We found this tweet on Zoom's Twitter profile that features a photo from the Zoom booth at Enterprise Connect 2017.
It got us thinking about some good boat background options for Zoom calls.
Most of us probably never happened to take a picture similar to the background above—square to the stern and with no people in it. But then again, you may have the perfect picture in one of your albums.
If you're looking for a boat background for your next Zoom meeting, what are some available image sources? We looked around and found some of the images below.
We also created an image using generative AI.
A Note on Green Screen Use
Zoom likely used a green screen or another consistent-color backdrop in the above image. While Zoom backgrounds do not require a green screen, using one can help with the overall appearance.
If you wanted to get fancy, you could order a background stand and a green screen backdrop. The backdrop can be draped over a sofa to create an effect of you (and others) sitting on a boat's seat cushion (there's an example further down).
The following are several free and paid sources of photos that can be used as a Zoom boat background. Click on any photo below to go to its original source.
AH360 Photography
This South Florida photographer has a page with a number of high-resolution fishing boat wallpaper images that are free for non-commercial use.
The first image that caught our eye was this one:
This image from AH360 has a nice tropical feel:
Chris Craft
Chris Craft has offered up this background:
Unsplash
Unsplash is a free photo site. A background candidate for Zoom that we found this one of a wooden boat and its wake.
This picture was taken at Glacier Bay.
DepositPhotos
DepositPhotos is a paid stock photography service that we use for some of the posts on this blog. Here's a photo with an inset that shows how the effect renders in a Zoom meeting, using the draped green screen setup above.
iStock Photo
This is another paid stock photo service. We found this beautiful picture.
Here's a picture from iStock that was shot at Lake Tahoe.
Midjourney
Since we first published this post, generative AI came along and reduced the need for stock photography. Apps like Midjourney will create a custom photo-realistic image based on a prompt you type in.
Our prompt for generating this image was, "a perspective from inside a Malibu brand boat on Lake Tahoe, looking toward the back of the boat, a big wake coming off the back, the wake goes for 200 yards, mountains in the background --ar 16:9"
We hope these image sources are helpful to you and enhance your presence on Zoom, Google Meet, and other meeting apps.
