studio backdrops

[rweakins]

just curious what fellow photographers say is a good size, color, and material for a very versatile backdrop

[compuwar]

just curious what fellow photographers say is a good size, color, and material for a very versatile backdrop

"It depends."

I tend to use 10x20' muslins or 107" seamless paper depending on what I'm trying to do, colors depend on what I want and if I'm going to gel the lights or not.

[rweakins]

10x20 seems like a reasonable site. i was thinking about maybe black or white just to start

[termina3]

I tend to use 10x20' muslins or 107" seamless paper depending on what I'm trying to do, colors depend on what I want and if I'm going to gel the lights or not.

Please specify--I'm interested in which situations require which materials. (But don't feel compelled to be as in-depth as you usually are, just a crash course!)

[compuwar]

10x20 seems like a reasonable site. i was thinking about maybe black or white just to start

I got a good black and white muslin set off eBay from some company in TX. No rod pocket, but I've got lots of clamps and my background stand is very adjustable.

Please specify--I'm interested in which situations require which materials. (But don't feel compelled to be as in-depth as you usually are, just a crash course!)

Paper tends to reflect more than cloth, so if I'm using a closer subject<->background distance, I tend to go with the muslins. If I want a solid BG, then either works, if mottled, then a colored muslin. Seamless never wrinkles, muslins always wrinkle, so if I'm at a rather high aperture and I'm worried about a flat background, then seamless will likely win- though I keep a spray bottle with water in the studio to dewrinkle the muslins. If I'm going to travel, then muslins win, as the seamless only fits in my SUV if I start it at the passenger footwell and go back to the opposite corner.

Other than that, it's mostly about the color I'm trying to match- I don't have color overlap between the two.

Oh- and movement- if it's a model/subject sitting in one place it doesn't matter, but if they move a lot, I don't have enough stuff to put over/under the seamless to keep it good.