Back drops (Page 2): I have some that I bought at Backdrop Express online but you can also use a plain backdrop (garish green or garish blue work well) and extract your player from...

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

tita1948 wrote:

Can anyone please give me suggestions on where to buy back drops? I don't shoot portraits professional but my church school ask me if I would take a few pictures for our school basketball team.

I don't want everyone to have the same background, (the wall) so I thought I would buy a back drop stand and one or two back drops.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

I have some that I bought at Backdrop Express online but you can also use a plain backdrop (garish green or garish blue work well) and extract your player from that background and put him on any other background you choose using PS Elements or OnOne Software.

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

donnahde wrote:

I have some that I bought at Backdrop Express online but you can also use a plain backdrop (garish green or garish blue work well) and extract your player from that background and put him on any other background you choose using PS Elements or OnOne Software.

chroma key (green or Blue) would be used in Videography, not so much in photography. You will get less spill from a grey or white background and they are just as easy to key out. I do have Chroma green, but only use when someone is wearing my key color. But if you are photographing them in a team uniform, you don't need to worry about that, you already know what they will be wearing.

canon Lee

dcampbell52 wrote:

You can go to Walmart or some of the Dollar stores and get drapes and widow curtains, in addition to gift wrap paper etc. Adorama, B&H and others have rolls of paper backdrops (I have the standard white, tan, blue, red, yellow, etc.) and a backdrop stand (consists of 2 tripods similar to light stands with a cross piece to hold the paper rolls... it also will hold the (inexpensive) drapes/curtains etc.

Keep in mind that these are basketball players and curtain backdrops is not really sports appropriate. Choose something more masculine. I have a backdrop of a locker room.

wmvcooper Loc: baltimore, MD

Try WWW.cowboystudios.com which is part of amazon. very reasonable priced for non-professional.

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

canon Lee wrote:

Keep in mind that these are basketball players and curtain backdrops is not really sports appropriate. Choose something more masculine. I have a backdrop of a locker room.

Very good point! They are also probably very tall, making them difficult to FIT onto a backdrop!

tita1948 Loc: North Idaho

photoman022 wrote:

I do a lot of off site photography. When I needed backdrops I went to Walmart and bought the cheapest flat king sized sheets I could find (started with black and white then added other colors as I thought I needed them).

Thanks. I almost did the same thing but I went to a fabric store and bought material and taped them up.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

canon Lee wrote:

Keep in mind that these are basketball players and curtain backdrops is not really sports appropriate. Choose something more masculine. I have a backdrop of a locker room.

This was why I mentioned drapes.. you can get plain tan, brown, olive green or about any color of drape material and it doesn't have to have the gathering.. you can spread the material out flat... but, the advantage is that it is usually heavy (especially if you get the light blocking fabric) and fairly inexpensive vs photo backdrop material... And generally, drapes are designed to go floor to ceiling with would be 7'-10' in height... very few high school basketball players will be taller than that. :)

canon Lee

donnahde wrote:

Very good point! They are also probably very tall, making them difficult to FIT onto a backdrop!

Have the tall ones go down on one knee. or bend forward as if passing the ball.

canon Lee

dcampbell52 wrote:

This was why I mentioned drapes.. you can get plai... (show quote)

If you are considering flat material, why not consider "SEAMLESS" PAPER. Light weight, inexpensive, comes in many colors, can be pulled out to cover the floor as well, & reusable. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=seamless+paper+backdrop+107&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=62017059919&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=s&hvrand=2646226865872910636&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_50d5d7iggx_b
I have had the same ideas you are having when I first started out, that is why I can suggest better ways to do this type of shoot. It has been 9 yrs now since I started doing " picture day". Don't be surprised if you get other clubs or schools that want to get in touch with you to do their teams. Good luck.

Pepsiman Loc: New York City

Why not take them on the court?

katkase Loc: Grapeview, WA

Various backdrops can be made by having a few colors and feet to spread color all over the drop cloth. This photo I took of my Barbie doll using a piece of paper and just slathered a few colors on the paper. But this was an experiment that I liked but it gave me ideas of how to use paint to make other kinds of backgrounds.

Barbie and homemade background

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

canon Lee wrote:

If you are considering flat material, why not cons... (show quote)

I sometimes use drapes because my seamless paper and canvas backdrops aren't wide enough. I can get several drapes and string them across a clothesline between my backdrop standards or hang a wire between tree branches. I think a big part of photography is solving problems. Anyone can go out and purchase a good camera and lenses, but being able to set the shot up and solve the problems of angle of view, exposure and creativity that sets a good photographer from that wannabes.. lol It also helps to understand your lighting options and what each will do for you or to you.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

tita1948 wrote:

Can anyone please give me suggestions on where to buy back drops? I don't shoot portraits professional but my church school ask me if I would take a few pictures for our school basketball team.

I don't want everyone to have the same background, (the wall) so I thought I would buy a back drop stand and one or two back drops.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

Don't overlook shower curtains.

cowboykevin Loc: Carver, Ma

I bought a light blue cloth from Jo-Anne's fabrick store, made a frame out of strapping, hung it with a main, fill, and backdrop light for portraits. A f4 or wider lens opening will diffuse background (e.g. cowboys on one side, Indians on the other for treaties. All are studio visitors watching the shoot.)so that you are able to show implied action and location. Use your depth of field button to observe the blur. Mark the floor with a piece of painters tape for them to step on to increase speed of set-up. Same goes for camera location. I am color blind so the choice is yours, but I like bold subject and subdued background,

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I make my own muslins. Purchase muslin from JoAnn's with a 50% off coupon. I get either 108" or 120" wide muslin by about 6 or 7 yards, and you end up with 9-10' by about 20' backdrops that would cost hundreds, for about $30.

Don't use RIT dye, everything turns out purple. Blue=purple, Brown= purple (different shade) Black = redish purple.

Get "reactive dye" which is also pretty cheap, and either dye it solid colors, or get it damp, scrunch it up, and pour the dye over the muslin while it sits in a big cooler, or storage tub. It is easy to rinse it clean, then re-wad and add another color. All in all, my 10x20 backdrops usually cost me less than $40. I have storage totes full of them.