Backgrounds

For those considering a background, if it's going to be a muslin background then stop right there. Unless you need more than about 8 feet height/width then you might just as well head to the local fabric shop. Fabric can be cheaper and can be easier to obtain than muslins.

Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping to make up some backgrounds on the cheap. No idea where my nearest fabric shop is though, I've never bought any

Well it certainly depends on what you're shooting and what effect you're looking for. There are backgrounds available that you can't even come close to with fabric and if you want something more or different than tie-dye or solid colors you're very limited at the fabric store. Granted, there are some prices of fabric but I think it's a bit of a blanket statement to just say not to look further than the fabric store.

I have a few Botero backgrounds and a few more on the way and they are absolutely beautiful and blow away anything I could pick up locally from a fabric store.

TMR Design wrote in post #4653363
Well it certainly depends on what you're shooting and what effect you're looking for. There are backgrounds available that you can't even come close to with fabric and if you want something more or different than tie-dye or solid colors you're very limited at the fabric store. Granted, there are some prices of fabric but I think it's a bit of a blanket statement to just say not to look further than the fabric store.

I have a few Botero backgrounds and a few more on the way and they are absolutely beautiful and blow away anything I could pick up locally from a fabric store.

But you're talking about specialised backgrounds...

No I'm not at all talking about specialized backgrounds. Just because a background is not white, black, gray or a solid color fabric does not make it specialized. It makes it interesting and exciting and breaks the monotony of those generic solid colors.

I am thinking of trying to dye a canvas drop cloth from the local home repair store. I saw something of doing this not to long ago. I figure one in a med-light blue and or a med grey and soem gels should take care of everything short of blue/green screen.

Better check with your fabric stores as I thought they only sold in widths up to 60". Not exactly 8'.

I can get 9' wide muslins at my local fabric store. They sell it in various thread counts too. I think a bolt was 9' wide by 15 yards in length.

My local fabric store sells it in 8' wide rolls.

Bedsheets from WalMart (California King) are pretty decent too. Just need to tie-dye them so the creases and folds don't show.

JoAnn Fabrics sell 120" (10 feet if you're bad at math) wide white and tan muslins. I bought a 10'x12' white for $39.00. I bought 2 boxes of RIT dye for $1.99 each. I haven't gotten around to dying it yet, but I will. There are some DIY dying techniques that seem to work. Why spend hundreds of dollars for something you can do yourself. Obviously, if you're looking for a custom muslin, then you'll either need to pay someone to paint it for you or buy it. We used to have the local art studio students paint our canvas backdrops for our youth camp sets. Find a local muralist and see if they'll paint a custom muslin for you. You might find one very affordable.

Just to let you know, I have been using fabric store backdrops for years, but locally I have three fabric stores (JoAnn's, Hancock, & Walmart ) and it is very rare when they have anything wider then 60" in stock. If I have to special order the price goes up so much I might as well order a scenic from B+H, which I did. I have to date found one length of fabric that was both wider then 60" (9ft in this case) and useable as a photo backdrop.

The second best choice is sail canvas from marine store specializing in sail boats, but that isn't cheap either around here.

What I have found, but I usually have bad luck with these things.

I went o Joann couple of times here in SF bay area. Couldn't find anything nice larger than 58". The did have 1 raw muslin roll in 109" I believe. And nice black velvet thing was close to $20 per yard even for 58" roll.

I will stick with 10x20 hand painted stuff from SilverLake and others.

Hi bobbyz,

Same here at Jo-Anns on Long Island. The largest width I can get is 60". We also have a local Fabric Depot that will occasionally have a limited selection of 72" width, but never wider.

I've been buying and loving the Botero double sided 10' x 12' backgrounds. They really look great and aren't thin and flimsy like so many. I recommend them highly.

The muslin I bought was folded up to 60" (unfolded to 120"). I was told that 10' white muslin is a common item for almost all stores. My local store is a Superstore so maybe that makes a difference.

Is it hard to get that total blacked out background look using black fabric? I imagine the fabric you choose would have to have a matte finish?
I also want to get the saturated white background look. Could I get that with a white sheet with a strobe aimed at the background?