I think for many photographers it’s because they simply can’t afford .. or don’t want to invest .. in high quality backgrounds. So, they use the same old cheap ass muslins that everybody and their brothers cousins neighbor can get by spending a few bucks online. Never overlook your background just because it’s stuck in the back. It’s a major element that can make or break your portraits. Unique, hand-painted muslins and canvas backdrops are an AWESOME thing to have !!!

So, for those who are feeling a little artistic today, here’s what we do. We go to hobby lobby and buy blank muslin .. you can get a 9×9 for around $17. Now run over to Home Depot, Lowes or Wal-Mart and dig through their screw ups and returns. When these places goof on a customers paint they stick it on a shelf for $3-5 a gallon. You can find some great colors in there for practically nothing and there’s not a thing wrong with the paint. Grab a bunch of brushes while you’re there .. I like using disposable foam brushes myself .. along with standard brushes, old brushes, mangled brushes, hand fulls of crumpled newspaper and anything else I get my hands on.

Ok now head back to the studio and build a huge stretcher frame. What’s the huge stretcher frame for? Well you’re going to stretch the muslin onto it before you paint it. Try painting it any other way and when the paint dries your muslin is going to shrink up and look pretty stupid. You also need some supports on the corners so that the frame doesn’t twist after you stretch the muslin in place. See the picture .. pretty simple stuff .. just nail it together real fast.

Now it’s time to stretch the muslin. Grab a stapler and start at one corner. Work you’re way down the side, stretching the muslin tight and placing a couple staples every 12 inches or so. Be careful not to tear it. I pull it and slam the staples in right before I think it will tear. Use your ears and be one with the muslin. Ok now you’re at the other corner. Work around the corner and start working your way up that side. Now you have two sides stapled in place. Instead of working around the second corner head back to where to first started and work up that side. You will be pulling the muslin tight from the side you just finished stapling. Now there is only one side left. Now you’re done. Ok at this point I normally go back around the entire thing pulling it tight between each set of staples and slamming another one in so that when I’m done I have staples every 6 inches all the way around.

I hope you don’t have wussy hands because the stretching part sucks on your fingers.

Now the fun part. Pick your color scheme and get some sort of idea of what you want to accomplish. Grab your brushes. Grab your paint and go to town on it. I’m not going into an entire novel on mixing colors and painting techniques but here’s a few tips I’ve learned.

• Water down your paint a little bit to thin it. We use regular interior paint .. flat not semi-gloss.
• If you want colors to bleed smoothly into each other, put one color down and brush the other color into it while it’s still wet.
• Don’t go crazy with 20 layers of paint. You can cover up some goofs but after so many layers the muslin is going to be too thick and it won’t roll right on your roller system .. if you have one. Plus it will crease more if it’s on too heavy.
• Experiment with foam brushes, sponges, waded up paper .. hell grab a piece of scrap wood you built the frame with and paint with that. Be creative.
• When you buy the foam brushes don’t by the ones with wooden handles .. THEY SUCK !! The handle is just glued in place and falls off after about 5 minutes. Get the ones with a plastic handle that actually goes up through the foam.
• Get some good tunes going to get you in the mood. You might be spending 4-12 hours on this thing so get in the mood.
• Take a step back and look at it as you would from your camera while you’re working on it.
• Pay attention to little details .. when you think you’re done you’re probably half way there.
• If you drip paint on another color fix it right away or else you will be photoshoping it until the day you throw it away because you’re tired of photoshoping it.
• Most importantly … HAVE FUN DOING IT !!! .. If you think it sucks doing it you’re background is probably going to reflect the feeling that .. this sucks.

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Comments (2)

woah

Holy crap, you know how much easier it is to start with a funky backdrop like this, instead of having to add it in during post processing? I gotta try this sometime - my wife is a mural painter, I'll bet she'll love this little assignment

arena creative , October 29, 2009 | url

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GRACE18Vb , January 28, 2010 | url

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