White plastic backdrop material.

FiestaRed

FiestaRed

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Mike
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I use one of the Godox light tents for small product photography. Unfortunately, the white plastic backdrop that came with the tent is getting creased. Can anyone please advise if they know of a suitable material that can replace the backdrop? The best way I can describe the material of the backdrop is as a white plastic/PVC like sheet that measures roughly 40cm x 80cm.

The sheet I have is matt white but I would prefer a gloss white if anyone knows of such a product. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
If you are able to find a gloss backround, please don't!
The results will be even worse.
 
Garry Edwards said:
If you are able to find a gloss backround, please don't!
The results will be even worse.
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Not sure what you mean Garry. Are you saying product photography will not work with a gloss background?
 
FiestaRed said:
Not sure what you mean Garry. Are you saying product photography will not work with a gloss background?
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Product photography doesn't even work with a light tent, but arguably that's a separate subject. . .

A gloss background can work with product photography but requires full control of lighting, which isn't available with light tents.
You'd get horrible hotspots, caused by the light hitting the background from the wrong angle, and reflecting back into the lens.
 
I would suggest a Matte background - as said by ( treeman) Mark above :)

Les
 
Thanks Les. The reason I mentioned reflective is I wanted to get a bit of a reflection from below the product I was standing in the light tent but this is probably not the best way to show the product off.


.String Tea Light 1.jpg
 
FiestaRed said:
Thanks Les. The reason I mentioned reflective is I wanted to get a bit of a reflection from below the product I was standing in the light tent but this is probably not the best way to show the product off.


.View attachment 298740
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It's easier to add reflections in PP, because the strength and size of the reflection can be made to be consistent regardless of camera height or anything else.
 
Garry Edwards said:
It's easier to add reflections in PP, because the strength and size of the reflection can be made to be consistent regardless of camera height or anything else.
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Thanks Garry. I wasn't sure if that was the way to go instead of trying to do it in the shot. Can you suggest any YT videos that would be best for doing it that way please?
 
FiestaRed said:
Thanks Garry. I wasn't sure if that was the way to go instead of trying to do it in the shot. Can you suggest any YT videos that would be best for doing it that way please?
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There are loads, this is a simple one that has the advantage of silence:)
 
Thanks for the link Garry. Really appreciate the help.
 
Garry Edwards said:
It's easier to add reflections in PP, because the strength and size of the reflection can be made to be consistent regardless of camera height or anything else.
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I usually find faked reflections unconvincing/obvious... the reflection of the dotted blue bowl could not be created convincingly in post; at least not w/o a lot of time/skill (I'm pretty good w/ PS and IDT I could do it).

I would suggest using a piece of solid white perspex for the reflection instead (or gloss tile; color matching the BG). Then you only have to remove the edges in post, and maybe tone down the reflection. I use a stainless steel mirror, but that is more expensive and it creates very strong reflections which usually require toning down.
 
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sk66 said:
I usually find faked reflections unconvincing/obvious... the reflection of the dotted blue bowl could not be created convincingly in post; at least not w/o a lot of time/skill (I'm pretty good w/ PS and IDT I could do it).

I would suggest using a piece of solid white perspex for the reflection instead (or gloss tile; color matching the BG). Then you only have to remove the edges in post, and maybe tone down the reflection. I use a stainless steel mirror, but that is more expensive and it creates very strong reflections which usually require toning down.
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Thanks for the help Steven. Really appreciated. The blue tea light holder pictured above was done that way only it was stood on a thin piece of clear perspex from a cheap old photo frame. Unfortunately the perspex was scratched and the marks took a bit of removing in post. That was why I asked about reflective material. I do like the effect though.
 
FiestaRed said:
Thanks for the help Steven. Really appreciated. The blue tea light holder pictured above was done that way only it was stood on a thin piece of clear perspex from a cheap old photo frame. Unfortunately the perspex was scratched and the marks took a bit of removing in post. That was why I asked about reflective material. I do like the effect though.
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It's best to avoid using transparent perspex... the fact that it is transparent means that some of the light is refracted through it; that results in losses and it often causes a double reflection. No matter what you use it will eventually wind up with scratches and need replaced.
 
sk66 said:
I usually find faked reflections unconvincing/obvious... the reflection of the dotted blue bowl could not be created convincingly in post; at least not w/o a lot of time/skill (I'm pretty good w/ PS and IDT I could do it).

I would suggest using a piece of solid white perspex for the reflection instead (or gloss tile; color matching the BG). Then you only have to remove the edges in post, and maybe tone down the reflection. I use a stainless steel mirror, but that is more expensive and it creates very strong reflections which usually require toning down.
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They can be unconvincing and obvious if carried out badly, but I think we should bear in mind that the OP isn't a product photographer - he's using a light tent - and that even specialist product photographers can struggle to achieve consistency when using a reflective product base, so the PP method seems to me to be a good option. The issue, as we know, is that both the size and the strength of the reflection is affected by camera height and lighting, and that these are the most important factors, so shouldn't be compromised just to get a consistent reflection.
sk66 said:
It's best to avoid using transparent perspex... the fact that it is transparent means that some of the light is refracted through it; that results in losses and it often causes a double reflection. No matter what you use it will eventually wind up with scratches and will need replaced.
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That's 100% correct, the reflective material needs to be solid, not transparent. There are loads of options available if the OP decides to follow that route, for example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3mm-Glos...404634&hash=item41fa2acb9f:g:ih8AAOSwgJ1cXJRJ

They always get scratched, when that happens they need to be replaced, they're as cheap as chips.
 
Garry Edwards said:
They can be unconvincing and obvious if carried out badly,
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I know you know this; I'm posting it for others.
The reason they often look faked is because the different angles of incidence cause different viewpoints of the subject. The nearer reflection is seeing the subject from almost directly below. The farther reflection is seeing it from below, but at a shallower angle; it cannot see around the bend to the top. And the camera is seeing it from above, it does see the top.

Untitled-1.jpg

I do agree that you can make a convincing enough reflection for many subjects/uses; the ring in the video is good (the glass stem is horrible). And I do realize this is just for personal enjoyment/purposes... which is why I didn't get into the use of a light tent ;).
 
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