Tips for making a painted backdrop

[mandoman7]

Mr Broadbent's advice is obviously right on. I would add that Chicago Canvas is a great supplier of muslin or canvas, serving the theater industry in addition to photogs. Also, in addition to the rollers for painting, I would suggest trying sponges and brooms to apply the paint with different textures, after some base coloring has been established. Usually after putting a several coats on the backdrop and then doing some test shots, I would want to make refinements such as darkening a corner and or adding some texture. What I found was that, with each successive layer the background seemed to get more interest and depth. So its good to just start rough and assume that adjustments will be made over time. Good luck!

[DrTang]

[QUOTE=zenny;907392]Yep, thanks for useful information.

And I cherished visiting your site (http://www.christopherbroadbent.pro). ....
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the backdrops are nice and all...BUT

What is that REALLY COOL wood deal with crank or something on the far right of that studio pix?


oh man.. whatever it is..I want one

[cjbroadbent]

[QUOTE=DrTang;907513]

...What is that REALLY COOL wood deal with crank or something on the far right of that studio pix?...

It's an old architects's drawing board tipped upright. Here it is, flattened and raised:

Ed, I'm a fan of Francois Gillet. The gaudy tablecloth was a ripoff of Cotan (d.1627) for a mag. I did a bit better in the Time-Life book on Studio Lighting .

[DrTang]

[QUOTE=cjbroadbent;912135][QUOTE=DrTang;907513]
It's an old architects's drawing board tipped upright. Here it is, flattened and raised:

[QUOTE]


oh...that thing rules

[Tim Meisburger]

Well, after a nice vacation (Montevecchia and northern Italy), where I spent as much time as a man with kids can looking at backgrounds in art, I got back and gathered materials and gave it a try. I used a 1 meter square canvas I bought at an office supply store. First I rolled in the diagonals in light and dark, then mixed with a brush. I really liked the look of that, but then I added in red and blue, and liked that less, then tried to mist in dilute white for the aerial effect, and got big drops mixed with the mist (I think spray paint might work better). Here is the first attempt.


And here is the second, which I painted the next day.

[Tim Meisburger]

Here is the second background in black and white.



And here is the third attempt.



As you can see, none look very good, and the third one has a consistent tone that looks almost neutral gray in black and white. I'm going to try again (perhaps later today), but using only black and white, as my very first attempt (which I unfortunately did not photograph) looked good before I added the color.

Any advice is appreciated.

Tim

[aluncrockford]

You have to use a matt paint for best results cheap paint flares, Bristol and rosco are industry standard and they can be diluted and if needed put through a paint gun via a compressor, If memory serves me well they are both pigment based so the colour is a lot richer . It is generally felt that for what you are trying to do gradind from the centre outward helps sits your subject eg lighter in the centre and darkening out . Looking at your background it looks like there is far too much texture you need to blend the tones, it also helps to get the background away from the main subject, this allows you to light your foreground and let the light drift onto the background , generally the subject is light from the left, this puts the shadow on the right and helps hold the picture in the frame and if needed use a dog toothed cutter to help take any extra light away from the left side of the background, this also helps your subject stand out.

[Kevin J. Kolosky]

http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=259183

[Tim Meisburger]

Interesting thread. I painted the canvas again yesterday with just black and white, and will post a picture later of the new version. I definitely recommend Christopher's advice to start with an art canvas. I have painted that four times now, and while I'm not very good, its quite fun!