Portable Studio Backgrounds - What do you use

[Donald]

It will be obvious that I'm exploring new (for me) avenues of photography and would welcome thoughts and advice from those who feel able to comment.

If you have a portable studio set-up, I'm wondering what material you use for background, hung on a support stand. Seems to me that the choices are 1) paper 2) vinyl 3) fabric. To those of you who do have such a set-up:-

• What do you use?
• What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of that over alternatives.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[ccphoto]

Continuous light or Flash?

[Donald]

Flash - Using Speedlites.

[ccphoto]

Hate to keep asking so many questions but I think it will help everyone make better suggestions.

Is this setup portable as in both indoor and outdoor shooting and are you only going to shoot with artificial backdrops or au natural when the occasion occurs?

Also, what are the power ranges of your speedlights and how many?

And, what are you using as a trigger?

As for me, I rarely shoot anything except on a green or blue screen because I tend to do a lot of composite work.

[rpcrowe]

I don't like vinyl nor do I use muslin. The vinyl has creases unless it is stored in a roll - making storage a problem. Some vinyl retains creases no matter what. The muslin often looks like an unmade bed. As with bed sheets, there is a vast difference in the quality of muslin backgrounds...

For portrait backgrounds I like canvas - despite the problems with storage...



This would be equally as good for portraits of people but sometimes, handling causes slight damage to the canvas as seen above the head of the dog at image right. This would be easy to repair in PP (If you notice it)



The canvas unrolls flat with no creases...

I also use various types of fabric for my dog portraits. The advantages of these are price and the capability of easy storage. I probably have a dozen different fabrics for backgrounds...





However, I don't think that these would be equally as good for portraits of people...

So, I guess that canvas is my favorite but, generally I shoot my dog portraits with various fabric due to expedience.

A light-to-medium gray paper roll background is quite versatile in that the color can be modified by gelling your lights. It is available in various sizes. White and black roll paper could also be used to advantage...

Red cloth or paper sometimes will produce a striking impact





Black velvet or velveteen fabric makes a great black background. It really absorbs the light.

Believe it or not - this is NOT a black and white conversion...



as indicated by this image in the series...



A plain colored plaster wall would also make a decent background. But, you obviously cannot transport a wall along with your lights and camera...

[Manfred M]

Donald - I use rolls of seamless paper - I have one each of black, white and gray.

Fabric wrinkles and you spend more time getting rid of the wrinkles (invest in a steamer) and vinyl (the wrinkles never come out).

The only downside with the black seamless is that it is slightly reflective and you sometimes need to spend some time spotting it afterwards. If you go that route, store the rolls vertically in their boxes to prevent flat spots, and those are no fun to fix.

As for flash - if you want to use speedlights, get yourself some light stands, adaptor and umbrellas (I have shoot through, white and silver). I find I use white most often because I like the quality of the light.

[Donald]

Thank you guys for those very helpful comments.

As for flash - if you want to use speedlights, get yourself some light stands, adaptor and umbrellas (I have shoot through, white and silver). I find I use white most often because I like the quality of the light.

Oh, I have the shopping list all drawn up.

I attended a workshop earlier this week run by a fellow student on the BA (Hons) in Photography course that I'm doing (http://astburyphotography.co.uk/photos/index.htm). It has really fired up my enthusiasm fro something that I've been thinking about for a while.

I already have one Canon 580 EX II flash unit. So the shopping list (as it stands at the moment) looks like:-

2 x Sigma EF 610 DG Super Flashgun Canon fit

2 x Pocketwizard Plus iii Twinsets

1 x Lastolite Ezybox II Octa Quad Kit

2 x Lastolite 72cm Dual Duty Umbrella - Silver/Black/White

Honl 1/8 Speed Grid

Honl Speed Strap

Lastolite Strobo Starter Kit

2 x Lastolite Tilthead Bracket with Locking Shoe

2 x Lastolite 4-section heavy duty air-cushioned light stand

3 X Lastolite Sandbags

Lastolite Background Support System

Lastolite 1.35x11m Paper Roll - Shadow Grey

If anyone sees anything obviously missing (especially around about brackets), please let me know

[rpcrowe]

I agree with Manfred that a steamer is handy for muslin backgrounds. Additionally storage in a stuff bag (don't cram in in too tightly) is better than folding the muslin for storage. The random crinkles caused by a stuff bag are not as objectionable as the creases caused by folds and the results can be minimized with selective focus...

Additionally, tossing a muslin background in a clothes dryer along with a dampened hand towel can reduce creases and wrinkles. My wife's dryer has a "touch up" cycle which is ideal for this use...

I think that starting a kit using hotshoe flashes might not be the very best idea. Studio flashes, even cheap ones are IMO far better suited to portraiture because...

1. They have no modeling lights. Sure, some strobes can fire multiple bursts and act as a lame substitute for a modeling light but, this mode is no substitute for the real thing. IMO, using modeling lights is a real plus for good photography and is just about essential for learning lighting. To steal a computer phrase: "What you see is what you get!"

2. A/C current provides a constant recharge time and the recharge is not dependent upon puny AA batteries.

3. The studio strobe is built to use light modifiers and will do so efficiently. The hotshoe flashes are very inefficient in this regard, even with the adapters. A hotshoe flash on an adapter bracket, shooting into an umbrella will not give even lighting because the most adapters place the flash too high. Using a soft box to soften the specular light which has been already concentrated by the hotshoe reflector is like boiling ice cubes to make tea. You CAN do it but it is darned inefficient. Softness of light is determined by the relative size of the light source. Even the cheapest Chinese studio strobes have reflectors that are far larger in size than the tiny reflectors of most hotshoe models.

4. Studio strobes can use radio controlled sync systems but, also have built in optical slaves requiring no additional sync system

5. Studio strobes are usually far more powerful than any hotshoe strobes

6. You can get a good setup of studio strobes cheaper than the same number of Canon strobes and you can often pick up used studio strobes at a far cheaper price. I got a set of three really portable A/C powered Multiblitz strobes with barn-doors, snoot, honeycomb grid and filter holder with a set of four colored glass filters; all in a suitcase style carrying case for $200 plus a few bucks shipping.

NO! You cannot use studio strobes in the TTL or ETTL mode but, using strobes in automatic modes is not at all essential and IMO counter-productive to learning lighting.

There are battery operated studio strobes if you desire not to be connected to line current...

[ccphoto]

Softboxes? Body length reflectors?

[Donald]

The softbox is - Lastolite Ezybox II Octa Quad Kit.

Not sure I need a body length reflector. Will think about that one. Thanks, Chris.

[Donald]

I think that starting a kit using hotshoe flashes might not be the very best idea. Studio flashes, even cheap ones are IMO far better suited to portraiture because...

Yep, I've really sweated over this one for the last 48 hours. The workshop I did earlier this week was about about studio lighting, using studio heads.

However, I've really thought hard about what it is I want to do using flash. Whilst I want to be able to do mobile studio stuff (hence the questions about backgrounds etc), what I really want to explore is using flash in the landscape. That's what's dominating my thinking in terms of the shopping list above.

I say 'using flash in the landscape', but I include in that the idea of photographing people in the landscape. So, after wrestling around with all sorts of ideas and options, and having had Syl Arena's, 'The Speedliter's Handbook' for a while and it suddenly making complete sense, I've decided to go down the flashgun route.

My idea is to start with 3 flashguns (1 x Canon + 2 x Sigma) and we'll take it from there.

[Manfred M]

Donald - First question is to ask you what you are planning to photograph, as that should drive a lot of the decisions.

I use the PocketWizard Plus triggers for "dumb" lights, but the I prefer the FlexTT5 and MiniTT1 in conjunction with the Zone Controller as I can adjust flash output from my camera. These work with the iTTL flash. Trying to adjust a remote flash manually is a pain. This system is compatible with both my Speedlights and my studio lights (Paul C Buff Einstein 640).

Instead of a second or third flash, consider using a single reflector as your secondary light source until you get further along on your learning curve. Most of my small flash images use a single powered light source and my fill light is sitting on a c-stand held by a holder. A piece of white foam core is probably what I use the most as a reflector. I would seriously advise you to start with one light and then, if you need it, expand to more Speedlights.

I honestly found that while speedlights are okay, all the complex stuff is done with studio lights that pump out a lot more light and the cost can be less than a speedlight.

For outdoor work I use either a Godox AD360 or one of the Einsteins with a portable power source. Speedlights are too limiting because of their low power output.

[DanK]

Donald - First question is to ask you what you are planning to photograph, as that should drive a lot of the decisions.

Yes, that's my question as well. People, for example, will suggest different options than flowers. And what color(s) do you want?

I use a background for flowers. I almost always use black. My background is decidedly low-tech. I use a black fleece vest I bought on close-out, and for a stand, I have an old wooden clothes-drying rack my daughter used in college. works fine for flowers, but obviously not for anything big.

The issue with a black background is not as much what kind of lighting you use or how powerful it is as it is the angle of the lighting. After all, you will adjust for the power of the lighting with the camera. The more you are using front lighting, the more reflected light you will have. This will make the background seem less than fully black. Side lighting does that less but can make any flaws more obvious. Fleece doesn't wrinkle, but it does have a nubby surface, and that sometimes shows up.

My solution is that I select the background by color, put the selection onto a levels or curves adjustment layer as a selection, and black it out that way.

I've been intrigued by Manfred's suggestion of paper and have shopped for it a bit but haven't yet taken the plunge.

[Manfred M]

Y
I've been intrigued by Manfred's suggestion of paper and have shopped for it a bit but haven't yet taken the plunge.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...und_Paper.html

etc. I use the narrow stuff for my work. As photo supplies go it is relatively inexpensive and lasts forever. I bought my rolls back in 2011 and have lots of paper left. I cut it off and throw it away when it gets too creased or too dirty.

[Donald]

This is great stuff guys. Keep it going.

[Manfred M]

I suggest you read the following:

http://www.pocketwizard.com/products...flextt5-canon/

http://www.pocketwizard.com/products...minitt1-canon/

http://www.pocketwizard.com/products...onecontroller/

I use the Nikon versions.

[rpcrowe]

This is great stuff guys. Keep it going.

If I were considering doing outdoor portraiture with a portable and battery operated flash, I would consider something like this...

I would get one flash and a stand plus a modifier or two and also get a reflector for fill light...

http://www.adorama.com/fplfx600bc.ht...ef=productPage

Not necessarily, this specific unit because I have not researched it but, it does check off quite a few things that I might want:

1. high power - it appears that at a 100 ISO GN of 183, it puts out at least three stops more light than your Canon 580EX which advertises a GN of 58.

2. built-in wireless sync system with HSS capability

3. designed for a wide range of Bowen accessories

4. integrated modeling light

5. I am pretty sure that this unit would be more compatible with softbox use than a hotshoe flash

Despite the fact that McNally uses hotshoe flashes (which he is being paid to do) I don't think that a hotshoe flash is the way to go.

I once used a Sunpak 122J for wedding photography. I liked the removable reflector because this was great with a softbox. I didn't like the fact that the 122J was not HSS capable and the 122J was not that much more powerful than hotshoe strobes of the era.. Sunpak has come out with a replacement, the 122J Mk2 which still doesn't seem to have HSS capability and is not much more powerful.

[Loose Canon]

Hi Donald,

I also use seamless paper, three colors mostly (black, gray, white) and generally when I need a “sweep” BG. My requirements mostly don’t call for other colors/patterns. It’s a pain for the most part but much less so than vinyl, muslin.

Also, while I have these, for black non-sweep I prefer a black fleece blanket. Less reflective than paper and doesn’t hold wrinkles. I can clamp it wrinkle-free to a BG stand. As I’m sure you’re aware, these colored papers are only so good as your environment. Meaning essentially the light spill onto the BG. A black BG close to the subject with a lot of spill isn’t going to be black. Similarly, a white BG unlit is going to gray. Uneven spill causes uneven colored BG’s. Subject to BG distance, etc. I know you know this so just a reminder.

If I’m going to use white/gray, I prefer Savage Translum. Anymore I use this almost exclusively. Much more versatile than paper, lasts longer, can be cleaned and re-used, and I have made several scrim/diffusion panels/reflectors from it. It is a key ingredient in my studio work. I can use it as a sweep or straight BG. One drawback is that I don’t think it’s available in anything wider than 60”.

A huge advantage is that it can be lit from front or behind and when lit from behind does not show paper grain/imperfections since it’s basically plastic. Lighting from behind keeps a lot of obstacles out from in front of a BG and makes a bigger difference than one might think. You can put the lights anywhere behind and they will be out of frame. This is a biggie. Any kind of gradient, spot, whatever is possible.

Here are a couple of examples, all BG’s lit from behind:

One gridded spot behind the BG. Subject to BG approx. 2 meters. Unlit white turns to gray.


Two gelled lights behind BG if one needs color (reduces/eliminates need for color paper):


Lit for white BG.

[Loose Canon]

Oh! And BTW?

If you are going to be shooting outdoors with umbrellas, etc. you might add some sandbags to that shopping list!

Reflector stands are pretty handy too.

[Manfred M]

http://www.adorama.com/fplfx600bc.ht...ef=productPage

That's just a re-badged Godox Wistro AD600, Richard.

http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Cam...ble_Flash.html

I would agree that these are quality products, but they tend to use their own proprietary radio triggers. Anything with a Bowens speed ring works on these units with one of the standard Godox adaptors.

The downside of the unit is the size. I would rather spend the money on a proper studio flash as that will be a bit more flexible.

I have the Godox Wistro AD360 and it is a lot more compact than my regular studio lights (which are the same ones Terry uses).

http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Cam...ble_Flash.html These now come in a newer version in both Canon and Nikon versions with a built in radio trigger.