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| kazi Mon 8th Jun 2009 11:49
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hi
would like some advise on which material to buy to make my own backdrop?
cheers kazi
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| LisaSam67 Mon 8th Jun 2009 17:23
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Good question!!!! I'd be interested in the answers as well. I just started shooting with backdrops and so far I have the standard grey fabric one that was available when I got my stands. I've played with clamps and just laying curtain swags over the bar to add different colors and textures. It's definitely trial and error at this point.
example here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisasam67/3607415463/ My dad said the get up looked like a bordello LMAO! Thanks dad!
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| Captivelight PRO Mon 8th Jun 2009 18:53
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You can use just about anything, from expensive heavy velvet or velvet substitutes, to cheap and cheerful polyester cotton bed sheets. I've seen people using old bedsheets, and the big professional decorators dust sheets, and scrunch dying them to get a random pattern look, as well as people painting them, sponging colour on to them and just splattering colour on to them... although the last looked a bit gory! I guess a lot will depend what you need it for and what your budget is...
For small table top "macro" work you can use cheap wall paper rolls, I bought a roll of white textured paper and simply use the back of it as a plain seamless background on a table top. I also have a black one using a roll of black paper from Staples. I've seen "blue sky and clouds" wall paper ... but never quite got round to buying a roll!
The biggest trouble with cloth is that it creases ... even the "non crease" stuff creases if it's folded for any length of time, and studio lights are notorious for picking out the creases. If you don't want to spend hours cloning them out, and have the space, it's always a good idea to roll your backgrounds rather then fold.
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| kazi Mon 8th Jun 2009 19:01
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thank you both, i will be going to the fabric shop on wednesday so will let you know how i get on, i guess it
has to be fairly thick?
was going to try white and a black background, i wasnt sure if it had to be a certain one, one that was mentioned on internet was muslin which i went to the fabric shop for and was v.thin so now youve said any are okay i will choose myself!
thanx so much
kazi
nice pic of mum and dad lisa x
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| LisaSam67 Mon 8th Jun 2009 19:44
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Originally posted by kazi:
nice pic of mum and dad lisa x
thanks :-)
I have gotten a steamer and will be attempting to use that to get rid of those pesky fold lines. They are quite apparent on my photo in the link even though the fabric naturally has a crinkly look... the fold lines are there UGH... I'll let you know if the steamer works or not
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| LMoliviatis Mon 8th Jun 2009 20:05
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really it can be anything. the studio at my college used these giant rolls of some sort of paper (in black, white, and grey). it looked fine as long as there weren't any wrinkles in it. you generally don't want your viewers to notice the backdrop as that detracts attention from the subject, so don't worry about it being too fancy, just something that's opaque in the color you need.
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| genese Wed 10th Jun 2009 15:15
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calico is good.. if you use the right aperture then you wont see the pesky fold lines :P
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| LisaSam67 Wed 10th Jun 2009 15:26
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Originally posted by genese:
You are such a smart ass (I've missed that) LOL :P
one thing at a time for me or my brain might explode ;-)))))
My local camera shop guru also told me that placing the subject further away from the gray backdrop i got from him would cause the thing to be darker.... but I've not figured that out yet as i think the light stands probably need to be moved differently as well.... ugh... so much to learn.
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| kazi Wed 10th Jun 2009 16:46
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well, ive took a few shots today, please tell me what you think!
i know lisa so much to learn, i havnt any lights or umbrella, just a reflector, think they turned out ok for my first time though!
kazi
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| LMoliviatis Wed 10th Jun 2009 18:34
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Originally posted by kazi:
i know lisa so much to learn, i havnt any lights or umbrella, just a reflector, think they turned out ok for my first time though!
With direct lighting, it's going to make more of a difference. Not quite as much with a softbox or umbrella as the light winds up being more diffused. At least if I'm remembering right.
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| PhotoPro PRO Wed 10th Jun 2009 21:35
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I don't know where the article is right now but one suggested muslin, along with several ideas for dyeing it
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| LisaSam67 Thu 11th Jun 2009 03:54
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Originally posted by PhotoPro:
muslin
oh you are right! I remember hearing that too
off to look at your pics kazi
oh and a note: we used the reflectors along with the speedlight/umbrella and it made a difference too
I think the best thing to remember is we gotta take baby steps so we don't get overwhelmed ;-))
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| Captivelight PRO Thu 11th Jun 2009 05:29
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Originally posted by LisaSam67:
My local camera shop guru also told me that placing the subject further away from the gray backdrop i got from him would cause the thing to be darker.... but I've not figured that out yet as i think the light stands probably need to be moved differently as well.... ugh... so much to learn.
If you were just using one set of lights to light the model, then the further away she was from the background the less light would be actually hitting the background, causing it to appear darker.
In the same way you can vary the lighting on the subject by moving the lights or the reflector nearer or closer to the subject ... so you could for example set the main light to one side of the model, and set the reflector on the other side at a distance that causes it to be one stop lower then the main light. This would give you some light contrast on the model and add depth to their face.
Have a look at:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Using-a-Softbox--studio-lighting-beginners-guide-7600
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Adding-a-second-flash--studio-lighting-beginners-guide-6774
for some good tutorials, and maybe at:
http://www.vividlight.com/articles/1615.htm
for a basic understanding of the 4 basic styles of studio lighting.
If you intend going down the road to studio photography with "proper" studio lighting, one thing I would advise is using a light meter ... it doesn't have to be an over the top one, I just use a little relatively "cheap" Sekonic L-308S one. It enables you to set the lights precisely so you know exactly what to set the camera to for perfect exposure every time. We set each light individually when we set up a shoot, so for example we will know that the main light is set to F8, the fill light is set to F5.6 and that the background lights are lighting to F11 ... set the camera to F8 and you have a perfectly exposed model, with a hint of shadow for depth and a perfectly white background.
Hope some of that makes sense and is a help to you.
Miles
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| LisaSam67 Thu 11th Jun 2009 13:14
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Oh you rock Miles. Thank you do much!!!
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| kazi Thu 11th Jun 2009 20:09
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thanks so much miles, yes this is alot of help!
think it will be sometime before i started my own studio though, these pics ive just done did in my tiny front
room! we have an a shed like built onto side of house, full of junk love to think one maybe turn it into one!
what would be an ideal size?
kazi x
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| LisaSam67 Thu 11th Jun 2009 21:44
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that's a good place to start kazi
I have my "studio" in my garage hahahahaa
and i can move it to the yard lol
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| Captivelight PRO Fri 12th Jun 2009 05:19
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For head and shoulder shots you don't need a lot of space, although it's always good to separate the model from the backdrop by a few feet. For full length shots you need a little more space. To generalise, the more space the better as having more space will give you more options when shooting, and will allow you to use things like beds, chairs etc as props ...
Just looking at your "Outdoor Studio" shots Lisa ... it looks fun ... though one good gust of wind and your flashes take off.
Now ... where can I find a bride to drop into a nice cold river ... heh heh heh.... :)
Miles
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| genese Sat 13th Jun 2009 10:50
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smart ass huh :P no longer have my camera so not that smart haha
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| LisaSam67 Sat 13th Jun 2009 16:11
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Oh god! That's not good. Where has it gone??
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| LisaSam67 Sat 13th Jun 2009 16:13
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Ya I'm gonna get some different light boxes for outdoor use. I have sand bag weight bags but I won't trust $1,000 worth of flashes to them!!!!!!
There was no puff of wind that day
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