Got a Background today. Ehh!

[MDJAK]

Well, after a few mostly failed attempts with my new studio lights, I went to B&H and bought a background. I wanted to get the most simple thing, so i got a Bolero collapsible one, 5x7 feet. It's too small. It also comes out of the package wrinkled. I have it opened and am hoping the wrinkles go away. Don't know if I'll return it and get a stand and roll of paper as a background, or just keep it and get something else.

[bolantej]

might be cheaper in the long run to get paper and a stand but if you have a steamer you might be able to loosen the wrinkles up a bit. if you can manage to seperate the subject from the bg enough the wrinkles shouldn't matter. good luck.

[MDJAK]

I've kept it open for the last day and a half and most wrinkles have disappeared. My major complaint, though, is that it's just too small.

Muslin or paper with a stand, I guess that's the way to go.

Thanks
mark

[Kevin]

Yep,5 x 7 is small, you have to shot close with that. Personally I use 10 foot wide, more versatility. But go with what you got.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Gosh, I use 10x24' bg's. 5x7's are for head and shoulder shots, really. Too small for much else. Might be able to take full kid pics, though. Problem is, they run out of the shot!

[MDJAK]

Well, Gol-lee, 10x24? My living room, which I'll be using next, is only 12x24.

Stupid question: (Don't you just hate those?) Is there a color that's best? The one I got is black on one side and white on the other. Seems the larger ones are not reversible, so to speak.

thanks
mark

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Well, Gol-lee, 10x24? My living room, which I'll be using next, is only 12x24.

Lol...WEEEEELLLL, that's why you can afford a 1Ds and I'm stuck with a lowly 20D. :lol: I think my front living room is about 20x35-40'. The other is about 18x40-45' or so. I'd rather have a two-room apartment and the 1Ds, etc. If I sold this house and got an apartment, I'd have Belmondo, ssim, and CDS's collections all together! :lol: I like my house, though...only size that works for the biz.

ANYWAY.

Stupid question: (Don't you just hate those?) Is there a color that's best? The one I got is black on one side and white on the other. Seems the larger ones are not reversible, so to speak.

Well, I don't know what color's "best", because that would change depending on what you're doing. I have a black and a white, each that size. They're 100% cotton muslin. They're quite nice. Just stick them in the washer. (Yes, my washer is that big. lol)

[mjordan]

The colors you choose for your background depends in some part to the cloths and skin tone of the people you are taking pictures of (I assume this is mostly for people portraits and not other things). If you have some say so in what people dress, you can tell them to dress in cloths that are about the same tonal range and color ofthe background. If you don't have a lot of control in this, it helps to have a dark tone, mid tone and light tone background. Dark can be black, dark blue, charcoal or dark gray. mid tone can be a medium gray, lighter shade of blue, medium brown, etc. Light tone can be white, light blue, light brown, light gray, etc.

What you are trying to achive is to keep the cloths and background close to the same tonal range so that the subject's faces stand out. In most cases (depending on what you are trying to achive of course) you do not want to create a high contrast battle between background and cloths and you don't want a background where the faces kind of fade into it. You want the most important part of the picture, which is usually the faces, to stand out.

So part of your decission as to what color backgrounds you start off with will depend on your subjects.

Mike

[MDJAK]

Thanks to everybody above. That was very informative.

mark

[rcanzano]

With lighter backdrops you can light them with colored gels and make them any color you want.

I have a grey painted one. For this shot I used a blue gel

[Todd Jacobsen]

Lol...WEEEEELLLL, that's why you can afford a 1Ds and I'm stuck with a lowly 20D. :lol: I think my front living room is about 20x35-40'. The other is about 18x40-45' or so. I'd rather have a two-room apartment and the 1Ds, etc. If I sold this house and got an apartment, I'd have Belmondo, ssim, and CDS's collections all together! :lol: I like my house, though...only size that works for the biz.

ANYWAY.



Well, I don't know what color's "best", because that would change depending on what you're doing. I have a black and a white, each that size. They're 100% cotton muslin. They're quite nice. Just stick them in the washer. (Yes, my washer is that big. lol)

I also use the 10 x 24 muslin but in general, do not have 24' stretched out. With 10' ceilings, I have about 7' on the ground w/7' folded back on top. The overlap can be placed over chairs, posing tables, etc.

Ron, do you place plexiglass over your muslin located on the ground? I notice people doing this with paper - probably in order to avoid tearing, but would you do it with cloth?