I’m putting together a provisional (cheap & quick) studio setup, to get on with photographing ceramics & sculpture in the first instance but the option to reuse for portrait work would be a plus.
What should I look at in terms of backdrops? Are the cheap ones from amazon viable? There is a good haberdashery locally who have rolls of fabric - what should I look for if I enquire there?
I’m a competent DIYer but want to avoid false economies and, if poss, too much redundant kit when I upgrade. I also need to crack on with it asap!
What is your advice?
Personally I’d steer clear of the cheap polyester ones on Amazon. I’ve had some luck with the more expensive microfibre ones but the cost does start adding up.
I’d second the point about upholstery fabric. I’ve made one from upholstery velvet which I’m happy with, it hangs well and I got the fabric pretty cheap but once up, the pile does need brushing in a consistent direction to make it catch the light consistently.
All of my props and backdrops came from thrift shops, close-out sales. Most of them are unique and intricate fabrics or bedsheets; the plain white is my go-to for people or objects (it still has the mark from an old hospital that closed down).
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I hung a bedsheet over paracord tied to two coat racks. This works very well but the challenge is keeping the sheets wrinkle-free. Enter iron.
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folding screen that I got at thrift store was reproduced by a friend using louvered closet doors she purchased at a hardware store.
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I also used the biggest 3M reusable wall hook and used a cheap tension rod to hold a bedsheet.
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have a look at an Ikea catalog for ideas as well. I purchased their big aluminum (i think) hooks and screwed them on the wall to hang seasonal props and bunting.
EDIT: Craft and Fabric stores are always advertising sales. If you have time, check out their fabric-by-the yard sale or pre-primed canvas. The canvas can be double purpose: backdrop and create artwork. I have several: propped on an easel, leaning on a wall, etc. It’s lightweight enough to be portable if you don’t frame it. Have fun!
Great tips, thank you!
What’s your lighting setup?
I have a combination of:
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(borrowed) softbox lighting kit by Torjim: the portable and lightweight one, for when I need to move around depending on what I’m taking a photo of (my uncle is the real photographer, I’m just a hobbyist).
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all my lighting is from Ikea: the backlight is a reading lamp (i think), same with the other two lamps (swivel). I chose them because of the base (tripod, adjustable) and weight.
-my old foam core is from Staples and when JoAnn was closing their stores, I bought more foam core there
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umbrella is from goodwill
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the white paper from my light box came from Ikea (kids’ drawing paper roll)
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translucent plastic sheet, plexiglass from hardware store
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all of my equipment is DIY that I learned from school or my uncle.
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we also used a lot of clamps, clamp lights and binder clips, foil sheets from craft store (only if it’s on sale) and my uncle cut up a car sunshade once for his soft box
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cardboard from grocery store and liquor stores (free)
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my uncle has used a combo of white bowls, milk glass, cookie sheets as a reflector piece; my mom’s silicone funnel as a flash diffuser (she’s still mad at him) which is better than paper
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if you can get your hands on vellum, they’re quite useful, too
We try to be frugal so we can spend the money on lenses.
Expensive equipment does not make someone either a photographer, or professional. Remember, Ansel Adams did not have 103 megapixel full frame Leica.
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I bought two different rolls of fabric recently to try out as backdrops, and they work quite well. The biggest problem though is that they’re only a metre wide. It’s great for a close up of an individual, but you’re not getting anyone else in there.
I’m a bit useless with lighting, so I can’t really say anything about that, other than, bounce flash from the ceiling doesn’t light up legs very well 🙈😂
Cool! What sort of fabric and where did you get it from? I like the idea of fabric being more durable than paper.
Haha, I’m sure you’ll get there with practice :)
I’m not sure exactly what it is, I just bought a few metres of green fabric from a local shop. It’s not particularly thick, about as thick as a decent t-shirt, but only cost about £15, including getting the ends sewn so that they didn’t fray. It was one of those cheap enough to try ideas.
I haven’t had much of a chance to play with it yet, but the idea is to try different techniques and lighting, and teach myself a bit more. I want to learn how to edit green screen images too, and do things like put my kid in space :)
Apologies for the youtube link, but I’ve seen a few of this guy’s shorts recently, and he seems to know his stuff, and doesn’t do the whole youtuber shouting at the camera bullshit :)
I don’t do portraiture, but product photography. These days everything I do is top down flat lay, however, when I was using a backdrop, I got a set of cheap light stands with a cross bar off Amazon and then clamped upholstery fabric to act as the backdrop. The upholstery fabric is much thicker, which means its wrinkles less and is more opaque.
Thanks for the tip about uphokstery fabric. Is it thicker?
Interesting about flat lays - is that what people are asking for the most or what you prefer?
Upholstery fabric is thicker than most fabric you would use for garments. It is used for furniture, like couches, so it needs to be pretty durable. It is a bit more expensive though, so YMMV depending on how expensive your local fabric store is.
As for doing flay lay, that is just what works best for the types of products I am shooting these days. It is kind of nice in that backgrounds are super easy. I usually shoot against a vinyl, patterned backdrop on the table (I got mine from Ink and Elm). One thing it does limit though is the types of props I can use. Lots of stuff looks great in a picture…but not necessarily from the top down.
Half-rolls of seamless is a perennial favorite and my old go-to.
Frost plexiglass is also common. You can light from the bottom with gels to change colors. Gotta be careful with hotspot reflections.
Fabric can be a big pain with wrinkles. You have to keep it on a spool like paper. But it’s more reusable.
But I’ve been out of things for a long time and things might be different.
Half-rolls of seamless is a perennial favorite and my old go-to.
Of what material? And do you remember what weight you were using? If it’s a black/dark backdrop I’m keen to prevent too much leakage from any light behind it. Thanks :)
