Backdrop Wrinkles!

Couldn't really find a forum category for this but at least this one includes the word studio! How do those of you without one of those fancy backdrop systems where you can leave the backdrops hanging all the time, keep the backdrops as wrinkle free as possible? I fold mine as big as possible but there are still those creases, Grrr!

What's it made out of?

Michelle Brooks Photography wrote in post #17866823
How do those of you without one of those fancy backdrop systems where you can leave the backdrops hanging all the time, keep the backdrops as wrinkle free as possible? I fold mine as big as possible but there are still those creases, Grrr!

I don't know what material is used, but you can address the creases, in part, if you stop folding it. Just stuff it as loosely as possible in a bag or pillow case.

A variety of alternatives:

1. Use rolls of seamless paper instead of fabric.
2. Put more distance between subject and backdrop, so the wrinkles are far away and out of focus.
3. Use an iron or steamer to eliminate wrinkles from fabric backdrops.
4. Store fabric backdrops by loosely wadding them up. Folding makes hard creases in a noticeable pattern, whereas crumpling results in random loose wrinkles without any pattern to draw the eye.
5. Use lights to blow out the white fabric backdrop to clipped white
6. Use spring clamps to pull the backdrop taut against the backdrop stands, and hang something heavy from the bottom. ONLY works reliably if your stands are sandbagged.
7. Get better quality fabric backdrops, such as painted canvas. The cheap muslins that come in beginner kits are crap - they're suitable as diffusers or scrims, but not as backdrops.

I know how ya feel. My first shots with cheap muslin fabric backdrops that came in my starter lighting kit, were disappointing and terrible.

...

I purchased an inexpensive clothes steamer (with a wand), hang the muslin and steam then give it an hour or so. Gets out 90% of wrinkles first go around, repeat if still not happy!

Michelle Brooks Photography wrote in post #17866823
Couldn't really find a forum category for this but at least this one includes the word studio! How do those of you without one of those fancy backdrop systems where you can leave the backdrops hanging all the time, keep the backdrops as wrinkle free as possible? I fold mine as big as possible but there are still those creases, Grrr!

If you're using muslin backgrounds, do as suggested above a couple of times for storage - stuff them as randomly as possible into the bag that the muslin came in. The result (if the muslin was truly randomly stuffed into the bag) will be lots of random wrinkles in all directions.

• When you use the background, keep it at least five to six feet behind your subject (further is better).
  
• Light the background with a light situated right behind the subject and NOT across the background from the sides.
  
• Use fairly small f-stop values to keep the background more out of focus than it would be if you use high-numbered f-stops.
  

Thanks Lefty!

Yes, I do the 'left hand' method above either in my garage or onsite the night before.

Michelle Brooks Photography wrote in post #17866823
Couldn't really find a forum category for this but at least this one includes the word studio! How do those of you without one of those fancy backdrop systems where you can leave the backdrops hanging all the time, keep the backdrops as wrinkle free as possible? I fold mine as big as possible but there are still those creases, Grrr!

Heya,

We fold and crumple ours up all the time, so they're always wrinkled.

If they're going to actually show up in the photo, we just use a steamer to get the wrinkles out. Simple and easy. It's like ironing, but while hanging. Simple!

Otherwise, I just under or over-expose the backdrop so that it's completely black or completely white and it doesn't matter if it's wrinkled or not.

Very best,

^^^

MalVeauX wrote in post #17868334
Otherwise, I just under or over-expose the backdrop so that it's completely black or completely white and it doesn't matter if it's wrinkled or not.

Yeah, that's what I do too. Control spill, or blow it out, slam it one way or the other in post. Or, if want to retain soft shadows or gradients, but you couldn't get it blurred out enough in camera--which is often impossible in a small space without compromising DoF of the subject--you can isolate the background and give it a healthy dose of Gaussian Blur or Lens Blur to eliminate just the wrinkle highlights. Or use a mix of blur and levels adjustment, like bringing down the white point on a dark grey background.

Admittedly, using an iron that has a vertical steaming function works best. I've done this to horribly wrinkled up sheets I wanted to flatten out because they had a pattern that would be noticeably distorted otherwise and difficult if not impossible to fix in Photoshop, but more often than not I use the MalVeaux technique on plain white or black backdrops.

I use to worry about wrinkles and just shot at a f/2.8 with a fan behind it . Then I went to paper and it was good for a while. Then went to vinyl and never looked back.

abbadon31 wrote in post #17877166
I use to worry about wrinkles and just shot at a f/2.8 with a fan behind it . Then I went to paper and it was good for a while. Then went to vinyl and never looked back.

Do you use a rolled vinyl for photography like the Savage type products? If so, I'm wondering if these products have any issues with odor when new. I've seen the results, but I've always been a little wary of ordering it to use in my home studio because I'm afraid of it possibly having a strong smell, especially when new, that might not be agreeable. I'd love to know if you've had any issues with this.

absplastic wrote in post #17877172
Do you use a rolled vinyl for photography like the Savage type products? If so, I'm wondering if these products have any issues with odor when new. I've seen the results, but I've always been a little wary of ordering it to use in my home studio because I'm afraid of it possibly having a strong smell, especially when new, that might not be agreeable. I'd love to know if you've had any issues with this.

I bought the cheapest I could find for my first test and when it arrived it just had a faint vinyl smell. That has lasted me so far 2 years and still looks like new and its still white. The black one I just bought last year and it had the same faint vinyl smell nothing that would effect me or make my place smell funky. Its always smooth and super easy to clean with vinyl cleaner.

I can go from white to grey and black with the white , but that requires the moving the lights in closer. (shooting at a higher f/stop). Then i bought the black and gels work amazing on it.

PS they are not light weight since I'm running the 9x20