Who'da Thunkit Backdrop: Roofing Panels
Photographers Joe Daylor and Joe Stern can get that industrial look any time they want, after creating a sectional background from inexpensive plastic roofing panels and some spray paint.
Honestly, without good light, this stuff would probably look pretty goofy. But the 3-d quality of this stuff makes it fairly versatile as a backdrop, depending on how it is lit. And if you can control both your light and your background in any location, you are pretty much good to go.
Thanks for the idea, guys. When I think Home Depot backdrops, I almost never make it past the paint aisle. Learn something new every day.
:: Suntuf Panels ::
-30-
__________
New to Strobist, or lighting? Start here.
Now shipping, in DVD box set or download: Lighting in Layers
Connect: Discussion Threads | Reader Photos | Twitter
Posted at 1:28 AM.
31 Comments:
I am going to home depot as soon as they are open and getting some
thanks for the idea guys!
awesome, Im gonna have to try it out... Say where do you get affordable smoke machines??
Great Stuff ! :D I just looove all these videos.
Huh, now if only my wife would let me convert the living room into a studio I'd be set!
Cool stuff!
Thanks again for sharing awesome homegrown solutions like these.
And I noticed your tagline change, I like it. Did Chase Jarvis kill the last one with his warehouse o' lights in that video?
Cycle 61 Photography
Again and again and again, simple yet amazing ideas from everywhere. Good video, great shots!
Very cool idea! But protect those photographer eyes when drilling bro.
Wow.. those lacross shots are POWERFULL.
the lighting is amazing, and like you said that backdrop would probably look pretty goofy with anything less intense.
Great tutorial on alternatives though, and having the "wall" of black would be great for tacking up a mini-background with some velcro if needed for a more traditional portrait.
Okay I'm doing this!
Amazing and lots of attitude and adding to my backdrop collection never hurts!
I saw someone before use the metal ones for a fashion shoot and they had a cool effect, but never thought about painting the plastic ones.
Awesome stuff. Looks like I will be moving my studio out to the garage this weekend to make room ;-)
Off to Home Depot I go....
M.
MarcusNeto.com
Dang! That is an excellent idea. I'll have to add it to my list of To-Do's!
Another cool effect is to get the clear panels and put some geled strobes behind them. They do some cool things with the light.
Oh yeah, don't paint them. :)
I did not expect RATM to be playing when I opened that video. Scared the heck out everyone in the lab.
But awesome video. I like the idea about the clear plastic ones too.
We're about to have our back porch recovered using this exact stuff. I'll have to remember to tell the guy doing the work to leave any extra sheets he has.
i've gone another route with corrugated roofing. used as a reflector to get light in to a house in mid-day equatorial sun. i needed to get a photo of the family eating dinner, but there was only one window, no electricity and only a pop-up flash. so we hunted around and found a sheet of new galvanized corrugated roofing. angled through the window, it lit the room up a'plenty.
the corrugations prevented sharp shadows, too, though you can see some lines higher up on the wall.
two photos of the background action and two of the inside here:
andersonbowen.com/philsgood/strobist/
-phil
my friend Tanja did something fun recently with backgrounds as well for a noir-ish photoshoot. I made a video of it.
http://deartoronto.com/2008/02/21/dear-toronto-5-doublecrossed/
The background fun I'm talking about is toward the end where we stack all the redbull canisters on the weird wooden shelving (that's me in the gas mask).
Love the Video, But Just a thought, Drill first then use the paint thinner. When you drilled you put dust right back on top of the panel. Or not
simply awesome. Good thinking, guys!
Stunning results! Good ideas, thanks for sharing!
I just went to Home Depot at lunch to look at these panels. They have black ones (instead of clear). Wonder why they didn't just get those?
Wallpaper or wrapping paper (preferably with out 'happy birthday' all over it) is always a good alternative and far easier to transport. You can get some quite interesting wrapping paper, especially if you're looking to fake an industrial look. Once on location simply tape down some strips onto the nearest wall.
OK this is an interesting look.
Now,the chalenge. Before 25,000 folks all decide this is THEIR look as well, what innovation are you using?
As an appetizer on your personal menu the idea is fine, but work something out on your own as well.
Remember the original Strobist Credo: MORE BRAINS, LESS GEAR BETER LIGHT
Shower curtain rings versus zip ties..just a thought.
Not sure there was any rhyme or reason to using clear panels here, the goal was a matt finish. The store bought coloured ones will likely be quite glossy (though this can be desireable in certain circumstances).
The fact that they are clear, one might get an interesting effect by reversing the panels so that the painted surface is facing away from the camera. This will give you a very even, but glossy surface. (provided there are no inperfections, like bubbles, in the polycarbonate itself)Some of the light will enter into the plastic, and internally reflect, this light will exit at the bends, resulting in a bit of a glow effect at the corners. (mileage will vary with the lighting angle, material, and its thickness)
Edge lighting the panels should have a similar effect, without the external reflections, with a higher degree of glow.
Love it.
Also, the clear panels act as fantastic diffusers for raw sunlight or shoot-throughs for electornic flash. In fact you can make an enormous softbox out of them and they mottle the light pattern wonderfully giving a subtle cucoloris effect.
Here are some shots I did years ago in a salvage yard using them as a diffuser. This one is in direct sun, and this one is the foreground sink using the the panel that was just lying around as a diffuser.
GREAT idea - Now I just need to beat everybody over to Home Depot!
Nicely done. I think rather than using zip ties though, I would opt for shower hooks. The S-shaped ones for easy hanging and removal. Even the metal teardropped shaped ones would work. That way you're not cutting and rethreading zip ties.
I share a garage with my neighbor but if I cleared enough stuff out or reorganized it, I could use it as a studio. The problem is, here is southern Calif, no one uses their garage for their cars. They're used for storage most of the time.
charlie: Most plastics produce intense specular reflections. The paint they used was matte black, so it produced less intense specular reflections.
This sort of stuff is a joy to light! :-D Even more flexible if you don't paint it, too.
As Kenneth Berntsen has already mentioned, you can backlight it with colour. Sidelight it with a different colour from each side and you'll get alternating stripes of colour, for example.
Sidelight from both front and back in different colours - another effect again.
Frost it up a bit (sandpaper etc.) and you can backlight directly through it to great effect - and combine that with coloured sidelights if you're even more adventurous.
'Break it down' a bit with mud (it'll wash off, you see) and light it (see above ;-) ).
Light it (painted, broken down or not) through a 'cuke' of your choice.
I could go on...
Oh wait, I did. ;-)
Cheers,
Nionyn
This is freaking sweet, thanks for sharing the setup from beginning to shoot.
Thanks for the great tutorial on this backdrop system. I'm going to try it out shortly, once the wife gives me the ok to completely take up the garage!
And super kudos for doing it with a lacrosse player!
Post a Comment
<< Home