Backdrops & lighting

I recently got myself some new muslins. I find that keeping them from getting wrinkled is next to impossible. I have been taking practice shots using multiple lights and have found the the backdrop seems to look best using flat lighting (1 light) Whenever i use more than one light source the wrinkles will appear and i lose the effect of the backdrop.

does anyone else have this problem? if so what's the fix?... vinyl? is vinyl any better?

any idears here would be welcome. thanks.

if the muslin is not a painted scene, like a tree, or fireplace type setting, but rather just a mottled painted look, I literally wrap them in a ball and stuff them in a bag. That way they have a very wrinkled texture that when thrown slightly out of balance creates a nice softness to the background. I'm not sure you will be able to keep them wrinkle free, at least not very easily. Try using a bigger apeture, and/or place them a little farther away from the subject matter to throw them out of focus. the wrinkles will fade away in the capture

here's a shot i found of one with a blue muslin. i keep this one stuffed in the bag

With a portable muslin type backdrop it is better to just go with the flow of the wrinkles, as the other post in this thread suggests.

If you try to wrangle the wrinkles you will always either be disappointed, or spend huge amount of time ironing (etc).

Just always stuff the background into a small stuff bag, do not fold it. This insures that you will have all sorts of micro wrinkles going every which way. This gives you a backdrop that is very useable.

If you want a background without wrinkles use roll paper. Roll paper has it's own set of downsides including hard to transport, easy to tear (that’s why there are many feet in a roll), and heavy, but a nice smooth matte surface that has a big upside in certain situations.

Enjoy! Lon

About the only way to prevent wrinkles is if you install a perminent track system in the cealing that lets you pull them out of the way when not in use but keeps them hanging and even then they will wrinkle some what but its not that wadded up look.

Muslins are SUPPOSED to be wrinkled. They are for a textured look. If you want textureless background go with seamless paper or plastic sheet material.