I noticed on Ebay and elsewhere that backdrops for studios (the large ones) are going for several hundred dollars. Has anyone had success in making one?
Come to think of it, has anyone had success in making any kind of studio equipment that would normally be expensive?
When I did photo's of my dog I used my bed sheets as the backdrop. They are a nice dark blue. I also used a cheap clip on lamp from walmart and a 100W light bulb and clipped it to a cymbol stand. Take time to check out the links the last one is pretty informative. (At least for me since I'm starting out in photography)
I use walmart fabric for backdrops. 1 to 3 bucks a yard - it's hanging by 3 or 4 nails in the wall, a wall hanger to lay the ones i'm not using across - goes ceiling to floor and then some for 3 yards of whatever color or style you want.
Apparently, someone I know told me those professional kind of backdrops can easily be done with spray paints. I'm going to try it the minute it gets warm enough in my area to use my patio... It remains to be seen if making these backdrops are easy.
In the mean time I go to my local fabric store and they have lots of different materials to choose from, black/white fabric, fabric with subtle prints on them, I even found a lining material that makes great diffusers...
Cheap tungsten studio lights can be found in most photography stores, ask for the cheapest amateur lighting available, or even go with some of those clip-on desk lights that some folks use here...
Originally posted by dsidwell:
I noticed on Ebay and elsewhere that backdrops for studios (the large ones) are going for several hundred dollars. Has anyone had success in making one?
Come to think of it, has anyone had success in making any kind of studio equipment that would normally be expensive?
i use a lot of cheap fabric store stuff myself ... the biggest problem is storing them all in a way that doesnt wrinkle them up so that you can use them again without having to steam/re-iron the whole works.
I don't store them - I have a wall I hang them all from with a place to "hold up" the ones I don't want to use - so they are layered - all of them! lol
If you MUST put fabric away, don't fold it more than you have to. Fold it once in half then roll it - store the rolls - when you unroll it, it should be a bit curvy but straight - hanging will fix that.
Apparently, someone I know told me those professional kind of backdrops can easily be done with spray paints. I'm going to try it the minute it gets warm enough in my area to use my patio... It remains to be seen if making these backdrops are easy.
This was my idea. As soon as it warms I will paint my drop cloth that I got from the paint store for $18.00. I figured it would be a whole lot cheaper. I just hope it works.
