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Behind Your Subject
June 2011 |
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Take Better Photographs Today!
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Hello, !
Ready for summer? I am really enjoying my air conditioner today.
In case you missed it, I launched my new yoga photography business, Bendy You. I am giving away a YogiToes yoga towel when the number of Facebook fans reaches 100. Can you help me out by liking the page and/or asking your yogi friends to do the same?
Thank you! Enjoy your June!
Dawn |
Behind Your Subject
Backdrops bore me. There, I said it. And now that I am doing some work in my home studio, I have had to deal with backdrops. There are some out now that look like a wall and a floor. (I have not used this particular one but I like the idea of it.) I bought a Barbour Backdrop with a floor and baseboard and it's gorgeous.
Using the Barbour Backdrop system was going to be the only way I would consider studio work (other than for headshots, where the floor doesn't matter).
But I did have a bad experience when looking for some new backdrops. I bought a vinyl backdrop. The seller said it was matte, but let me show you how shiny it is:
Yes, I could certainly shield any spill from the lights with black fabric panels, but I believe I will try one more thing - spray it with a matte finish - and then cut my losses if this doesn't work. Frustrating!
Early on, I got some advice about what size backdrop to buy. My friend told me to buy the biggest one I could afford. I agree with this for a muslin backdrop because if you don't want to use the full width, you don't have to. Just clamp it to your background stand and let the extra hang off the ends. I buy 10'x20' backdrops and have found these to be large enough for my purposes.
But, for canvas, it is really important to consider the space where you want to use it. You don't want to fold canvas, so you need to hang up the full width. You need to be sure you have enough room for the full width.
Here are some more thoughts on backdrops:
- For a muslin backdrop, unless you keep it rolled up when not in use, you will want to invest in a steamer. Luckily, these are not very expensive. One bit of advice: buy a steamer that has a long steamer wand hose so you can reach up over your head to steam the backdrop. You won't want to pick up the steamer to get the height you need. Trust me on that one.
- White House Custom Colour now has beautiful wrinkle-free backdrops. I bought one to use with my Barbour floor and baseboard and I love it.
- As for colors, the first backdrop I bought was beige with splashes of pastel colors in it. I thought I would use it for children, but, the truth is, I have used it about 3 times in 6 years. I use the black one often for my on-location formal event portraits because it goes with everything.
- If you want to use a white backdrop, you're going to have to learn to light it so that it shows up truly white. It will take at least two lights on the backdrop alone. I am not fond of white backdrops so I don't even own one.
- Buy colored gels (cheap!) to tape over your lights and aim the lights on your grey backdrop to change the backdrop color in the pictures. CAUTION: Use gels for strobes only and not on hot lights!
- Move your subject as far away from the backdrop as possible. This does a couple of things. First, if you use a shallow depth of field, the wrinkles on the fabric will not be so apparent. Second, the farther away the subject is from the backdrop, the larger and less obvious the shadows on the backdrop will be (if you don't want to light the backdrop).
- Never used a backdrop? Give it a try by using a solid-(colored sheet for a headshot and see what you think.
- Most muslin backdrops have what is called a rod pocket. You slide the background stand piece through it. But I never use this. Instead, I buy cheapo clamps at Lowe's and use about 5 of those across the top. This way, there is no scrunching of the backdrop and I can pull it tightly across.
Hope this helps!
Have a burning photography question? Send it to me and I'll see if I can address it in a future issue. Thanks so much for reading!
Dawn |
