What Can I Use for a Background for Portraits?

Question

I like to occasionally snap portrait of my kids at home. I don't intend for the photos to be fantastic --- just a lot better than having a distracting background.

What can I use for a background? I prefer something solid ... similar to what is often used in school portraits.

Answer 1

I was raised by wolves . . . who are also great , but cheap photographers . . . so this question has come up a lot!!

Fabric from the store, just keep one wall blank, craft paper.

The 'professional' secret is to put a little light on it - like one of those clamp lights bought at the hardware store. and to have 2 lights on the subject that are diffused - eliminating shadows.

Answer 2

School portraits have stylized backgrounds, like the "old masters", or such. These cost alot of money.
Yes, the sheet thing is a nice idea, but the trouble is.....if you don't have the correct lighting, they look like sheets.
Here is what I would do: Clear off a wall in your home big enough for you to take either a full length or a head shot - whatever you wish. Wallpaper is o.k., but the plain wall will do very well.
Place a bright light/lamp between subject and wall - preferably between 4-5 feet. (this lights the background - keep it out of the picture by placing behind back of subject)
Light your subject (not with full flash if that's what you are using)
Best lighting will be to the left or right of the camera - subject to create a short lit face.
If you do use a flash, place a tissue around or bounce the flash...never straight to subject.
Give this a try and don't let the lights blast the face or cause shadows on the background. You can move the lights in and out until you get the correct light.
Good luck!

Answer 3

sheet work great.. or go to the fabric store and look at what on sale.. here walmart has a #$1.00 table and get a few yards of different colors and try that.. you can use props like a wagon or a rocking chair go the the dollar store and get a kite and hang it behind the child or flower to put in the hand and around the feet.. if you have angle wings you can use those as well.. if it a birthday pic.. you can use birthday bags all around the child.. and then use pieces of wood to have the child sit on.. do you have poster to use as a back ground.. plants work real good.. if you have a nice flower bed out side that make for nice pic.s hope i helped..

Answer 4

There were a couple of good tips from above but if using material you are limited on the width of the type of fabric you buy. There are only a couple types that are made wider than your normal material. You can look at raw muslin and dye it a color you want and even paint it. Or you can look at ones that are for photographers from a pro photo shop.

I would consider gray for a background since it is neutral and goes with everything.

I have given you a couple of links of where you can see these items. The first link is an example of the color, size and price.
The second link is the whole category for this item.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/331779-REG/Interfit_Paterson_INT240_Washable_Cotton_Background_.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=sort&A=search&Q=&sortDrop=Price%3A+Low+to+High&bl=&atl=&pn=1&st=categoryNavigation&mnp=0.0&mxp=0.0&sv=4899&shs=&ac=&fi=all&pn=1&ci=4899&cmpsrch=&cltp=&clsgr=

This is the place I get 99.9% of all my photo equipment.

Hope this helps,
Kevin

Answer 5

Sheets. bedspreads, old painters drop cloths with lots of splash on them, 4X8 plastic lath with plastic/silk flowers attached, just about anything....

Light the back ground seperately from the subject, and you can use colored lamps/floods to change the background tone a bit. You can use a full flood or spotlight, or build a snoot or barndoor to change the pattern of light across the background.

Answer 6

Do you use photoshop at all? If so take pics of various things you like then place your kids in the shot afterwards. I do this all the time and it works out just fine. If you don't have PS fabric stores are a great place to fine interesting backgrounds, wait till the holidays and get the bargins.

Answer 7

go to a dedicated fabric store (not wal-mart) joann's is great if you have one in your area. fabric stores have large rolls of different fabrics for very cheap. much cheaper than buying a muslin backdrop from a photo supply store. typically roles in fabric stores are about 5ft-6ft wide by however long you want it.
you can buy these rolls--7ft. long should do it--and pin them to to the wall. bed sheets work in a pinch. the trick to making the photos look good is to use the smallest aperture possible, have your subject a good 6ft. from the backdrop, and put a little spot light pointing at the backdrop to create more seperation.

Answer 8

Two options that are staples in my photography.....fabric that is flat in color....plain old black cotton is best. You want something that is non-reflective. OR you can adjust your aperature setting. If you decrease the depth of field, your background will blur and you will not be able to see what's behind the kids...it will just focus on the children. The larger the aperature, the less depth of field. Shoot with your f-stop set to 5.6 or smaller.

Answer 9

good answers above

if you use mid grey tones it will improve the exposure, also try to have the kiddies wear earth tones - at least not black or white because automatic dont like white or black (asuming you dont manually expose)



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Answer 10

A sheet, tree or bush.