Background Experemint WORKS!

[ACArmstrong]

Okay - I didn't want to pay mucho doneros for a muslin backdrop, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought the following things:

1. 9'x9' Muslin ($14)
2. RIT Dye - Tan & Dark Brown ($8)
3. A Pourous Laundry Bag ($3)
4. A Shallow Plastic Tub ($3)

Total $28

Here's what I did:

1. I washed and dried the Muslin (hot water)
2. I crammed the muslin as deep and tight as possible into the laundry bag and then spun the rest of the bag around and tied it off so it was tight.
3. I filled a shallow tub with less than 5 inches of hot water and poured in the whole bottle of Tan Dye (and a cup of salt).
4. I gently laid the laundry bag on it's side in the tan dye so that half of the bag remained above water level.
5. I waited thirty minutes
6. I removed the laundry bag and added 1/2 bottle of dark brown to the tan.
7. I turned the laundry bag over so that the previously dry spot was down now and gently place it in the water so that the other half was NOT submerged.
8. I waited 30 minutes
9. I removed the muslin, rinsed with cold water, ran it through the wash, and then the dryer.

Here's the result of my $28 experiment:

[ACArmstrong]

The cool thing is that this is so cheap, you could experiment with any colors you wanted and vary the tecnique.

[Chunk]

Okay - I didn't want to pay mucho doneros for a muslin backdrop, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought the following things:

1. 9'x9' Muslin ($14)
2. RIT Dye - Tan & Dark Brown ($8)
3. A Pourous Laundry Bag ($3)
4. A Shallow Plastic Tub ($3)

Total $28

Here's what I did:

1. I washed and dried the Muslin (hot water)
2. I crammed the muslin as deep and tight as possible into the laundry bag and then spun the rest of the bag around and tied it off so it was tight.
3. I filled a shallow tub with less than 5 inches of hot water and poured in the whole bottle of Tan Dye (and a cup of salt).
4. I gently laid the laundry bag on it's side in the tan dye so that half of the bag remained above water level.
5. I waited thirty minutes
6. I removed the laundry bag and added 1/2 bottle of dark brown to the tan.
7. I turned the laundry bag over so that the previously dry spot was down now and gently place it in the water so that the other half was NOT submerged.
8. I waited 30 minutes
9. I removed the muslin, rinsed with cold water, ran it through the wash, and then the dryer.

Here's the result of my $28 experiment:

Looks good.

Now you have to listen to Grateful Dead 8tracks when you are shooting.

[katt]

well, now i want to see your glorious backdrop in use. pretty please?

[Asylum Steve]

Ok, I won't let my hurt feelings that you didn't share this great news in the Studio Forum first get in the way of your exciting news...

I've always stressed that you should look for cheaper ways to create studio items that photo companies charge an arm and a leg for. This is a perfect example...

You definitely did a fine job dying the muslin, and the last thing I want to do is dampen your enthusiasm, but I'm sure you realize the fabric LOOKS tie-dyed. Now of course, that's fine if you're satisfied with the results, but keep in mind that the cheapest manufactured backdrops are also tie-died, some not a whole lot more than the $30 you spent on materials for this.

A real pro backdrop, however, is hand painted and has a MOTLED design, which is much different. For classic portrait and fashion, there is no inexpensive way to get that effect, and if you are going to shoot a lot where you need that look, it usually is worth investing in the real thing.

But, like I said, this does not diminish the fact that you've now got a cool bg that you made cheaply and fairly easily. Good luck with it...

BTW, one trick to hide the tie-dye effect is to make sure the bg is slightly out of focus in your shots...

[ACArmstrong]

Having been in art practically my whole life, I considered stretching either canvas or muslin and mottling the background myself. The quickly drifted out of my head as my photo shoot that I needed the bg for was in three days and I would have to spend quite a bit on something to stretch the canvas and paint. - I really just ran outta time on this one and had some fun - I'll show the pics in the next few days ( I shot with a model last night).

Futurewise, I will hand-paint a 10'x25' canvas bg and post it here for all to see. I've always wanted to paint big.

[Asylum Steve]

I know exactly what you mean. My first painted bg was a medium grey. It looked pretty good, but was not one of the more expensive ones. Being a lifetime artist (with a degree no less), I thought I could "improve" the look of the muslin by adding a bit of custom painting work myself.

Well, I learned creating these things is a lot tougher than it looks. I kept adding different shades of grey, but couldn't quite get the design balanced. After a few days, it was a complete mess. I still have it, but hardly ever use it, and if I do, it's to isolate the spots on it that still look good.

But I lucked out eventually, as a very talented artist opened a shop near my studio that specialized in hand painted backdops. Her work was as good as the best pro ones, but nowhere near the price they charge. Plus, she let me make payments...

Having been in art practically my whole life, I considered stretching either canvas or muslin and mottling the background myself. The quickly drifted out of my head as my photo shoot that I needed the bg for was in three days and I would have to spend quite a bit on something to stretch the canvas and paint. - I really just ran outta time on this one and had some fun - I'll show the pics in the next few days ( I shot with a model last night).

Futurewise, I will hand-paint a 10'x25' canvas bg and post it here for all to see. I've always wanted to paint big.