Backdrop material

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Hewitt

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Bob Hewitt
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I’ve been playing around with background material for macro and close up shots, plain cotton, denim, etc, but I’ve not found anything that I’m happy with. What does the hive mind think would be the most suitable for a neutral background. I’m leaning towards hessian and other open weave material but would welcome any suggestions.



Bob
 
I got some fabric for making blackout roller blinds, quite thick its white on one side and green on the other but it was available in different colours but its only 1.5m wide
 
troutfisher said:
I got some fabric for making blackout roller blinds, quite thick its white on one side and green on the other but it was available in different colours but its only 1.5m wide
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That sounds like it should do the job, I’ll have an investigate. Thank you!
 
If you can find sheets that are big enough (and still affordable...), wood veneer can be quite effective. A look HERE will give an idea of what's available and cost (UK based).
 
I use left over carpet underlay. It's a foam, about 15mm thick, speckled white on one side and light green on the other.
 
Nod said:
If you can find sheets that are big enough (and still affordable...), wood veneer can be quite effective. A look HERE will give an idea of what's available and cost (UK based).
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There’s a company not too far away from me that makes fire doors which are finished in a selection of veneers, maybe a trip to hunt through their off cuts pile is in order!
 
David_Mug said:
I use left over carpet underlay. It's a foam, about 15mm thick, speckled white on one side and light green on the other.
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I’m sure I’ve got some underlay off cuts lurking somewhere, I’ll dig them out. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
The challenge when using any textured surface (and amplified when shooting macro or even close-up) is that you'll end up with sharply-focused background immediately behind the subject and a seriously OOF background in other areas, which usually looks very ugly.

But, there's a workaround. You can place the subject on glass and have it some distance away from the background, to get a uniform effect.
 
Garry Edwards said:
The challenge when using any textured surface (and amplified when shooting macro or even close-up) is that you'll end up with sharply-focused background immediately behind the subject and a seriously OOF background in other areas, which usually looks very ugly.

But, there's a workaround. You can place the subject on glass and have it some distance away from the background, to get a uniform effect.
Click to expand...

I hadn’t thought of that, or even experienced it come to that! That’s an idea that I’ll have to play with, thanks very much!
 
A trip through one of the larger upholstery fabric stores might find the perfect background for you. My collection of unique fabric pieces is becoming quite large. Buy what looks good and then try it. I come back to the studio with several every time that I go. You will probably be limited to buying 1 yard at a time minimum, but that should give you several pieces for macro backgrounds. I tend to drive the sales people a bit mad when I want just one yard of many colors or styles, but they cut them for me, sometimes asking me to come back the next day to pick up my order when they are busy..

Charley
 
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That sounds like a plan, I’ll have a look around locally, there must be some. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Another possibility that I noticed just yesterday, so passing it along. This would apply if you are doing significant macro close-ups of say rings, bracelets, et.
Look at place mats in tableware sections of stores. There are some significantly unusual versions, like some from woven narrow strips of Bamboo, etc. 14 X 18" is the usual size, but would be adequate for this type of photography. You might look at table cloths if you need larger too. I found the Bamboo mats and picked up a few myself.

Charley
 
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