I’m sorry this is a category that is always being brought up.
I am trying to find a way to photograph my itmes in a way that look nice.
I purchased a photo cube tent a while back and didnt get on that great with it. So I opted to just use the piece of material that come with it (I’m sure there is a name for it) but it looks creased and I iron it and no sooner I have it looks crumpled again. I don’t want my items looking like I’ve taken them on my bed.
So I was wondering what different things others use as there backgrounds.
I use some white vinyl stuff that I bought off ebay for about £5 a metre. It works a treat because it curves nicely for that seamless look, never creases, wipes clean easily and can be rolled up for storage.
Hi @OhButtonMe,
Wood is nice to use as a background and stone is too. I know it isn’t always possible to have these kinds of things to hand. It also depends on what it is you want to take photos of, some backgrounds don’t suit everything.
Have you tried using a sheet of poster board?
Hope you come up with something you like. Play around with different things and take photos as you go. x
I used to use fabric but when I was shooting really small things you could see the weave so now I use a piece of white card, curves nicely with no reflections and when it starts looking grubby I get a fresh sheet. Also easy to change to a soft grey sheet of card as some of my items work better on that colour.
Sasha
Yes those pesky pieces of fabric that come with the pop up light tents are terrible for creasing up. I’ve only used the white backing so far and once ironed I roll it up loosely to prevent more creases appearing.
In the past I’ve used A3 white card, and that worked just fine.
It’s all abit trial and error really depending on the item your photographing.
It really depends what sort of look you’re going for. Certain items will looks great against a “real” background. Items like jewellery for example can look fantastic when put on something like slate.
If you want to shoot on a plain background then you could try getting some plain or coloured A3 paper. Stick one end of it to a table and then make a curve in the paper and stick that to something. Essentially a cheap version of this:
That’s what’s called an infinity curve. The curve helps you to light it very evenly to make it appear as if there is no background at all.
You’ll also want to think about your angles. It doesn’t always have to be top down. Try bringing the camera a little closer for some of the smaller items and try shooting from a more isometric angle. See how it turns out.
Wow! Some great ideas here…I love the infinity curve. Yes, it is difficult to get just the right thing. I have a particular cloth with some swirls on which I like to think is part of my ‘branding’ and creates a cohesive look through the shop - I hope!
I have reluctantly had to agree that my work works well with a black cloth behind it (I have an aversion to black!) and sometimes use this at craft fairs. I recently tried photographing my work against black and while a few of the pieces zinged out it seemed really difficult to get the colour balanced properly. Has anyone else tried black as a background…?
