Cute image. You are doing well with your fleece blanket.
This thread came up in my feed this morning, so I thought I would weigh in.
I own the backdrop company Silverlake Photo and might have some helpful advice for you.
Backdrops should be considered an investment. If you have the client base and bookings to support it, new backdrops can give you new looks and add variety your current portfolio. Each backdrop should be able to justify it's purchase directly in orders you see from your sessions. Unlike camera or lighting upgrades, you an actually track sales from images using specific drops and decide if you can justify purchasing additional designs.
Seamless paper is an inexpensive option and therefore the go to substrate for many newer photographers. One thing consider is that almost every photographer begins with a basic white black and grey backdrop. While those color schemes can be very versatile, if you desire to stand out among other studios in your area, it can be helpful to display a variety of options in your work. You can do a great deal in post processing, but it can be very time consuming to alter backdrops for many images. For ease of workflow, there are significant advantages to capturing it "in camera".
All of your backdrop options will have pros and cons whether it be price, portability, durability or design options. Anyone that has attempted to transport seamless paper can testify to the drawbacks with something so large that must remain in a rolled state. We offer a line of hand painted Muslin backdrops that have the advantages of being quite affordable in large sizes, easy to transport and come in an array of classic and timeless styles. The downside to Muslin is that it requires a bit more preparation before shooting. As a 100 percent cotton material, muslin can be more prone to wrinkling and typically requires a quick spraying of water or steaming to prep it for a shoot. In my opinion, any studio should have a few neutral 10x20 muslins simply because of their low cost and versatility. Here are a couple of sample images involving our Muslin backdrops:
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Another option that many backdrop companies offer is a wrinkle free and washable dye sublimated option. If you really want to make a splash in your market, dye sublimation allows you to obtain backdrop designs that are incredibly intricate and detailed. Until recent years, these designs were only possible by creating them on a custom basis in Photoshop. Now, you can purchase backdrops that have much of the digital effects done for you and will impress your clients immediately when you hang them up (unlike photoshop creations that lack the wow factor during the session). The added benefit to Dye sublimation is that it can be cleaned in a standard washing machine and is nearly impervious to wrinkling. Because of this, you can literally toss it in a vehicle and head to a shoot without having to factor in time to prepare your drop before shooting on it. The down side to dye sublimating is that it becomes fairly expensive in larger sizes, but can be obtained in a variety of smaller sizes (5x7, 8x8, 10x10) that allow you to add considerable variety without breaking the bank. Our wrinkle free dye subs are called Colorsmacks and come outfitted with a velcro system that allows you to set them up in seconds in any locations with or without a set of backdrop stands. Here are a few examples of the Colorsmacks:
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Hopefully this helps you in your process of selecting some backdrops that will be the perfect fit for your shooting environment. We wish you continued success with your photography career.
You can check us out at
www.silverlakephoto.com
Let me know if there are any questions that I can assist you with.
