What you Should know About Photographic Backgrounds

Hola|Hi|Aloha|Ciao|Salut|你 as a fan of photography, I know that choosing a backdrop or a cloth photo backdrops is sometimes not an easy task. The world of backdrops and photography cloth backdrops is a varied world, so we will talk a little about this.

The background of a photograph is made up of all those elements that, not forming part of the close-ups, remain within the frame of your photographs. The background is not just a wall or a landscape, but everything that interacts in them: the sun, shadows, people, objects, etc. That they will help you to reinforce the feeling of place, that is, the message and feelings that your photographs convey.

That the background may not be in focus or is totally out of focus does not exempt you from paying due attention to it. Objects may not be distinguishable, if the bokeh or blur is very high, but anyway, the colors, reflections or lines that would have been visible, can enhance or ruin your photos. And not to mention, the background is clear and sharp, where the need to work with it becomes even more important. Collapsable backdrops? Cloth photo backdrops?

The key to choosing one background or another is: pay attention to what you want to emphasize, that is, what will be the reason for your photograph and then surround it with all those elements that help you enhance it: place it in the frame and compose the photography around this. An inappropriate background can end up ruining the whole photo.

Keep in mind that, most of the times, less is more, so more sober backgrounds and with softer tones are preferable to those where chaos and disorder take over the situation. In the search to empower your protagonists, try not to obtain the opposite effect, to distract the viewer’s attention

Tricks

By shooting with a more shallow depth of field, you will create a blurred backdrop. Trick can be used when shooting on any backdrop and creates a soft, unobtrusive background placing more attention on your subject.

One the most backdrop mistakes is in the shadows. To eliminate unwanted shadows on your backdrop, it is best to start by placing your subject subject about 3-feet in front of it and then adjusting from there. Depending on light placement, this should eliminate any awkward shadows.

For a fresh or clean appearance, go with high-key lighting. High-key lighting will “blow out” your backdrop and focus attention on your subject. To do so, evenly light a solid white backdrop ensuring that the light is reading at least 3-stops higher than the light on your subject.

For a dramatic or edgy appearance, go with low-key lighting. Low-key lighting also focuses attention onto your subject by surrounding them in shadows instead of light. To do this, you want to ensure that your solid black backdrop is at least 3 stops darker than the light on your subject. With low-key lighting, you also need to ensure that none of the light from your subject is hitting your backdrop. Grids and flag are very helpful for this.

The backgrounds used for inspiration are from Starbackdrop, a store of photography drop cloths with a wide variety to choose from, from light brick walls to oil painting photographs.