene.

Common problems and fixes

• Call app shows the OBS logo or a blank image: the virtual camera is selected but not started, or OBS was closed. Start Virtual Camera in OBS.
• Webcam is black inside OBS: another app is using the physical camera. Close it, then deactivate and reactivate the source by toggling its visibility (eye icon).
• Green fringe or patchy holes: improve the backdrop lighting first, then fine-tune Similarity, Smoothness and Spill Reduction.
• Parts of your clothing disappear: they're close to the key color. Change clothes or switch to a blue backdrop and key.
• Background is stretched or has bars: match the image's aspect ratio to the canvas and use Fit to screen.
• No sound from OBS in the call: the virtual camera carries video only. Choose your microphone directly in the call app.

Limitations to keep in mind

Menu names and the exact location of options can vary between OBS versions and operating systems, so treat the names above as a guide rather than an exact match. Background replacement adds processing work. On slower computers, OBS and the call app running together can drop frames. If that happens, lower the OBS canvas or output resolution under Settings, then Video, or use the call app's built-in background effect instead of OBS.