Backgrounds and lighting for home studio?

[Sharky]

Just recieved my backdrop support stands and i must say they are brilliant. was a doddle to setup and weighs nothing yet feels very solid

For the money i don't think you can go wrong with them tbh. Far superior to the cheap and nasty ones but without spending a fortune, and having an extending crossbar is great for when space is tight and you just have a smaller backdrop to hang on them

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Love my triflector, not sure how it would fare outdoors as I've only ever used it inside!

S

Is your triflector a lastolite model?

It would seem budget versions are few and far between

 

[Sir SR]

Yep, lastolite. The flash centre do one as well which is more flexible in use (based on the mk 1 triflector)

S

 

[jonneymendoza]

Hi.

am i right in saying that if i want to change a grey backdrop to a different colour, all i need to do is have the subject stand further away from the background and use a gel to light up the background in a specific colour?

 

[Phil V]

Hi.

am i right in saying that if i want to change a grey backdrop to a different colour, all i need to do is have the subject stand further away from the background and use a gel to light up the background in a specific colour?

Yes, but the subject distance from the background should always be far enough so that you can light it discretely.

 

[Choccy]

You can get good stands and cross pole from ebay for less than £50. Don't get one of the cheap kits that have thin stands and slot in cross poles, they won't last long. The kit and seller i got mine from is no more but item 121182876540 is the same, £44 (*the auction has nothing to do with me!). If you look in the item pics you can see how much chunky the kits is vs the really cheap ones and i've no complains with mine.

Sharky can you tell me how small these pack down as there are no details on packed size.

Many thanks.

Choccy...

 

[Sharky]

Sharky can you tell me how small these pack down as there are no details on packed size.

Many thanks.

Choccy...

Packed down the longest bit is the crossbar which is about 122cm when closed, the stands are smaller at around 112cm. When it's packed away in the bag / roll it doesn't gain anything in length and the diameter of the roll is around 15 / 16cm.

Hope that helps

 

[jimmy83]

Nice idea Sharky about buying a hairdressers head!

 

[jonneymendoza]

Yes, but the subject distance from the background should always be far enough so that you can light it discretely.

indeed. problem is you lose the angle of the subject to background ie making the bakcground appear smaller then the subject.

The closer the subject is to the background, the more of the bacground will be in the frame. The complete reverse occurs when your subject moves away from the background.

Ok if you have both the space and a large backrgound to do this!

 

[Phil V]

indeed. problem is you lose the angle of the subject to background ie making the bakcground appear smaller then the subject.

The closer the subject is to the background, the more of the bacground will be in the frame. The complete reverse occurs when your subject moves away from the background.

Ok if you have both the space and a large backrgound to do this!

Exactly, but that's where home studios have problems. Portraits should be shot with longer lenses, people shouldn't be close to backgrounds. Take it outside and that means at least 15-20ft between the photographer and background further for full length portraits. But people try to squeeze all of that into a much smaller space then can't understand why the results aren't right :shrug:.

To do it well you have to work with the limitations rather than working round them. But this section is full of people coming up against the same problems indoors, simply because they try to ignore the fundamentals 'because they don't have the space'.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Yup i agree mate.

I plan to work wiothin my means and so long as i can get best shot from the space and equipment i have then that is fine. i will just tell potential clients what i can deliver from my gear and space rather then saying yes i can deliver the same as a very large proffesional warehouse type studio with 20ft backdrops etc

 

[Hell on earth]

Just recieved my backdrop support stands and i must say they are brilliant. was a doddle to setup and weighs nothing yet feels very solid

From ebay ?

H

 

[jonneymendoza]

yea