Muslin Backdrops

[berrywise]

I have never seen nor touched a muslin backdrop and was wondering if they were a heavy material or not. I was thinking of using them to drape some walls in my basement to cover the concrete in my home entertainment area (not quite photo related). I was hoping to find a material that is a bit heavier to absorb some of the sound. The muslin backdrops I've seen for sale on ebay claim to be heavyweight and they are considerably cheaper than buying fabric at the local fabric store.

Anyone give me an idea on what to expect if I ordered one?

[Asylum Steve]

Muslin comes in different weights, from not much heavier than a bedsheet to almost canvas-like. Cheaper muslin is more likely to be thinner. Painted muslins, obviously, tend to have a heavier feel due to the thickness of the paint, and so are heavier than similar unpainted ones.

I'm curious about your comment about ebay muslins. How could they possibly be cheaper than a fabric store? All I know is buying raw muslin at a fabric store can be hundreds of dollars cheapr than buying a pro painted one, so methinks the ebay stuff you've seen must be pretty crappy.

Anyway, I'd think it would be pretty easy to go and find some muslin so you can feel for yourself what the weight is. It's also fairly easy to paint or dye the fabric yourself so as to get a custom look suited to your needs...

[berrywise]

The one fabric store that I have found Muslin at had natural colored fabric for 5.99 a yard (95" wide). I found some black "heavy weight" muslin on Ebay for 32 dollars (9'x17') I figured for the price and time to dye the fabric black I would just go with the stuff on Ebay. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be to terrible. Heck maybe I can even use it for it intended purpose

I'll have to post up some photos when I'm all done.

Thanks Steve.

Scott

[Asylum Steve]

Someone must be buying this stuff in very large quantities and dying it cheaply to be able to put that low a price on it.

Still, if it suits your purpose, why not...

The thing is, higher end custom mottled muslins are expensive for a reason, and it's the time and skill that goes into their creation, which in turn enables them to look great in a photograph.

So, be prepared for the possibility that the ebay muslins may work for decoration and sound control purposes, but probably not so much as a good photographic backdrop...

[tri3mast]

Muslin backdrops, I've purchased hundreds of yard of this stuff for my studio and as a recent post said it come in various weights.

One thing I will say is that for the amount of fabric you get it's cheap.

I purchase raw muslin when I can find it (natural color sort of a light tan) and in a 12 foot width and about 22 feet in length, shipping and taxes in, landed at my door was not $150.00 Canadian.

That would make it about $75.00 American.

What I like about Muslin is that it's seamless and I use it on location shoots over paper B/G as it can be just stuffed in a bag, beats the heck out of trying to handle a 9 foot wide roll of photo paper.

Anyway if it's just some walls you want to cover then try the painters drop sheets, it'll have a seam in it but the stuff is real cheap about the same natural color as Muslin at about a third less then the same size Muslin.

I know of a couple of places other then e-Bay that handles real backdrops, I've dealt with them many times and have never been disappointed with any of their products.

One of my suppliers is in the US and the other is in Canada both have great stock, which continuously changes.

If it's just wall material cheap, check out the painters drop sheets.

Color me crazy but I took two of these and hung them in the back yard (big yard) and two dozen spray cans of paint and colored a huge drop sheet I needed as a B/G for a football team.

It was only suppose to be a temporary thing like a one time use but that was seven years ago and it's been sat on, ground into the playing field, walked on with skates and even got wet once.

Cheers hope this was a help

If you want the web site addresses let me know and I'll forward or post them.

Robert from Canada

[Peter_AUS]

Robert,

Good info I would be interested in seeing the links and maybe some examples of the background you are talking about as well, can you post them here please.

[MJS]

I just recently bought two from backdrop outlet on sale. They were $99 each and are 10 x 20. Did a few shots of my daughter for her dance recital and I already have two portrait sittings scheduled with them. They've already paid for themselves and then some.

[tri3mast]

Robert,

Good info I would be interested in seeing the links and maybe some examples of the background you are talking about as well, can you post them here please.

Okay,

here is a couple of links, I especially love Backdrop Outlet these people are very professional, helpful, fantastic to deal with, offer a newsletter and product flyer (which I subscribe too) what more can I say but they are great.

http://www.backdropoutlet.com/

Now Funky Backdrops offers fabric deals I've never seen before as reasonably priced, no wait let me rephrase that down right cheap.

The selection continually changes, as does Backdrop Outlet but offers seconds and odd sizes, mill end, close outs, heavy denim both are high on my list for backdrops.

I know that Funky Backdrops offers some select backgrounds on e-Bay but seriously you can get what you want when you want it at about the same price or less then in auction if just ordered direct.

http://www.angelfire.com/nd/funkybac...nkyWelcome.htm

Both have great easily navigable web sites and illustrations of most of their products.

As far as posting any images I haven't figures that out yet and besides my commercial studio has been closed in preparation for my new private portrait studio.

Any images I have from the old studio are just that "old hat"

Have fun with it

Cheers Fellow Photographers

Robert from Canada

[Packard]

Just a few suggestions:

1. Don't fold your muslin. It will leave creases that look awful.

2. If your muslin has folds (straight line creases) dampen it and put it in the dryer.

3. If you try to dye your own muslin (I used RIT) use about 5 times the recommended quantity. I wanted dark brown, I ended up with pale mocha.

4. Pack it by stuffing it in a bag. The millions of small creases are part of the look. If you don't like this look, then go for seamless background paper.

5. Use darker colors if your subjects are going to stand on it.

6. If it wasn't so easily transported I would have gotten tired of it long before I did.

It seems to me that muslin is a fad that has come and gone. Convenience and cost conspired to give it more life than it deserved. There are much nicer backgrounds, but they are less convenient and more expensive.

[Asylum Steve]

Don't fold your muslin. It will leave creases that look awful. Pack it by stuffing it in a bag. The millions of small creases are part of the look. If you don't like this look, then go for seamless background paper.

Anyone using muslin bgs should also have either a commercial steamer, or at least a real good consumer one (such as the Scunci portable model).

Folding or scrunching the bg is inevitable, and just about any creases, even the many small ones, are considered undesirable in a shot. Truth is, steaming a muslin bg before each use simply goes with the teritory, and is a neccessary evil.

[boardchick]

[It seems to me that muslin is a fad that has come and gone. Convenience and cost conspired to give it more life than it deserved. There are much nicer backgrounds, but they are less convenient and more expensive.[/QUOTE]

Are you talking about the paper backdrops? I thought of going this route instead of the muslin - but they seem so plain. I like the depth that the muslin backdrops give. However, I do like the clean look that the paper, especially white gives. I have only rented muslin backdrops in the past - was just about to purchase but now am second guessing...

[VanillaKisses]

Berry, I got one of those off ebay... they pretty much....... suck

the muslin is poor grade, the colors... well, neither were what they were supposed to be.

and they stink .. like musty cheap paint.

[momphotog@home]

I think that there are some photogs out there who don't realize how much their lighting is going to effect how a backdrop is going to shoot. I ordered a muslin and opened it up under florescent light and thought it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't even think it was the right color. But then I hung it up and put my lights on it, and I couldn't believe how different it looked! The more I worked with my backdrop, the more I realized what a great muslin it was.

When I don't have a lot of control over my lighting, I use a mid toned backdrop in conservative grey tones.

When I have control over my lighting, I go for a more dramatic, artistic effect. I use white paper and my favorite muslin, I got from Signature Backgrounds. It is two sided, I think it was called VG208. Here is a link to their site. http://www.muslin-backgrounds.com

(I ordered by phone and the person I spoke with was pretty helpful in guiding me towards what I needed.)

Backdrops look so much different when actually hung with proper lighting. View it through your camera before judging it!

Another tip: I use Downing Wrinkle Releaser on my muslins. This does two things - 1) it gets rid of the wrinkles with a smooth of the hand and 2) It keeps them smelling APRIL Fresh!! ;) You can find it in the laundry section at the grocery store.

[rakhi]

i have tried painting my own muslins, and i've found a place that sells a really good weight muslin for a great deal they have them in 12 foot and 10 foot and sell them by the yard...u might wanna check it out and experiment painting your own
http://www.primomart.com/index.php/cPath/4_7

[studioguy]

The thickest backdrop that I have ever gotton was from www.aurabackdrops.com. They sell an ultra thick fabric line. I have bought from a lot of different places but this fabric seems twice as thick as anything else I have bought. The only have it in black, white, and chromakey though. http://www.aurabackdrops.com/shop/in...t=9708&cat=39&

good luck

[momphotog@home]

As far as the weight of a muslin backdrop goes, It's not necessarily, the heavier, the better - rather you want something with a nice dense weave. Some of my heavier muslins are harder to work with. I find them a little bit more difficult to control the draping, and, they are heavier to work with. I've also used both 100% cotton and cotton/poly blends. The 100% cotton is a little bit softer but it crinkles more. The blend that Signature Backgrounds sells is a nice, soft and dense weave that drapes well and holds up forever. It seems like a really small detail, but the Signature Muslins are the easiest to work with that shoot the best. (for me)

Signature Backgrounds - photography muslin backdrops