If you shoot portraits, still life, families or lay flats, chances are at some point in your career you’re going to need a backdrop. The ability to create a clean background effortlessly and quickly is something that can’t be overlooked. They’re portable and create consistent results, regardless of being outside in a car park or in your house, photography studio backdrops are a key part of your arsenal, and are so much more than a plain piece of white paper.
There are different types of backdrop depending on your needs. Some are permanent fixtures which will need to be secured to the ceiling or wall. The paper rolls are heavy and need a firm fixing. Alternatively portable options are available that consist of two tripods and a cross beam that the paper roll sits on. Make sure that the structure will be strong enough to hold the size of paper roll that you need. If it’s cheap plastic and you buy a huge 12ft paper roll, it will bend, break and fall over as the weight distribution will be all over the place. It will cause you nothing but headaches.
What is the best brand for photography backdrops?
Which backdrops are best on a budget?
Lets not kid ourselves, we don’t all have money to burn, if you’re looking a cheap solution, then you’re admitting that you’re willing to compromise. I’m not going to lie, these will probably cause you frustration, might break in a few months and may well cost you time in the set up and on set as you have to think of solutions to problems that have arisen due to using cheap gear. Think, being outside and a slight breeze is moving the backdrop because it isn’t heavy enough. Professional standard kit costs thousands, so if you are spending a fraction of that, then these things are to be expected. Without further ado, here are some backdrops that will get you on your way without breaking the bank.
Neewer 6 x 9FT / 1.8 x 2.8M Collapsible Backdrop Background for Photography
Neewer Photo Studio Backdrop Support System 10ft/3m Wide 7ft/2.1m High Adjustable Background Stand, combined with this white backdrop sheet
5×6.5ft Collapsible, reversible background panel
Need a black backdrop? Try This 200x300cm Velvet Background
Creative alternatives to a white backdrop
A colourful an creative backdrop will not only inspire all sorts of new shoot ideas but will open up your eyes to the creative potential of everyday objects. Everything from the humble bed sheet splashed with ink to colourful paper plates, you’ll be heading to your local craft and DIY stores to raid all sorts of objects to make new and interesting backdrops for your portraits, lay flats or still life photographs.
Chinese lanterns
Whilst you may not be able to create something quite on this scale, it demonstrates how beautiful Chinese lanterns can be when used as a creative alternative to a white backdrop. They ae relatively cheap and easy to string up into interesting arrangements to create leading lines. You can get a pack of ten of them here for cheap.
Foliage
The vibrant greens from using foliage can create really striking backgrounds for portraits, still life and lay flats. The best part? It’s completely free. The leaves from common (and very hardy) plants, are tough, easy to work with and you wont kill the plant by picking it’s leaves. Simply gather a few from multiple plants and then glue or sticky tape them to a surface. Or the complete effort free and money free solution, wait for the light to be in your favour and get amongst the tree itself.
Balloons
Balloons are cheap, easy to fix together and can be combined in different colours to create interesting backdrops for your photography. You can buy them in matte or glossy finishes too depending on the style of your shoot. Highly reflective glossy balloons would look really cool for Jeff Koons style fashion shoot. 110 multi-coloured balloons
Tinfoil
You may well know that I am a fan of tin foil, I’ve used it in many photography projects to interesting effect. It offers many interesting properties for something so simple and so easily overlooked. On it’s own, as a clean strip, it’s silvery quality can be quite striking, however it’s when you scrunch it up that it’s potential is really unlocked. It reflects and splits light into different colours, experiment by putting coloured gels over your lights and shining on it to see what happens!
Painted canvas
Canvas and paint is easy to come by and is another easy alternative to producing your own custom made backdrops. The most expensive background producer in the world, Oliphant, uses canvas. If you can master the technique of painting these backgrounds for photography, not only will you be making exactly what you need for your own shoot, but you may end up developing your own side business as well creating custom backgrounds for other photographers.
Streamers
Super easy, tissue paper or plastic rolls that you can simply unfurl and stick to the wall to make a colourful and cheap backdrop. Particularly effective for things like polaroid portraits at a wedding. Simply tape the streamers to a PVC pipe frame to create a decent size backdrop for your party snaps!
Tulle and fairy lights
Classically elegant, creating a feeling of warmth and cosiness, this classic combo will bring to life any autumnal or Christmas inspired images.
Curtains
Second hand shops can be an absolute goldmine for photographers. Cheap solutions to outfits and backdrops without breaking the bank. better still, it cost you so little that you can trash it without worry. These blood red curtains would pair brilliantly with a classic 50s Hollywood style photoshoot, or anything theatrical in nature.
Fairy lights
Set up some fairy lights that drape through some trees, wait until it’s dark, place your subject about 30feet away from them and voile, the out of focus lights create a magical backdrop to set your images against.
Carpet
Not an obvious choice, but excessive carpets on a shoot can embrace a Moroccan, Bedouin vibe. Definitely a case of more is more. If you can find these types of rugs cheap, keep them! They cost a fortune to buy new.
Shooting from above
Sometimes your best option is staring you right in the face. If you shoot from above on a footstool or ladder, suddenly every floor is a backdrop. Use grass, hay, cut flowers, concrete, an old sign…anything that matches your style. Keep your eyes open and you’ll be amazed at what works.
What material is best for photography backdrop?
Canvas and muslin are the best materials for photography backdrops, the catch is that they tend to be expensive. If you’re creating a home studio or a setup that needs to be portable, a simple paper roll is perfectly fine. Paper rolls are simple because they can easily create an infinity curve, are cheaper and when it gets dirty, you can simply cut it and recycle the offcut rather than having to repaint the floor. Use plain white for the classic e-commerce style or family shoot. If you’re trying to recreate the vanity fair style shoot look, then you’ll want to look at Oliphant backdrops. They are a heavy canvas and look brilliant, but they are crazy expensive and, because they are hand painted, take ages to arrive. Look at Oliphant for inspiration and then consider either making your own, or buying a cheaper alternative such as…
What do photographers use for backdrops?
High end fashion photographers will shoot on any backdrop that matches their vision. Sometimes this is expensive, other times it’s simply what is already present in the room. Oliphant backdrops are the preferred choice for photographers such as Annie Leibowitz if you’re trying to recreate that vanity fair look. If you’re a Richard Avedon fan, then you will only need a plain white background, this can be made from a big sheet of paper, a well ironed sheet, painted canvas or white projector screen. Specific materials? Vinyl, paper, acrylic, velvet, muslin, canvas, cotton…and sometimes, just simply angling the shot so the overexposed sky is the backdrop, creating a clean white backdrop for your model. This is surprisingly effective (and free), I thoroughly recommend you try it.
How big should a photo backdrop be?
Ask this question in a shop and immediately the reply will be ‘what are you shooting?’. There are two factors to consider, the size of the subject and the lens you’ll be using. If the client specifies you use a wide angle lens and they need it shot on a white background, then you’ll need quite a large backdrop, at least 10 feet, and then expect to Photoshop the edges white during post processing as chances are when shooting wide you’ll catch the edge of the background.
If you’re photographing children or families, in an ideal world you’d have a purpose built white wall to shoot against as children run and move so they’ll inevitably do their best smile whilst nowhere near the sweet spot of light and backdrop.
To shoot headshots you’ll need a 5x3ft backdrop
To shoot a full length portrait of two adults you’ll need a 12x8ft
What can I use instead of a backdrop stand?
The simplest option is not to try to create your own stand as it will be too flimsy. You’ll be better off buying a background roll of paper and cutting it to size before pinning it or trapping it in place against a solid fixture. For example a brick wall that you can gorilla tape the background to, or a garage door that will allow you to feed the background over the top of the garage door opening and trap it in place when you close it. A solution like this will give you much sturdier results than trying to fashion poles out of items in your house.
Can you use fabric as a backdrop?
Yes. Cotton sheets, canvas and muslin are regularly used as backdrops for photoshoots. If you’re on a budget and need to make a white background, simply use a well pressed bedsheet and a shallow depth of field.
How do you make a photography backdrop at home?
The easiest way to make a photography backdrop at home is to paint it yourself.
You’ll need:
- Large loose canvas – Something like this
- Paints that work on canvas – Oils or Acrylics – Oil will be a better finish, but is super expensive. Acrylic best on a budget
- Paint brushes
- Curtain pole to hang it
- Ideally a sewing machine – why? So you can sew a loop that will allow the curtain pole to feed through it. If you can, do this step first. Like this:
- If no sewing machine, get some clamps to hold it up
Hopefully this helps, get out and get experimenting!