Best way to hang a backdrop for flower photos?

[Ken Lee]

Sorry this is an elementary question, but here goes:

I bought a few yards of some black and white gaberdeen material, for use as a backdrop for flower photography. What is a simple and inexpensive way to hang it, to make sure it hangs straight ? I don't have a studio, and would like to hang the material behind a table, and then remove it - without damaging any walls, etc.

Thanks !

[Danny Burk]

Do you have a projection screen? You can attach it to the top metal "bar" and let it hang down, or if there's enough fabric, just drape it over the top and let it hang down over the front and back.

Regards,

Danny www.dannyburk.com

[Frank Petronio]

Most people use two light stands and a cross-bar. If you have abundant cash buy a pair of Manfrotto Superclamps with "J" hooks to hold the crossbar. Then use some "A" clamps (the spring loaded hardware store variety) to hold the fabric or canvas. You can also invert the "A" clamps on the top of the light stands to form a "V" notch to hold the crossbar.

The crossbar can be as simple as a dowel or 1x2, a metal rod, or a telescoping pole made for that very purpose.

Lowel makes good "grip" equipment, as does Manfrotto, Calumet, Bogen Avenger, and the Hollywood standard: Matthews.

You could also use thumbtacks or something fashioned from scrap lumber, old easels, etc. but one thing that is nice to have for studio-type photography is some kind of consistent system, so you can repeat the same type of set-up next week or year.

[Michael Kadillak]

I found a couple of those weighted rolling metal standard light stands at the local used department at a local photo stoor and the round metal looking straight up at me just happened to fit 1/2" copper tubing. $12.00 worth of copper elbows and unions and $4.00 worth of those massive alligator clips at Michaels and I had a stand as large as I wanted. When I really wanted to go tall and wide, I used a coupled 90 and ran a piece of support copper tubing to the floor from the center. When not needed, I just using a straight coupling to hold the two side pieces together. Works like a champ.

Cheers!

[John Kasaian]

If you don't have to break it down in between shots, how about making a frame out of schedule 40 PVC pipe?

[Capocheny]

Hi Ken,

This is what I did... I went out to Sears and bought a 72" curtain rod. There are those that come with alligator clips to hold the fabric in place. Since my "studio" has a window in it... I've just screwed the rod onto the window frame above the window. When I'm not using a backdrop I simply replace it with the regular curtains.

The rods come in a fairly wide variety of styles and, of course, costs. Since I use the rod as a permanent fixture to hold up curtains when I'm not using the backdrop... I bought a more expensive rod as opposed to your run-of-the-mill variety.

Take a look at this website for examples:


http://www.curtainpole.net/astro/index.htm

Look under POLES... the extension version works quite well.

Of course, this means screwing the rod into place...

Cheers

[Gem Singer]

Hi Ken,

Get hold of a large piece of foamcore or gator board. Cover the board with the cloth material that you bought, and set the background board on something that will hold it in place behind the flowers. Better yet, rig up a makeshift shooting stand and cover it over with the material. No need to hang it, and fewer wrinkles to be concerned about.

[Jason_1622]

Ok, I've had to do it all, from "ghetto" to actual studio and this is what I suggest. If you want to invest in a c-stand, you can hang the material from the arm with a-clamps and put more clamps on the bottom of the material to hold it tight. A used c-stand will run about $125 and has endless uses.
If you don't want to do that, buy a $15 roll of gaffers tape and as long as the background material isn't too heavy and your wall paint is in good shape, you can just gaff tape the background to the wall. Use a big strip of tape all across the top and bottom to keep it up. Don't leave the tape on the wall for more than 24 hours or you will increase the chance of pulling paint off the wall with the tape.
The next option is to find a place where you can hang pictures on the wall. When you want to shoot, you can take the photos down off the wall and have a place to screw into the wall. When you are done shooting, remove your background brackets and put back up your pictures that cover your holes...
Obviously, several of the other suggestions from other people are great too. I've done some of them myself. As long as you don't build something that falls apart and puts a dent/scratch in your furniture...

[Steve Daniels]

I have a few pieces of different colored velvet matboard that I use. They are always flat and I can clamp them to stands or lean them against walls. Best of all, they do not reflect highlights.

If you are shooting in the field, you can cut smaller pieces and attach them to wooden stakes to keep them in place while you shoot, or have someone hold them for you. An extra piece can be used to shield the flower from the wind.

[Sharon S.]

If you want really cheap, and small, and potentially useful, try getting a laundry cart with a cross bar...hand the material over the bar, and use the cart for laundry later.

;-)