how to make your own backdrops for photography

I ended up priming my drop cloth with three coats over the course of two days - the last coat was a 2:1 mix of Water:PVA. Otherwise, as I learned, the paint will just seep through and require much more paint to cover the canvas. Let the primer dry between coats. Below ended up being (somewhat) close to the color palette I had to work with for the first canvas, based on the leftover paint I already had.įirst, you'll need to apply at least 2 coats of PVA or gesso to the canvas in a 3:1 Water:PVA/gesso mix to seal it and prep it for painting. I ended up making two canvas drops over the course of a week - The first was a 'test run', to get a feel for the process, with the intent of spending as little money as possible - paint can get expensive, so I elected to use old paint I had in my garage (that I used for bedrooms), to help cut costs - I had a gallon of a pastel blue color, some beige, and a bunch of samples of paint in different blues and browns.

Wal-Mart even has gallons for about $9, helping you save on paint costs. You can save on paint and just get the cheapest base offered I paid about $20 for a gallon of my base color, and about $11 for the quarts of my accent/texture colors.

Or, if you prefer Amazon, I've complied an Amazon shopping list.

Roller Frames, Extension Handles, Paint Trays & Liners - $30.

Everbilt 6' x 9' 10 oz.Canvas Drop Cloth - $14.

I was able to purchase all of the below items at my local Home Depot: Of course, I could have ordered one from Amazon, but I was impatient and wanted to get this project rolling quickly. So, I furiously googled and came across this blog post from a home decorator that noted that Home Depot canvas drop cloths were seamless. Which, isn't too much of a problem, but having to Photoshop it out in every photo could get annoying. The 9 x 6' canvas drop I purchased from Lowe's had a giant seam running down the middle. I got home, ripped open the canvas, and.there were seams. I already had some old leftover paint from a few years ago that I used in the house, so I thought it'd be the cheapest way to go - If it didn't turn out well, I wouldn't be out too much cash. I wanted to 'test' the concept first, as cheaply as possible, so I headed to Lowe's to pick up the essential supplies - a canvas drop cloth, and some rollers and brushes. I begun by watching a ton of YouTube videos and reading excellent blog posts (see a collection of other resources at the end of this post) from people who have already attempted this, to get an idea of how involved the process would be, and maybe gather some tips to make this go as smooth as possible. There are some newcomers to the market with more affordable pricing (most notably Gravity Backdrops), but I figured I'd give DIY'ing my own canvas backdrop a try and seeing how it fits into my work before considering spending more money on a backdrop from a reputable studio.

How to make your own backdrops for photography