Portable backdrop for company headshots?

Hi folks,

I've been hired to take company headshots and was wondering if you had any recommendations on backdrops (portable or canvas). The feeling that I get from traditional headshots are the lightly patterned gray backgrounds which I'd like to replicate. I will be taking these photos on location, traveling to a board meeting and taking individual portraits as well as a group photo, so I will need to be able to move with it. I have a 12" background support system as well.
Does anyone else do similar kinds of work and have tips for me?

Thanks,

Pan

I've been thinking on adding something like this and would seem to fit the bill as most portable.

Amazon.com : StudioPRO 5' x 7' Grey Collapsible Twist Muslin Photo Studio Equipment Video Backdrop Background Panel : Photo Studio Backgrounds : Camera & Photo

My thought would be if you cannot control wardrobe, the neutral grayish backgrounds are better.

I've seen the collapsible discs, similar to reflectors, that can be mounted to a light stand. If only doing head shots, that might be an option. Wouldn't work for full body shots. And I don't think they work well for 3/4's, but no problem when the focal point is just the head and shoulders.

I don't have a link to one at the moment (traveling), but I'll add one to the thread if someone else doesn't jump in with one.


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Oh wow, that seems quite nice for a standard head & shoulders portrait and very portable as well! I was expecting to pay somewhere in the midst of $150 for a standard 5x7 canvas backdrop but this has that look with very portable casing.

Do you think the backgrounds would come out soft or cheap looking?

Panza, someone on here (one of the mods I believe) mentioned getting a painter's drop cloth at Home Depot or similar store to use as a background. If you are looking for something less expensive, you might want to consider one.

hark said:

Panza, someone on here (one of the mods I believe) mentioned getting a painter's drop cloth at Home Depot or similar store to use as a background. If you are looking for something less expensive, you might want to consider one.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea about the painter's drop cloth. I have standard white and black cloth at the present time. If I ever need a sligtly off color, I'll keep the drop cloth idea in mind. : )!

I did some "headshots" recently and was in the same boat. I had some muslin backdrops that I didn't like because of the wrinkles. You might find a way to deal with the wrinkles but for me it was a pain in the rear. So I ended up going with something that Eyelight posted. I went with this one (a little bit more $) from B&H. Botero #023 CollapsibleBackground (5x7') (Dark Grey) C02357 B&H

Those type of backdrops have the metal frames that do a better job of spreading the fabric (IMO) so it gets the wrinkles out when expanded. I used my backdrop stand to hold it up and like 3 speedlights to light the subject.

Here's one of the results with that particular backdrop:

Not sure if you know the people at the company and/or what type of lighting you're going to use, but here are some tips I can think of off the top of my head:

For your first subject pick someone you're friendly with or is tolerant. You don't want to have the CEO as your first person to go when you're spending time trying to dial in your lighting settings with multiple test shots. You want someone that will be okay with you shooting checking and changing things to get it right. That being said, setting up a schedule (10-15 minutes) per person so they can go about their business until "their time" might be a good idea. Otherwise you'll have a lot of people standing around or worse yet leaving and not knowing when to come back.

Bring a mirror so they can check their hair, nostrils, straighten tie, etc before they go on. Before you shoot them, look them over for messed up collars or lint bunnies (you can fix in post), etc.

After you dial in your lighting, put a marker on the floor where they're supposed to be standing and turning. Giving them clear directions helps them feel at ease and makes the shoot go smoother.

The lighting on the backdrop will affect the overall look of the backdrop so keep that in mind (making it brighter or darker).

I'll chime if I think of more. I'm a total novice so take it for what it's worth.

Have fun with it.

Wow, great post PapaST, definitely will keep this in mind. The results look fantastic as well. I enjoy shopping through B&H a little more than Amazon personally.


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Eyelight said:

I've been thinking on adding something like this and would seem to fit the bill as most portable.

Amazon.com : StudioPRO 5' x 7' Grey Collapsible Twist Muslin Photo Studio Equipment Video Backdrop Background Panel : Photo Studio Backgrounds : Camera & Photo

My thought would be if you cannot control wardrobe, the neutral grayish backgrounds are better.

Click to expand...

I ended up purchasing this but it was actually much lighter than I thought it would be.

How far away should I keep the subject from the background to get the background panel to appear darker than it is?
Should I use just enough aperture to keep the person in focus and subtly blur out the background?

Panza said:

I ended up purchasing this but it was actually much lighter than I thought it would be.

How far away should I keep the subject from the background to get the background panel to appear darker than it is?
Should I use just enough aperture to keep the person in focus and subtly blur out the background?

Click to expand...

Hmm, how light is lighter? Lighter could be better for some subjects. How does it look in photos?

I'd do some test shots at different distances and settings. Using just enough flash to light the subject, anything behind it will be less lit and darker.

Will do more tests when I get home from work


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Panza said:

Will do more tests when I get home from work


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I'd be interested to see what it looks like in a portrait shot to compare with the one previously posted by @PapaST earlier in the thread.

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Took some test shots last night and uploaded these from camera to phone to Tapatalk, Lighting seems a little off to me. Hrm... I was experimenting with two umbrellas and a continuous light source from behind/not behind. Fluorescent white lights.

Distance is about 1 meter away from background.

I also have the SB-700 I can use as another light source but no trigger for it at the moment.

Clearly less than serious images taken of my pregnant apartment neighbor who was available to pose while eating an apple.

I thought it might look better with less blur and the test shots do look that way to me.

Last shot is the darkest background and it's on the verge of blending with the shirt.

Eyelight said:

I thought it might look better with less blur and the test shots do look that way to me.

Last shot is the darkest background and it's on the verge of blending with the shirt.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. These photos are going to end up on the wall at a main office and on the website so I'm quite nervous about how to make this work well. I'd like to be proud of my work one day and know I tried my best : )!

I'll experiment more tonight and see what lighting set ups work better with another unlucky apartment dweller and shots to mimic the one's I will be taking tomorrow.

I emailed my employer and I will have either a small room that has no windows to use or a large cafeteria area with ample lighting. They would also like a group photo so I'm leaning towards the cafeteria to place the large backdrop and black drop cloth for a standing or seated photo. ... It would also give me more space to use the 80-200.

Ugh. I always get the nervous jitters. Thanks for being supportive and honest.

I'd be interested to see what settings you're using on the D750. Also I'm a little confused about the umbrellas. What light source are you using in conjunction with the umbrellas?

PapaST said:

I'd be interested to see what settings you're using on the D750. Also I'm a little confused about the umbrellas. What light source are you using in conjunction with the umbrellas?

Click to expand...

Test shots were done in a small 8x10x12 room with the 50mm G ... I didn't have a space large enough to try the 80-200D. I tried to experiment between 1.4~4.0 aperture in those shots with ISO between 200~400 or so. f/8 looks dark, 5.6 things are disappearing. Shutterspeeds around 1/60 1/90. I don't have soft boxes and monolights - yet unfortunately so I have to make due with what I have. A good monolight/strobe and a soft box is next on my list

Maybe this will give you an idea of how to set up the light you DO have. Adjust it to your needs.