How to Choose The Best Photography Backdrop

Almost every professional photographer has been in a situation where he needs to take a headshot and all you have to put your subjects in front of is a wall. According to photographers portrait background can help minimize post-processing and time. And in this and other situations, whether you are shooting people or products, the photography backdrop behind your subject can make or break your image.

Well, there are many advantages to use a photography backdrop to improve your photography. But you also need to decide what type of backdrops you will use.

You can choose from seamless paper, muslin backdrop and painted canvas.

They are all good, but their properties are very different. We will go through the differences to see which one is the best!

You Need a Transportable Backdrop

If you shoot outside of a fixed photo studio location, you’ll need to transport your backdrop. Muslin and canvas are easier to transport than seamless paper since they can be folded or rolled up. The seamless paper rolls are heavier to transport but are less expensive than muslin or canvas photography backdrops. This is the primary reason why professional photographers use it as their main photography prop.

Headshot photography requires to visit many venues where your clients work and there usually you are unable to find a good photo shoot background. You need to take your props and a photography backdrop to create a nice portrait background. Painted canvas comes in various sizes and it’s the reason why it became so popular among corporate headshots photographers. They are easy to roll and transport and you can take the smallest backdrop in your backpack.

There are also many photographers who drive to their customers’ homes to make newborn photography. Apart from many other props for the newborn, you need to take the best photography backdrop to shoot on. Many baby photoshoots get messy and newborn photographers like to say that painted canvas backdrops are easy to clean and they prefer this type of backdrops for baby photography because it’s easy to transport it.

Another part of photographers that are in love with painted canvas is glamour photographers. They find it easy to change during the photo session and get many different glamour shots!

Get the Color Variety You Deserve

One-color background can be helpful since they have no patterns. And seamless paper can be great for this. But even when it comes in a big color variety of colors it will never have hand-painted textures as the canvas backdrops do.

Canvas photography backdrops can have a variety of colors and textures, allowing you to make a number of different looks even in studio photography. This particular reason made it a very important tool in food and portrait photography.

For example an example: a great photography backdrop subtly adds to the overall feel of an image instead of competing with the food. Food looks fresher and crisper when the temperature of your shot is more towards the blue end of the spectrum when you use neutral or desaturated backdrop colors. Just flick through any prestigious food magazine and you’ll see a tendency to use hand-painted backdrops and textures.

It’s the same with portraits or any other photo object. Different colors of backdrops will give a different tone and mood to the portrait itself and it also changes based on the subject’s skin tone, hair color, clothing, and even eyes. As you can see, choosing the right backdrop for your subject is just as important as choosing the right lens for the shot. So choose from many textures of the hand-painted canvas!

Sell Your Printed Photos

Who wants to hang their printed picture in front of a one-color wall that looks like an old atelier image? No one. More and more photographers sell the portraits they created on painted backdrops. This allows more photography jobs to be created because you don’t need to depend on good weather and you can shoot inside, and take photos of your clients that want to buy.

It wasn’t possible until the painted canvas photography backdrops became available. The variety of textures allows you to create photos from maternity shots to corporate headshots. And you can transform the place in just a few minutes, you simply need to have more painted canvas backdrops by your hand!

Photographers agree that hand-painted photography backdrops allowed a new era of indoor photography to happen. And revolutionized the prints that they sell.

Invest in a Long-Lasting Photography Backdrop

Painted canvas backdrops are made with three, heavy layers. This type of durability affords a long-term backdrop solution for any photographer. While the seamless paper is a convenient, one-time-use backdrop, the painted canvas is the best choice. The difference between muslin and canvas longevity are similar, but they have a different result for the final picture.

But now when you have all this info that hand-painted canvas backdrops are the best there are a few options that you can do. You can either invest thousands of dollars into purchasing a collection of backdrops or you can sign up for a workshop and learn how to create your own backdrops. In this case, you will save thousands of dollars and will be able to create backdrops after one day!