How to black out background light?

I'm not a pro and could use some advice.

I'm making a photo gallery of museum exhibits (model ships, all are in glass display cases). I'm using a light tower to avoid using the camera flash and a polarized lens to cut out glare.

The actual images are coming out fine. However, I'm getting sunlight through the museums' windows and it's causing problems with the final image output. The windows of the museum do not have drapes or shades.

See this link and you'll see what I mean - Academy Photo Gallery. I just started yesterday and these are the first photos I took. I don't want to continue with the rest of the museum exhibits (a few hundred) until I can resolve this problem.

I think I need a black out screen placed in front of the window(s). The windows are quite large, so a 10 foot by 12 foot size would most likely be ok. I've been looking at various screens, but am unsure of what would work best. Paper, canvas, or Dyed Muslin. Also, would the best choice be flat black?

I even considered taking the photos at night, but I would still get background lights from the surrounding area coming through the windows.

Any help and or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

John

Seems to me that the cheapest solution would be black seamless paper. It comes in various lengths and widths. Of course you'll still need background stands to hang it on, but the setup will be useful for future shots.

Mark

Thanks for your reply Mark. I was looking at paper, but wouldn't muslin or canvas hold up better over time? I don't mind spending a few extra bucks if it means a material that will hold up. I've got about three hundred more photos to go.

I was looking at stands from Adorama, and saw a few that would do quite nicely for various locations.

On some of the shots, I have to block outside light that comes from behind the display, ex - Tractor Tug - Wedell Foss and some I have to block light from across the room, ex - Tug - Hercules

Again, thanks, John

Muslin or canvas would both hold up better over time - it depends on whether you're using enough DOF so that the backdrop would actually show or not. Both muslin and canvas have a tendency to wrinkle quite badly over time. Seamless rolls up nice and clean and will hold up pretty well as long as you don't have models in high heels walking on it

Mark