First Background - Seamless? What width? White or grey to start?

[personalt]

I am looking to by my first background. I will mostly be shooting my 2 year old son and wife. I was thinking about seamless paper. I was wondering about width, in what cases is the 53" wide enough? I don't have too many walls in my house that are 107" wide that would be good for taking pictures in. So I like the idea of the 53" more but if it is not wide enough I could try and make the 107" work

I have a 35mm 1.8 that I really like and a 24mm-120mm that I am starting to use more in the 85-100mm range.

should I start with white or grey?

 

[WhiteBalance]

I would start out with the 53" in white. You can always get it grey or most any color by the way you light it. Overall white will offer you the most options and the 107 will prove to be too big for most shots if you don't have the room in your house for it. I would also suggest you check out some collapsible backgrounds. I have had great success with them personally.

 

[Derrel]

Yeah, I'd agree...start with white, in the full-width "9-foot" wide roll size. It's just easier to work with.The half-width rolls are nice for STILL subjects, but kids hardly qualify as still subjects at that age.

 

[Big Mike]

I would go for the wider roll. Even shooting with a 10' backdrop, I often find that the edges of the backdrop are in the photo. This is especially true when shooting kids, who just don't want to sit still.

 

[tirediron]

With backgrounds, wider is always better! If you can in any way use the 107", then use it; you can also trim it if necessary. I will disagree with the others however and recommend a neutral gray as a better choice, since it's easy to make it white, black or any other colour. It's much harder to make a white background black and a blackground white than it is a grey background any colour.

Example. All five of those images were shot against the same Savage Thunder Grey seamless paper, and all only used one speedlight to light the background. Image #5 shows the background in its "natural" colour.

 

[Big Mike]

Example. All five of those images were shot against the same Savage Thunder Grey seamless paper, and all only used one speedlight to light the background. Image #5 shows the background in its "natural" colour.

Great example John. :thumbsup:

 

[tirediron]

Example. All five of those images were shot against the same Savage Thunder Grey seamless paper, and all only used one speedlight to light the background. Image #5 shows the background in its "natural" colour.

Great example John. :thumbsup:

:er: Thanks!

 

[personalt]

Thanks... anythign special I should be looking for in a stand? I was thinking about getting the cowboy stand, I expect to just use this a few times a year. Amazon.com: CowboyStudio Photography Backdrop Supporting System with 9 Feet Updated Crossbar and Case: Electronics

 

[Big Mike]

I'd suggest a stand that has 4 cross bar sections, rather than three. You don't have to use all of them, but it's a huge PITA if you don't have enough width.

If it's not something you will use often, and if you can mount to something, you could go cheaper. All you really need are a couple wall brackets and a bar. But those stand kits are nice to have as you can use them just about anywhere.

 

[KevStormJ]

Any tips on keeping crinkles out of the paper when in use? After a few shots and some movement from the subject the paper often bows upward that can catch light and create unwanted shadows, both on the ground and on the background but more with crinkling in the background. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Buckster]

Any tips on keeping crinkles out of the paper when in use? After a few shots and some movement from the subject the paper often bows upward that can catch light and create unwanted shadows, both on the ground and on the background but more with crinkling in the background. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Tape it down with gaffer's tape first.