Muslin ... One 10x20 or Two 10x13 ? Color Faves ?

Although I may get paper down the line, Muslin is what I plan to start with. I'm going to try out some 10 ft. stands by Ravelli. They have some 13 ft. Which are not much more, but the 10 ft. seems plenty.

I'd like enough muslin for about 10 x 20 ft. but noticed there are 10 x 13 ft. muslin, like with black. A though came that maybe two of a smaller size might be better than a single 10 x 20 piece. Anyone have preferences on that?

Also, what are some folks' favorite backdrop colors? Or what colors you prefer for certain things, or certain people.

Do you often shoot large enough groups to warrant the 10x20? 10x13 is pretty big. If posed appropriately, you could probably fit a dozen people in 10x13.

That's assuming you don't need a long sweep onto the floor, I guess.

I have 10x13's and wish I had 10x20's now. 13' long is not enough for a full length if you wanna blow backgrounds. Its hard to get enough seperation with only 5' sweep onto the floor.

Black, white, and gray to start with. Colors are fine, but if you use them much they get a bit monotonous.

nathancarter wrote in post #16524558
Do you often shoot large enough groups to warrant the 10x20? 10x13 is pretty big. If posed appropriately, you could probably fit a dozen people in 10x13.

That's assuming you don't need a long sweep onto the floor, I guess.

Typically 1 person, and just lately for the first time, two people.

Actually, I sort of like the way the attached photo looked using a light color on the ground and black behind. The light one was a painting drop cloth from Home Depot improvised. Also photographed them with all light color ( 4 drop cloths). This was where I started wondering about whether Getting 2 smaller units of each color may be practical to mix colors.

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Littlejon Dsgn wrote in post #16525059
I have 10x13's and wish I had 10x20's now. 13' long is not enough for a full length if you wanna blow backgrounds. Its hard to get enough seperation with only 5' sweep onto the floor.

If you laid an extra 10 x 13 down, would that suffice for you? Would the "seam" be discreet enough?

mdvaden wrote in post #16525148
If you laid an extra 10 x 13 down, would that suffice for you? Would the "seam" be discreet enough?

The whole idea of a sweep to the floor is to get a curve so that there is no perceived horizon line. So its more than just a seam that you are dealing with.

If I had two of the same color then I could lay the floor drop first and sweep the vertical drop like I do now. But I would rather have it as all one, so there is less to fix in post. Because of this issue I am working on finding some paper locally to try out. Tired of the wrinkels already using muslin.

Littlejon Dsgn wrote in post #16525192
If I had two of the same color then I could lay the floor drop first and sweep the vertical drop like I do now. But I would rather have it as all one, so there is less to fix in post. Because of this issue I am working on finding some paper locally to try out. Tired of the wrinkels already using muslin.

Just watched an interesting video on youtube, where the guy showed how fast the wrinkles vanished from muslin as he sprayed it with a weed sprayer / wand. Not even two minutes.

I'd almost want to try it myself though, and see if the wrinkles remained gone too as it dried.

Didn't really take that much water when he did it, and looks like the spray was confined to the muslin. Having used similar sprayers for work, I'd guess the muslin could dry during the course of a 1 hour shoot.

mdvaden wrote in post #16525315
Just watched an interesting video on youtube, where the guy showed how fast the wrinkles vanished from muslin as he sprayed it with a weed sprayer / wand. Not even two minutes.

I'd almost want to try it myself though, and see if the wrinkles remained gone too as it dried.

Didn't really take that much water when he did it, and looks like the spray was confined to the muslin. Having used similar sprayers for work, I'd guess the muslin could dry during the course of a 1 hour shoot.

I have a steamer that works good, but its still a pita for a quick shot if I have had the muslin in storage. I just about have a studio space finished where I can just roll it up and down, so that should help.

Littlejon Dsgn wrote in post #16525375
I have a steamer that works good, but its still a pita for a quick shot if I have had the muslin in storage. I just about have a studio space finished where I can just roll it up and down, so that should help.

I've been finding some old posts where folks recommend stuffing muslin to wrinkle it even more with smaller wrinkles. But I suspect that may not be very nice for black. I can imagine it for patterns, but having trouble visualizing it looking right for solid like black.

mdvaden wrote in post #16525445
I've been finding some old posts where folks recommend stuffing muslin to wrinkle it even more with smaller wrinkles. But I suspect that may not be very nice for black. I can imagine it for patterns, but having trouble visualizing it looking right for solid like black.

If you are going for a solid black background and you light your subject with a little distance from the muslin it all falls to black and you wont see the wrinkles. I can get my solid white to turn gray/black with little effort.

For white - blown-out or not - I like Zack Arias' method of using white paper with a very short sweep, then tileboard on the floor.
http://www.zarias.com …torial-part-1-gear-space/

It's inexpensive and it works. It's not easy to transport unless you have a truck or van, though.

mdvaden wrote in post #16525445
I've been finding some old posts where folks recommend stuffing muslin to wrinkle it even more with smaller wrinkles. But I suspect that may not be very nice for black. I can imagine it for patterns, but having trouble visualizing it looking right for solid like black.

Actually its the other way around. If you maintain enough distance black is the easiest as falloff makes it go really black. Its only when you get sloppy and let your key and fill lights spill onto the drop that you have to worry about the black and wrinkles. But if you let that light spill on the drop, its not going to be particularly black at that point either. Wrinkles are more apparent on gray, or on white if you arent totally blowing it out and are letting it fall to off white or gray.

I use 10x20 green screen exclusively.