How to Paint Photography Backgrounds

Photography backdrops can sell at retail stores for hundreds of dollars. This simply muslin backdrop is easy to make, easy on your wallet and makes a great background for portraits. Perfect for the home studio or a photographer on a budget.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 10x10 feet of muslin fabric
• Dye (powder or liquid) in desired color
• Large bucket or plastic container (18 gallon)
• Twine
• Pot
• Wooden stick

1. Rinse the muslin by hand. It needs to be damp before you dye it.
2. Boil water in the pot to prepare your dye mix. Refer to directions on the specific brand of dye you purchase. Usually, the hotter the water, the better the dye will take.
3. Bunch the damp muslin in handfuls until you have a large ball. Wrap the ball with twine just enough to keep it together. If you bunch or wrap the fabric ball too tightly it will not absorb the dye evenly. If you want more of a design on your backdrop, use rubber bands around smaller handfuls of cloth before bunching the fabric.
4. Fill the bucket with hot tap water. Again, the hotter the water, the better the dye will take. Add your dye mixture from step 2. Place the ball of muslin in the water and use a stick to keep it underneath the dye.
5. Allow the fabric to soak in the dye for 30-45 minutes. Continue to turn the ball of fabric around in the dye with the stick, rotating every few minutes, so it absorbs the dye evenly.
6. At this point you may remove the fabric, cut the cord and allow to dry. If you want the white and lighter areas to be darker, place the unrolled fabric back in the dye for a few minutes.
7. Tack the dried fabric backdrop on the wall. When not in use, wad the fabric back in a ball to maintain the texture of the backdrop.

Tips & Warnings

• For darker backdrops, leave the fabric in the dye longer.
• For multi-colored backdrops, dye the entire piece of fabric in a light color. Then, wad it in a ball, wrap it with twine and dunk in it a darker color for 10 minutes. It is best to use two colors that blend well such as red and blue. The areas where the dye overlaps will make a complementary color, in this case purple.
• When making portraits, place the subject close to the backdrop to see the texture and color clearly in the photograph. Or, place the subject several feet in front of the backdrop and use a low depth of field to softly blur the background. This technique is used in many portrait studios to make the subject pop against a neutral background.
• Each portrait studio should have a background in black, tan or neutral, and white as well as a color. Blue and gray are popular colors for backdrops.
• Do not wash the backdrops or the color may fade. Instead, rinse the backdrops by hand in cold water and allow to air dry.

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