Photography Props And Backgrounds
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011[affmage source="Overstock" results="30"]Photography Props And Backgrounds[/affmage]
Photography Props And Backgrounds
Photography Camera / Props ?
I’m looking into getting a new photography dslr camera. Any suggestions as to which one would be the best? I will be taking portrait pictures of people only and would like to spend no more than $1500, which I realize is less than what a lot of photographers normally spend. I’ve been looking at the Canon T2i? Anyone familiar with that camera or know of one better?
Also, what kind of props are considered essential? Black / White backgrounds … muslins? Seamless paper? Which is best?
Thank you so much for any and all tips or suggestions 
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the T2i. It’s a camera you can make work for you. Having said that, if you do a bit of shopping around you could probably pick up the 60D, with an 85mm f/1.8 lens for the money you are talking about.
As far as backdrops go, I’m a fan of plain. A plain black backdrop that runs down a wall and onto the floor and a plain white backdrop that does the same. You can make them yourself without too much trouble but they are commercially available for a few hundred dollars.
Lighting is something you can add to as time goes by. You can really get by with a decent speedlight ….something like the 580EX and a cable to take it off the camera. Over time, you could look at getting a soft box or two and maybe a boom light.
I think the best advice I can really offer, is get the camera, a speedlight and a tripod and push it really hard. Don’t buy things until you absolutely know you need them. Years ago (I was using an EOS 630 if that gives you a clue as to how long ago), I bought a 400mm telephoto lens….it cost a stupid amount of money but I really thought I needed it. I hardly ever used it. It made my kit so heavy and when I took it, I had to take a monopod which weighed twice as much as my friendly little tripod.
Anyway I sold it after a few months…lost a bunch of money and returned to using my 100-300mm lens which did the job just nicely.
Photography Props And Backgrounds
The Digital Photography Background – A Creative Masterpiece!
The ability to make use of a digital photography background is among – if not THE biggest advantage of the digital revolution.
Back in historic days of film, when you required a unique sort of background, you were pretty much limited to painted backgrounds or physically going on location. Changing a background was incredibly hard.
Generally, for those who planned to do an easy touch up – such as, delete a waste can from behind your subject – it’d include physically going on the negative and actually painting it out. It had been the same with facial touch-ups.
Accomplishing this seamlessly took a real skill.
Since the negatives were so tiny, this was an extremely difficult job and not many shooters had the proficiency to accomplish it well – or even at all. Therefore, they wound up having to pay trained retouchers to do the work. Not a happy scene.
Another alternative was to print the picture and then physically paint out the offending bit of background…on each individual photograph! Again, not so good. This too took creative skills and took a large amount of time!
The cutout…
The final scheme was to get a razor-sharp knife or razor blade and slice your model from the picture and paste them into a photograph of the scene you required. This never appeared accurate and could be marked as fake a mile away!
So, to get around that, photographers had to spend literally lots of bucks in tangible sets, props, painted backgrounds, etc. – and have a place to stockpile them. This made running a studio a necessity. It was especially difficult to drag those backgrounds and props around and having the customer come to your studio was the only real actual alternative.
Plus, they were costly!
For instance, if we want an image of a baby, sitting inside an antique washtub, against a dappled brown and tan “Old Masters” setting…it was required that we had to buy the “Old Masters” hand painted canvas background.
They sell for for nearly a $1000 for a really expert one. Then we would have to buy an antique washtub. If we could even find one, we could expect to spend $50 – $100.
All of this expense was before we even found out that the the newborn is afraid of washtubs and screamed for the full session.
Enter digital!
Currently, for only a couple dollars we can purchase dozens of digital backdrops! Mostly, what a digital photography background is, is a photograph of a background or perhaps a prop stored on a Disc.
Now for $20 or $30 we get a Disc with digital pictures of dozens of “Old Masters” backdrops, another Disc holds dozens of different varieties of vintage washtubs.
Then we open them up in Photoshop or Gimp, digitally drop the washtub we like in front of the background we like, add in any previously done shot of the infant and ta daaa! In a matter of just a few minutes, we have our newborn sitting in an antique washtub in front of an “Old Masters” backdrop.
No massive cash expense, no scuffling with props or storage, no requirement for any studio! The digital photography background puts brilliantly inventive photography within sight of us all!
About the Author
Warning: Working with a <a href=”http://www.OnTargetPhotoTraining.com”>Digital photography background</a> is addictive!
If you are ready to take your photography to the next level…check out my new e-book:
“7 Secrets To Creating Stunning Photos!”
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What’s a good theme for me to choose for my next photo shoot? Best answer 10 points!?
Okay, I’m not a model but I do pay for professional photography as a hobby. My next idea is to have a unique photo with my 6 year old daughter. She’s my “mini-me” and we look identical, so far what I want to do is:
1. Have us propped exactly the same (ie. clothes, makeup, hairstyle).
2. Have a unique background that focuses more on our “image”.
3. Create a photo where we are face by face to bring out our exact facial features.
All I really thought of is a dark reflective background but I’m still a little lost of ideas. I asked my photographer if she can suggest any input but she appreciates clients that are more creative for themselves than just being a “poser”. What I DON”T want is standard, basic shots like Swimsuit, Landscape, etc. Please assist!…..And please no criticism, and serious answers only. Best answer gets the dime (10)!
You could stand facing each other and kind-of reach out and touch hands so it looks almost like a mirror effect.
Oh yeah, and building on the person above’s idea: you could have your daughter dressed as an adult and you as a child, and it would be like a reversed-role thing. It’d be cool if you look very alike.
Infant And Home Decor Photography Props!!
How much to charge for taking pictures for people?
I have been some photography over the past few years as a hobby and have recently been getting asked to do pics for alot of people. Several senior pic sessions, some baby photos, and weddings and family pics. My question is how much should I charge? of course I am no professinal but I do feel the quality of my pictures is very compariable to some professional photos I have seen. I dont have a studio or all the big fancy equipment. But I do have a backdrop stand and several different backgrounds and props that i use. I use photo editing programs to crop and do all kinds of neat things with each photo. As far as the area that I live, its not a big city, just a small town, so Im obviously not looking to make a living off taking pictures, but I do feel like my time and effort is worth something. Any suggestions appreciated!
You’ve done a good job with some of those basic equipments. I am really appreciate your attitude toward photography. When you feel it is worth, then you will gain more.
Besides some backdrops, you may also need a set of lighting equipment, such as soft boxes and umbrellas. Both are used for softening light when you need softer light source. And a umbrella is unique cus you can aim it exactly where you want it. Here are some choices that looks good to me. And i think the $74 umbrellas would be better and cheaper.
http://www.thelashop.com/catalog/Studio-Lighting-Continuous-8-Lights-Kit-Large-Soft-Box-p-634.html
http://www.thelashop.com/catalog/32-Umbrella-Strobe-Photo-Lighting-2-Lights-Flash-Kit-p-48.html
Good luck with your photography.
DigitalFantasyBackgrounds.com
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