p.1 #1 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
I've been shooting in my living room for the last several years and it's been a real blessing. I have mounting brackets for a chain roller system installed where I can hold 2 rolls of paper (the vaulted ceiling called for the modification of the metal bracket, which translates into cutting off the top one.)
Anyways, I shoot mostly on white and not too long ago, I started putting down the white tile board from lowes/home depot and that has really been great too. Even still I had some paper that needed to be rolled down a few feet and since the paper had been down for a long while, there was a bow near the top. bummer, but not totally shocking.
So I'm working what would be the best way to semi-permenatly hang a background and what material I should use?
I have looked into some of the vinyl backgrounds and those sound interesting, but I assume that over time, they will also have some sort of warping going on under its own weight. Whether I would go with the savage, cowboystudio or DIY vinyl background, eventually, they would droop or have their own issue. However, I would love to be wrong!
Remember, I am not worried about the floor part (for white) since I also use the tile board on the floor.
FYI, painting the wall behind it white isn't an option either since there is a door right smack-dab behind it...
Would that be an option or should I just stick with paper and make a point to always roll it up...and give it an occasional half roll?
Side note...I know that paper is supposed to be stored vertically, but unfortunately I don't really have the space for that, so leaving the background hanging is one of the only solutions.
p.1 #2 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
I have... and use the LastoLite HiLite background with white train.
6 X 7, internally lit, and any differences i the floor can be done with a curves adjustment in Ps.
It folds up into a bag. I can take it anywhere I need to shoot HiKey or low.
I can GEL the head inside to produce a different color background.
There are optional "Bottle Tops" that can be purchased for gray, chroma green/blue, or you can fabricate a bottle top yourself. Either way, one of the most flexible pieces of kit here
p.1 #3 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
Are you using an aluminum core for your paper rolls? I have the Manfrotto Expan system with the alum cores and I can leave the paper up for a couple of weeks in a pretty humid environment with no sag. Without the cores, the paper would be junk in a day.
p.1 #4 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
StevenPalowsky wrote:
...I know that paper is supposed to be stored vertically, but unfortunately I don't really have the space for that, so leaving the background hanging is one of the only solutions.
Paper should be stored vertically if it's not on a roller, because leaving it flat on the floor will cause compression deformation. Leaving it on the roller system is even better; just rotate it from time to time.
Leaving a section hanging down isn't the best practice, though, as you've found. It only takes a moment to roll it up.
p.1 #5 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
hondageek wrote:
Are you using an aluminum core for your paper rolls? I have the Manfrotto Expan system with the alum cores and I can leave the paper up for a couple of weeks in a pretty humid environment with no sag. Without the cores, the paper would be junk in a day.
I am not, but I am curious about what you're talking about
When I did a quick search I found a few mentions of aluminum cores, but they seemed to all be for "uncored" paper. Mine is still on the core. Am I missing something here? Is there a way to make this work?
I've toyed with the idea of seeing if poles for cyclone fencing would be able to slip inside of the cardboard core, but that assumes that the pole would be really straight itself and that I would have a way to keep it from core from spinning around the chain drive.
p.1 #8 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
Just remember that you need to have the Expan rollers to go with it. The aluminum core is just slightly smaller than the cardboard cores that paper comes with. I wrapped a layer or two of gaffer's tape around the aluminum then took a small piece of coarse sand paper, folded it in half so both sides were rough, and tucked it between the gaffers tape and the cardboard core. Without doing this, the cardboard core will spin on the aluminum core and your paper will unravel. You only need to do this on one end.
p.1 #11 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
Yup. It'll work with pretty much anything that rolls up. Re-rolling the paper isn't that bad. It only takes a minute. Just tape the free edge of the roll onto the aluminum one, lay the two together, and roll them across the floor.
p.1 #13 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
It depends. If it's curved badly (more than 1" in the center) it probably won't. The paper along the long side of the curve stretches and once you unroll it, it kind of looks like an alligators belly. If it's a mild curve it may. I've fixed some paper by unrolling as much as I can and putting a few spring clamps on the bottom and letting it hang. A day or so later it's flat again.
p.1 #14 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
the current bow i have near the top of mine isn't bad, in the final pics, but it is there. i am trying to let it hang though to see if anything comes of it.
my suspicions are exactly what you mention, though and that its not evenly stretched from edge to edge...
p.1 #15 · best solution for semi-permanent white background?
I get 9' seamless for about $35/roll locally, so it's not usually worth putting too much effort into saving it. I cut up the bad rolls and let my son draw huge pictures on it.
