EditsInsta Guide, updated August 2026
Getting clean green screen results on a phone
Most rough-looking cutouts aren't an editing problem. They're a lighting problem that shows up later, in the app, after it's harder to fix.
Edits can key out a background using an actual green screen or lift a subject out using AI-based cutouts with no backdrop at all. Both work well in decent conditions and both struggle with the same thing: uneven lighting on the subject or the background behind them.
Even lighting beats bright lighting
A single harsh light source creates a shadow on one side of your subject and a hot spot on the other. The cutout tool has to guess where the edge actually is in that shadow, and it usually guesses wrong somewhere along the jawline or shoulders. Two softer light sources, one on each side, or even just filming near a window with diffused daylight, gives a much cleaner edge than one strong light ever will.
If you're using an actual green screen
Wrinkles and folds in the fabric catch shadow and break the keying. Steam it or iron it flat before you shoot. Keep your subject a few feet away from the screen itself, close contact creates spill, a faint green tint bleeding onto skin and hair that's genuinely difficult to clean up afterward, in Edits or anywhere else.
Hair and loose fabric are the hardest part
Fine hair strands and anything loose, like a scarf or flowing sleeve, are where cutout edges tend to fall apart, both with a physical screen and with the AI-only method. If a shot absolutely needs a clean edge, tying hair back or choosing simpler clothing for that specific take will save more editing time than any setting inside the app.
When to use AI cutout instead of a real screen
If you're filming somewhere you can't set up fabric, a quick change of location, an outdoor shot, a moment that wasn't planned as green screen, the AI-only cutout is genuinely usable as long as the background has some contrast against your subject. It struggles more when the subject is wearing colors close to the background behind them, the same basic problem a real green screen has with green clothing.
The five-second check
After applying a cutout, scrub to a frame where your subject is moving, not standing still, and zoom in on the edge around the hair and shoulders. That's where problems show up first, and it's much faster to notice on one frame than to catch it while watching the full clip play back at normal speed.