Looking to buy 1 background - what to get?

[hypertech]

I'm looking to get one background to use for dog show portraits and also to take along with us to do some portraits of my sister in law and her new baby.

I'm thinking 10x24 and some sort of neutral color since I won't have any control over what the participants will wear and I only have cash for one right now - can't be changing the background to complement their clothes.

What do you think? Is 10x24 the right size? If you could have only one of your backgrounds, which one would it be?

[jcolman]

10 x 24 will be plenty for most setups. Mine is only 9' wide and I've yet to run out of room for everything from full body shots to couples.

Also, I chose to go with a white backdrop as I can make it any color or light/dark as I want by simply using my lights and gels.

[hypertech]

Any reviews/thoughts on this one?

http://www.adorama.com/BD522L.html

[Papa Carlo]

I'm thinking 10x24 and some sort of neutral color since I won't have any control over what the participants will wear and I only have cash for one right now - can't be changing the background to complement their clothes.

Yes 10x24 should be plenty for most applications with exception of group portraits of 4 and more.
As for the neutral color you got it right. Buy a set of color filters and use them with your backlight. That way you can get a large spectrum of different color, assuming you will be using a backlight.

[roaming oregon]

read this:

http://www.zarias.com/?cat=11

Buy one white background, learn how to use it.

[TMR Design]

Seamless white paper is great for backgrounds but far from being the best or most universal if you can only afford one background. White will show all shadows, which can be difficult to control. White is not easy to light evenly across a large background. White will be harder to render black or get deep saturated colors from gels. A large white background will act as a large light source or reflector and can give you unwanted light returning to your subject area and can be very difficult to control the halos, ghosting or wrap on your subject(s).

In my opinion white is great to have and to work with but not the best solution. If you want a solid color I would think more about a middle shade of gray, which is much easier to control and can be rendered either white or black with less trouble. You'll also get deeper, more saturated colors with gels when using gray.

[hypertech]

White is on the list, but it isn't going to fit the bill here. White gives a lot more options to be "arty", but that isn't what people at dog shows want - at least that isn't what I think they want. That is the first business (other than the real estate stuff which went from about $500 a week to completely dead over the last week or so) we are going after so that is what I need for now. I'm sure white and black will be the next ones I buy. For now, I'm tapped out till I get some money made with the equipment I have though.

I just pulled the trigger on that background so I hope it does what I need.

[roman_t]

i have two 10x24 muslins black and white and middle gray walls. i prefer my gray wall in general :-) everybody looks great on gray. but i like lighting black backdrop with gels.
just for example

[Pearlallica]

Yes 10x24 should be plenty for most applications with exception of group portraits of 4 and more.

Seriously!?

I'm having a hard time envisioning 24' width with respect to a large group.

I've got $1400 in my B&H shopping cart right now when I stumbled upon this post. In my cart is a 24' wide muslin backdrop. I'm buying to take formal wedding pictures with groups as large as a full wedding party. Am I making a mistake in doing this?

(sorry to the OP for my hijacking.. it's just a little concerning)

[eugenep01]

I think he meant 10 foot wide and 24 foot long to hang from posts.

[hypertech]

It just showed up yesterday, and yes, it is meant to be 10 feet wide and 24' long. But, I think we will need to hang it sideways so it is 16-20' wide for a dog show.

The color is nice ( a little blue though) and it is thicker than I expected for the cost. OVerall, I'm happy with it.

Anyone have tips for getting the creases/wrinkles out of it? It would take a long time to iron this thing - its huge.

[TMR Design]

Many people use a steamer to get the wrinkles out of it while it's hung up. Other than that you either iron it or use shallow depth of field to blur the wrinkles.

[Pearlallica]

It just showed up yesterday, and yes, it is meant to be 10 feet wide and 24' long. But, I think we will need to hang it sideways so it is 16-20' wide for a dog show.

The color is nice ( a little blue though) and it is thicker than I expected for the cost. OVerall, I'm happy with it.

Anyone have tips for getting the creases/wrinkles out of it? It would take a long time to iron this thing - its huge.

I've just begun my background research today, and so I misled myself into believing the 24' was the default width, not considering it has to be long to make up the floor component. For my purposes I would most likely have to go sideways as well. That, however brings me to the challenge of supporting it. Most support systems stop at around 10 feet wide. What solution have you devised to do this, Hypertech?

[hypertech]

What am I doing now or what will be my long term solution :)

Right now, it is being held up with a bunch of 3/4" sched 40 PVC.

For a long term more permanent/professional solution, I'll either paint my PVC black or I'll have to get maybe three stands and 2 cross braces to hold it up. I haven't figure that completely out yet.

[Pearlallica]

Right now, it is being held up with a bunch of 3/4" sched 40 PVC.


Sorry, can you clarify 3/4" sched 40 PVC. - I'm quite new to this :)

BTW, thanks for the insights!

[hypertech]

3/4" white PVC pipe from Home Depot

[Pearlallica]

i hope perhaps you can answer one simple question, if you will...

I've never actually seen muslin backgrounds before. I'm ordering everything offline in faith that these solutions will meet my needs. I'm now thinking I'll have to buy a pro duty backdrop system and modify it in some way by modifying it. I'd probably have to sandbag the stands, as well, to take the extra weight. How are muslin sheets typically held in place? Is there a long loop at the top where the cross bar slides through?

[hypertech]

I only know about the one I bought from Adorama - it was $90 so it probably doesn't have all teh features other more expensive ones might have.

On on side, it has a sleeve stitched that you can run a pole through. Mine does not have grommets on it, but I think some do so you can hang them from hooks.

To use it sideways, I intend to just wrap it over a pole and clip it on with those heavy duty spring clips you get at home depot.

[Pearlallica]

3/4" white PVC pipe from Home Depot

Ah, good to know! I might to double up to get the 20 feet I need since they apparently come at 10ft. max. I'm feeling better about this because I think I'll actually be able to pull this off!

[Pearlallica]

To use it sideways, I intend to just wrap it over a pole and clip it on with those heavy duty spring clips you get at home depot.

Spring clips, good thinking. I was thinking tape, but there's no way that would work with all that weight up there.

[pnmd]

...Anyone have tips for getting the creases/wrinkles out of it? It would take a long time to iron this thing - its huge.

+1

No one ever talks about the wrinkles in muslins which are impossible to rid of. When I had a muslin I assumed I could just hang it up and take it down frequently but the wrinkles were a nuisance. I'm thinking of going the Zack Arias route with white tile boards for background and floor. Of course this is for home "studio"...:)

[roman_t]

+1

No one ever talks about the wrinkles in muslins which are impossible to rid of. When I had a muslin I assumed I could just hang it up and take it down frequently but the wrinkles were a nuisance. I'm thinking of going the Zack Arias route with white tile boards for background and floor. Of course this is for home "studio"...:)

i'm thinking to get paper bckgrnds because of bloody wrinkles i'm tired to iron.