I am looking for a black photo background (about 9 x 15 or 10 x 20)
First criteria is quality for the shoot, second would be convenience/usability and only as third criteria the price. I don't want to waste my money and time on a background that's just a headache to work with ... and of course I don't just want to buy something hoping it would be good because of a steep price tag.
Can anyone recommend a specific product ? I would greatly appreciate any helpful response. Frank
Seamless paper? If it's truly a background (well behind your subject) about anything black will work. If it is within the lighting of your subject, then it's a whole different matter. If for example, your subject is standing on the black background and you light your subject, then even the black will be lit and show. Can you explain more about your intended shoot?
I would intend also to use lighting on the background as well, Rob. I use a synthetic "Diamond Cloth" in gray which is alright but I suppose there might be other brands that photogs here have good experience with.
fgransee wrote:
I am looking for a black photo background (about 9 x 15 or 10 x 20)
First criteria is quality for the shoot, second would be convenience/usability and only as third criteria the price. I don't want to waste my money and time on a background that's just a headache to work with ... and of course I don't just want to buy something hoping it would be good because of a steep price tag.
Can anyone recommend a specific product ? I would greatly appreciate any helpful response. Frank
I'm not sure I follow. You want a "product" instead of putting up a rack with a pipe across it? Does this mean you need it to be portable? Or just roll and unroll easily like normal?
If the former I haven't a clue! But if the later then rolls of flooring are what do it for me (tho I haven't done that in ages). Flooring and floor coverings come in wide widths, super easy to clean (important after a 5 model group shot for a soggy sandwich shop), durable (can be walked on and etc. - also important IMO), and thick enough that you can just turn the roll back and it'll roll up without fowling. Paper is good when you need translucency tho.
The rack and pipe are probably $50 to $75 and flooring slash floor coverings are priced as you find them different from place to place, retail, factory, etc.
Velvet is very expensive($35+ per yard and not wide enough) and crushes...avoid. Black paper creases and winds up being more expensive than muslin in the long run. Ebay black muslins tend to be too thin and light "through" - been there, been burned. I'd stick with a muslin from either Denny or Studio Dynamics. Too many others are just importing Chinese or Korean muslins which tend to be quite thin and troublesome for all black or all white backdrops.
@ Savas - Black velvet would be nice but it's rather pricey if not used commercially.
@ Bifurcator - With "product" I was referring to a recommendation for a specific item or brand. I do have a 12ft stand that I use to hang my backgrounds. Paper might be interesting for smaller framed portrait shots ... I should look at that in a local photography shop
@ George - I did find the Studio Dynamics backgrounds. Thank you! They have very good reviews.
At the end I went with that Diamond Cloth again ... it's wrinkle free (pretty much if you keep it on a roll). They also have a pretty good sale going on right now ... paid $89 for a 10x20 (Usually $99 - 129)
A hundred bucks isn't too bad I guess. I was paying about $20 to $30 for floor coverings and such at a used and dead stock shop I still frequent. I think they're about 8 feet wide and vary in length - sometimes only 3 or 4 meters and sometimes 8 to 12 meters per roll. If I wanted to pay actual prices I could usually get double that width from the factory - again probably pretty cheap depending - maybe $100 would get 15' x 20' rolls or something like that.
Glad people are putting the @ sign in front of names, otherwise I'd have no idea that I or anyone else was being addressed if for instance, only the person's name was written.
@ Leftcoast : bookmarked the link for future reference. Thanks!
@ Joe : Interesting - never heard about Duvetyne before. May indeed be a very good background or a medium to darken out any unwanted light in a studio setting. Thank you.
