Cheap Photography Studio Backdrops

Published by hexfire on October 23, 2007

One of my favorite websites on the planet - Strobist - has yet again posted something of genius. He took a nice trip through the home photographers candy land of Home Depot and found all things cheap in relation to making easy, and home friendly backdrops for cheap.

Direct from Strobist:

“Here’s a trick: To cut the drywall, you score one side with a utility knife (using a straight edge as a guide) and gently snap it. Do this carefully, and you can preserve the paper on the opposite side to make a nice, joined temporary corner for a shoot.”

Basically you need to go to Home Depot and get yourself some drywall. This lovely cheap material makes the perfect cheap studio backdrop. A backdrop can be anything from plain solid colors to large luscious patterns of color or textures. It all depends on what you’d like in your photo session backdrops.

After you’ve managed to heft some drywall onto your big orange shopping cart, head on over to the paint section. Here is the second crucial step for making a cheap studio backdrop. The drywall loves to be painted. Take a look through all the offerings that the store has, and pick out a few options you’d like to try. I personally like the faux brush patterns that you can pick up cheap and doesn’t take that long to do once you’re home.

So thats it, run out and grab some cheap studio backdrops right now. It will only take you roughly an hour or so to get it painted if you only plan on doing a couple panels worth. Then grab your favorite model and put him or her in front of it by a few feet, add a light source and snap away. You will have more dynamic photographs in no time, and you can do it all with cheap studio backdrops. Be sure to get photos of your setup, I want to see how creative you get!

Don’t be shy trying new things either. Get all Jackson Paullock like and throw paint at the wall, do strange things like soak tshirts in paint and rub them against the wall to create some pattern etc. Cheap photo backdrops don’t have to look cheap. The end photograph will not look like you used a four dollar drop cloth. Try various textured items like sponges, egg crates, corrugated cardboard and what not to get some interesting lines on the wall. Also try utilizing draped or hanging cloth of light weight and then painting over it directly onto the wall, and let it dry. You can leave the hanging cloth in place or rip it off to create some dynamic texture to the wall.

In the end just experiment, experiment, experiment. Remember its a cheap photography backdrop you can always create more if you screw up on one!

You can also try Ebay for some great cheap studio backdrops. I’ve listed a few auctions below for easy pickings!