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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> White Backdrop, Paper or Muslin?
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Showing posts 1 - 11 of 11, (reverse)
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 10/22/2006 07:13:01 PM · #1
I have gone through a roll of white backdrop paper and need to replace it. Someone has told me that white muslin backdrops also do well for creating isolated shots and I wonder if anyone here thinks otherwise? Why would anyone spend money on roll after roll of paper when a cloth backdrop is a one-time or at least an infrequent purchase if it does just as good a job?
10/22/2006 07:17:58 PM · #2
I don't know about the muslin but at the rate my paper gets dirty it would be a pain to keep clean
 10/22/2006 08:18:01 PM · #3
If you light it properly most anything will work. I've blown out black muslin - not the easy way of course but it can be done.

What i've heard you can do is get a roll of vinyl flooring and use the back side - paint it with pool paint. it's durable, washable and won't wrinkle. It's not particularly portable though.
 10/22/2006 08:53:47 PM · #4
I was at the mall this weekend with my wife and checked out two photo places that were catering to the infant and kid crowd.

I was spying on them. They were shooting with a white vinyl backdrop. One that you could take some windex and wipe off if it got dirty.

Anybody know what material it might be?

It actually looks like a pvc coated belt.

We have some belting where I work that looks like that...but is thicker.
This stuff was probably 1/16" thick.

Barry
 10/22/2006 09:02:19 PM · #5
Thanks each of you. I think I will try the white muslin. And alixmiles, what you saw the studio using might have been what was recommended to me, a white muslin coated with vinyl, I believe she said. Problem is, I haven't been able to find any yet :) Thanks again.

Message edited by author 2006-10-22 21:07:13.
 10/22/2006 09:05:49 PM · #6
Don't forget to keep the muslin ironed :-)
10/23/2006 12:52:33 AM · #7
have you ever heard of tarpaulin? it's a vinyl with mesh reinforcement used for large format printing for photographic billboard ads,it's available on white/white,gray/white and black you can paint over or wash it and it's less than 1mm thick.
 10/23/2006 12:56:39 AM · #8
Originally posted by alixmiles:
I was at the mall this weekend with my wife and checked out two photo places that were catering to the infant and kid crowd.

I was spying on them. They were shooting with a white vinyl backdrop. One that you could take some windex and wipe off if it got dirty.

Anybody know what material it might be?

It actually looks like a pvc coated belt.

We have some belting where I work that looks like that...but is thicker.
This stuff was probably 1/16" thick.

Barry


sounds like a shower curtain to me...although, not that thick

Message edited by author 2006-10-23 00:57:24.
 10/23/2006 01:13:15 AM · #9
Wow... do you walk on it?

I unroll enough paper for my backdrop when I use it. Then roll it back up when I'm done. I've had it for a year and I've never used more than the first 8 feet of the roll. I just keep re-using the same paper over and over again. Are you doing something different?

I paid about $150 each for my muslins and I seldom use them any more. I like my paper backgrounds and they were only about $35 each for a 9 foot wide roll.
10/23/2006 06:54:44 AM · #10
Well I'm not very experienced in studio shooting nor in backdrops, but I realizes this from my experience:

For white backdrops nothing can beat up white paper. The muslim will retain more light so you will need more power in the strobes. And if you're doing shoots like that one you don't need the model to put her feet oon the backdrop. You can unfold only untill it hits the ground.

For black backdrop the paper is not so good because it reflects a bit more light (plenty more to be honest) than muslin or other fabric. I have photos taken both with black fabric (not muslin) and paper and I can pinpoin each that the backdrop was paper. You need to be extra carefull so no light gets on the black paper, or have more distance between your model and backdrop, or a higher difference in lightning (more power hitting the model) so the backdrop be black.
 10/23/2006 09:58:35 AM · #11
Originally posted by dwterry:
Wow... do you walk on it?

I unroll enough paper for my backdrop when I use it. Then roll it back up when I'm done. I've had it for a year and I've never used more than the first 8 feet of the roll. I just keep re-using the same paper over and over again. Are you doing something different?

I paid about $150 each for my muslins and I seldom use them any more. I like my paper backgrounds and they were only about $35 each for a 9 foot wide roll.


I'm still learning but yeah, I have had models walk on it. Even when they don't, my paper gets beat up pretty quickly. It always seems to get a crease or fold in it from being unrolled or rolled back up. Kevin Riggshas mentioned before that he puts a sheet of plexiglass on the floor over his paper for the model to stand on, and I'm thinking that might also work well over white muslin.

As for your muslins, sounds like you might have some that you might like to sell, hmm? Maybe you should throw one or two of them up in the Buy/Sell category here!
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