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12/08/2003 08:15:15 AM · #1 |
I'm a beginner. I took a full year of photography when I was in High School, and I loved it. I learned a lot, mostly the basics, and some intermediate stuff.
Anyways, I was wondering what kind of fabric or background sheet, colors and such do you all use when you're setting up a subject to have a background. I've never taken photos of a setup with a background, and I would like to start doing that. My photos consist of just going out and taking multiple pictures of 4 or 5 subjects at different angles, changing the aperture and shutter speed and F/stop.
So for those of who you use backgrounds, what kind of fabrics and colors would work well? Would white blankets work? or white or black drapes? Thanks in advance |
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12/08/2003 08:52:39 AM · #2 |
You can use virtually anything you like. What type of look are you going for?
You mention black and white. I use large pieces of felt, plastic, and poster board. You might find glare easier to control with felt or velvet. (You may want glare though, it all depends) They also don't have the weave pattern like linen does. The poster board is probably going to be the cheapest solution. You can get really large sheets for a quarter here. Probably just as cheap in Italy.
For fancier photos you can try using sheets of plexi. Clear plexi can be placed over your colored fabric and with the lighting done properly you can get a nice reflection of the object off the plexi while maintaining the fabric color. Slightly opaque sheets of plexi can be used for back lighting situations.
Since you haven't done any photos with backgrounds I would just rummage around a fabric/craft store and see what grabs your fancy. |
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12/08/2003 09:03:19 AM · #3 |
For white, I use a white King size bedsheet. If you get cheap ones, you can dye the to a rainbow of different colors.
You can buy canvas or muslin (any size you wish) and paint your own background for the mottled type of background.
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12/08/2003 09:07:51 AM · #4 |
I have just bought the fabric for a mini-studio I am making.
I bought a medium weight, black, cotton fabric. It turned out well and created a very black background with barely any post-processing.
For a white background, I just used the back of a roll of Christmas wrapping paper on the mini studio frame. It came out nice and white when I shot a dark subject.
Next I am going to make the frame, as right now I am using an end table and a poster sized picture frame as the back. I hope to show it off when it is complete. The whole thing, including a light weight tripod, will probably cost me less than $50. US dollars by the time I am complete. |
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12/08/2003 05:43:49 PM · #5 |
| wow awesome ideas. Thanks a lot, I found these very useful. The backside of the christmas paper sounds like a great idea as well. I'll keep these ideas in mind. Thanks |
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12/08/2003 06:09:32 PM · #6 |
Depending on how big the subject is, I've used blankets, towels, bedsheets, and even curtains. Of course, results vary, and my feedback reflects that. I've also read of some folks using white, black, or gray foamcore.
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12/08/2003 07:16:25 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by wkmen:
I've also read of some folks using white, black, or gray foamcore. |
Foamcore is fine if you are shooting down on the object. It doesn't bend so it is difficult to get a good low angle shot. Just something to keep in mind. |
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12/08/2003 07:20:41 PM · #8 |
Not too cheap, but I've started a little ministudio and black velvet worked great. I also bought white but haven't used it yet:
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