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building backgrounds in your home/home studio
Just wondering who out there has build their own backgrounds for shoots in their homes or home studios. I'm just a hobby shooter, so I usually shoot in my home. I've pretty much overshot the basics, so i've started to build some custom stuff. I'm doing pretty basic stuff that is inexpensive, and can be put up and taken down easily. Just looking to see what other people have done... Jul 10 08 10:18 am Link I'm opening my studio next month. The place is a little small, but for the price, it can't be beat. So so save space I'm doing 3 different setups. #1 - I love exposed brick walls and this place doesn't have any, however Lowe's sells a ver convincing foe brick paneling which is very inexpensive. I'm going to nail that to the wall in sheets behind where my background will go. #2 - In front of that, I'm going to set up a permanent backdrop bar which will hang out of the ceiling using 1" metal pipe. 2 short pieces of pipe will hang out of the ceiling 12' away from each other with 2 90's attached to that and then a 12' piece of 1' pipe. Then when I want to hang a backdrop, use four Home Depot multi purpose clamps ($.99 each) and clip the BD onto the pipe. #3 - I am building (slowly) a psych wall on wheels made from plywood and white flexi-glass. Hopefully it will come out the way I expected. A psych wall is great for model shoots. Jul 10 08 10:42 am Link I'll hopefully begin building my own studio next year. Some of the themes/textures I want are: stone, brick, barn board, "industrial" with pipes/metal... Of course, this will probably double as my storage shed... Jul 10 08 10:52 am Link I am always looking for stuff to use as backdrops. This is a bamboo window shade I got on clearance. edit: Darn that wound up posting someone else's photo!! Guess I don't know how to do this. Jul 10 08 11:24 am Link fabric.com A good place to get fabric cheap. I got 20 ft of red velvet for a Marilyn Monroe recreation for about 45 bucks. Jul 10 08 01:19 pm Link a neighbor of mine just put 6-8 rolls of old carpet on the street corner. i was thinking about going over to see if there was anything exotic in the mix. can't beat free. Jul 10 08 01:23 pm Link I do photography too & have just made my own backdrop. I got serveral meters of fabric, hemmed it at the top, then pushed a pole through it, on the pole I screwed in eyes at either end & in my ceiling I out in two hooks, so I can hang the backdrop up whenever I need to & it's easily removable. Jul 10 08 01:27 pm Link Most images shot against backdrops like you speak of look very cheesy to me. Yes, I have one in my port with such a backdrop. I did it that way on purpose because I wanted the cheesy Olan Mills element for the concept. Get outside more. Look around. Do something new & different. Don't waste your time or money on a fad who's time has passed. Jul 10 08 01:30 pm Link I do the DIY stuff because it's fun and I learn from it. Don't kid yourself, unless you are following someone else's instructions it will probably cost less to buy the genuine article than kit-bash it yourself. I'm building my one personal portable background stand in case I ever need one. I'm using two 114" load spreader bars from HarborFreight ($9.99 each), and they have a nice heavy Duty clip for hanging stuff off of. I'll probably use a tent pole, curtain rod or pipe for the cross bar. So far I've spent 30-50 other dollars in various curtain-rigging setups. I'm still just barely on the correct site of buying a basic background setup, but I'm also not done yet! Jul 10 08 04:03 pm Link Bill Mac Photography wrote: Foamcore--can be painted, wallpapered (careful to use glue that doesn't ripple the foamcore), etc. Makes good walls and such. Jul 10 08 06:36 pm Link I have my own photography studio - glamour/boudoir - which I run out of my home (opening it next month) and I also work for Pink Kitty Studios (which we have our first client this weekend). I have converted my two-car garage to be my "studio room" and my den is now my "reception/prep" room. In the garage I built two main photo sets: * One is a bedroom, which I call the "Beautiful Boudoir" and is neutral so it can be customized by my clients if they need to. I just built a wall and connected it to my garage wall, used wood paneling as my wood floor (you have to find the right wood paneling that can pass as a faux wood floor) and I put in a bed, night stands, props, etc. Looks just like a bedroom in all my photos I've taken. * The other is a kitchen, which I call the "Kinky Kitchen". It's a colorful, retro themed kitchen with teal walls and olive green cabinets, white countertop (Which is actually paneling that looks like white tiles) and a black & white checkered floor. We used the fronts of old cabinets my dad gave me from the apartment complex he works in and we built the rest of the cabinets from scrap wood. I even put in a faux window, which has curtains over it so I didn't have to create any outside look to the window part - it's just there. I use my stove for the meantime in the sets (I just drag it out and put it back in when I'm not using my studio), but I plan to get a retro looking one in the future once I start making some money. I've also added a ton of colorful props to the kitchen set and use flour, whipped cream, cupcakes, etc. during shoots to make it look like the client is baking. The bedroom photo set gets cleared out and is then the space I use for my backdrop/flooring/prop combinations. I use clamps to hold up my fabric backdrops (which I clamp to the wall I built), but I only have three of them. The rest are all made backdrops, which I just purchased sheets of drywall and painted each side a different color (just $5 or $6 per sheet). Yes, they're heavy and a little delicate, but if you know how to handle them properly and don't have to move them very far, then they're okay. Plus, they're easily replaced. I can stand them straight up to get full body shots or waist up shots, or I can turn them on their side and use them when my clients are laying, sitting or kneeling. I also purchased more paneling, this time a faux brick, as a backdrop. I'm going to purchase some wallpaper to use too on drywall or foamcore. I have several faux fur blankets/throws that I use as flooring options. I also got lucky and my local Home Depot was selling their "sample" rugs for $7 each. They are big in size and even though a piece of the rug is cut out and says "sample", they're still good to use since they are so big and that part can easily be left out of the frame or fixed in PS. Besides the props I used to make the photo sets look real and believable, I also spray painted wooden chairs I had from a table set I don't use anymore. I purchased a faux leather croc patterned ottoman and a zebra print arm chair from Ross for cheap. I also use the foamcore (painted black on one side and white on the other side) to use to bounce/absorb the light. My husband built "t" stands for me to hold the foamcore pieces. I also encourage my clients to bring their own props to customize the bedroom photo set - such as a picture frame with their significant other in it, or a special stuffed animal or other significant item they keep in their bedroom. That's why I painted the walls a neutral light beige and the bedding is white, although I do have black, pink, and gold satin sheets they can use, plus the faux fur blankets/throws and the faux fur pillows. The night stands are black and the lamps/accessories are all black, silver, brown, white and off-white. I stay in those colors and add to the set to fit the client's taste. If need be, I adjust the wall color in PS to fit their taste. That's all for just starting out and I plan to add more as I go along. Just recently I purchased an ironing board, clothing pins and combined it with an iron (which I spray painted), and laundry basket I already had, plus I will use the client's lingerie to hang on the clothing line I will make and then I have that as a set option for my clients to pick from. I plan to have many more "themes" like that too. I've already got a few in the works, but need a few more things to make them complete and believable. My post is long, I apologize, but I just am in a chatty mood today I guess (that or being up till 2:41am just makes me a little off). Jul 11 08 02:42 am Link Ebay is a great place to look for decently priced backdrops and props as well. Jul 11 08 02:49 am Link ValentinePhoto wrote: Thank you so much for the wealth of information. I'll have to try the drywall. Jul 11 08 02:54 am Link Im trying to remember the last time I heard "Awesome photo.. the background looks really good"???? Jul 11 08 02:55 am Link I recommend faux finishes on the a plain wall you can also buy linolieum and hang it like background paper (finished side down) and paint the reverse side. Jul 11 08 03:01 am Link Summer Rain Photography wrote: You're very welcome! Glad I could be of help :-) Jul 11 08 11:14 am Link Magnus Hedemark wrote: ha-ha! Jul 11 08 01:36 pm Link Would love to see images of your sets... Summer Rain Photography wrote: Jul 11 08 02:17 pm Link Here's a set I built in my garage...hope this linking thing works.. https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … ost5283659 Jul 11 08 02:20 pm Link I'm going to take pictures tomorrow of my sets and background/flooring/prop combinations to give some ideas to those that may be interested. I have some now, but I've since updated a few of the accessories in the sets and changed out a few things from the original sets and I like how they look better now. I'll post tomorrow night or Sunday. If I forget and someone wants to know what they look like, please send me a message to remind me or I'll message you with a link to the sets. Jul 12 08 12:10 am Link |