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5 fun Zoom backgrounds for the end of the world
Make your work-from-home meetings less soul-crushing!
 
Wow, it's great up here in space.
Wow, it's great up here in space. [ STEPHANIE HAYES | Times ]
Published March 25, 2020

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Many of you are now working from home. This has downsides (isolation, a blur between personal and professional space) and upsides (no pants).

You may be using a tool called Zoom, which allows for group meetings in a virtual space and comes with a video function. It offers a glimpse into the home lives of your co-workers, from their wall decor to their ornery children.

Did you know, though, that Zoom lets you change your background? Follow these simple instructions.

I’ve selected a handful to get you started. The first three come with Zoom. The others are free downloads. It helps to have a green screen, but in case you are not a Hollywood filmmaker, a solid wall works. Your head may look a little dotty, but that’s just a day that ends in Y.

Space

Get out of this world! No, really. Find a new one. Let your co-workers know you will be attending the 3:30 “touch base” aboard the Galactica because you’re needed to search for Tylium lest humanity end, but you will make sure to get those reports done.

Golden Gate

Perhaps you used to have “adventures.” Capture those feelings with this background. Although we are hostages in our homes, it is important that we defeat this virus quickly so we can get back to taking Instagrams with captions incorrectly attributed to the poet Rumi.

Grass blades

Did you just see your colleague’s chest hair? Sink into the blissful escape of this dewy meadow. You are small, so small. You are shrinking into the blades more deeply each time someone forgets to mute their mic while eating soup.

West Elm dog

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West Elm has released a line of free Zoom backgrounds that will make your home appear classier. This one comes with a new pet. His name is Fool’s Paradise, and if you look into his eyes too long, your past transgressions will come into focus. If he says anything about “the crack of doom,” quickly switch backgrounds.

Cafe

It can be therapeutic when working from home to get out of the house. Try this nearby coffee shop on the coast, courtesy of Unsplash. Who is that person? She is my best friend. We talk, we hug, we press palms and walk together to the biscotti case. I am so happy.

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