# Photo tent with terrible backgrounds



## rizaydog

Awhile ago, I purchased a 24" photo tent for photographing my turnings. The diffused lighting really help my picture quality.  However, the background clothes that came with the tent always have wrinkles.  Now that my image quality is improving, the wrinkles really show and its impossible to get them out.
I was hoping for a little help finding a replacement background.  I have no idea what type of material I can use that will not wrinkle when I fold up my tent.
What are some backgrounds that everyone here uses?


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## Dan26

You must have the same photo tent that I have. I started using some cloth that we had laying around and it is much better. I plan to visit a photo store and pick up three or four different colors of photo cloth. I read that this will help.


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## rizaydog

Hahaha. Yep, we must have the same one. I don't have a photo shop within 100 miles so that's not an option for me right now. I did find some reflective background sheets on ebay that sound interesting.


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## Rob73

When I made mine instead of cloth I used poster board.


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## mredburn

thought of trying a fabric shop?


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## rizaydog

I do use poster board sometimes.
I could go to a fabric shop. Would I need a specific type of fabric for photography?


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## OOPS

I have had good success at the local fabric shop.  The ladies there know fabrics, and if you take yours in they might be able to suggest alternatives.  I purchased some felt squares for use at our Pen Turners Club meetings as something to give the photos a bit of class.  They are cheap and come in a number of colors, so its easy to experiment and find what colors you'd prefer.  For use in a photo tent, I would suggest something a bit more elegant than felt squares, but the advantage is that its local and it would be possible to find something that would make your photos unique.


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## edstreet

Don't need a photo shop for backgrounds. you just need to use the surroundings. Paper, t-shirts, napkins, paper towels, carpet, jeans, pillow cases, sheets, blankets, cardboard, books, wooden blocks, parchment paper.  Often times even wrinkles, creases, etc cause dramatic results that's needed.


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## Lenny

Do you own an iron?  :biggrin:


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## rizaydog

Funny Lenny.  Yes I do.  Whatever material this is doesn't iron out.  I tried washing it to.  Still a big crease down the middle.


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## jd99

try steam, I had the same thing with my background cloths on the smaller tent, and I used my (well my wifes) steam thing for removing wrinkles., try hanging it and set the iron to steam and steam where the wrinkle is.


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## Wright

+1 Edstreet, creativity!


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## Haynie

Raid the linen closet


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## Steve Busey

Have you looked at gradient sheets - #39 is real popular amongst the sawmill creek turners group. Not sure how it would scale to pens, but something to consider. One source:

www (dot) phototechinc (dot) com/graduate.htm


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## moke

Go to Michaels and buy a pack of 11x14 colored paper. Set it up inside the tent, so there is a "floor" or area to put your pen or other product on, then gently raise the opposite end until the other end is completely out of the frame.   You can just rig up something to hold it up and clip the paper to it with sqeeze paper clips.  This is what is refered to as a "seamless" backround. In the portrait/product photography world we just use huge paper for people, but for pens you do not need anything big. You can buy a 50 pack of "backgrounds" for 9.99.  Most small product photographers do this type of thing a lot of the time.  You can google "seamless background" and see some examples of a larger versions.

Be careful of some material goods. Some are washed in "UV whitening" soap (Tide is the worst)...these cause the material to "flourese" if you are using flash, giving the entire scene a bluish tinge. The really only good way to find out if this is going to occur is trial and error.


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## sbell111

Just steam out the wrinkles and then stop folding up the backgrounds in the tent.


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## Justturnin

I use a $5 grey twin sized sheet I got from walmat.  I hit it with the iron before setting up.


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## Tom_W

velvet or felt


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## Kirk Dietrich

Either iron out or steam out like suggested. Also, you can set the subject further away from the background but still within the tent and use a shorter depth of field to blur out the background slightly, of course if you must have the background in focus, that won't work.
The large 11 x 17 sheets of 2 or 3mm craft foam work well as solid color backgrounds.

Kirk


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## jttheclockman

Listen just run with it do not go crazy. Get fabric from a cloth store and get creative.


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## PenPal

I opened a ream of 14 by 11 inches Photo Copying paper over ten years ago. Many thousands of pics later still have most of the ream left. I curve it up the eleven inch width section love it suits me. As a photographer for forty or fifty years my pen pics done simply to show the pens etc not seeking acadamy awards. Takes me about ten minutes to set up an open box made with a two inch block of foam board and conduit frame.

Hand held flash of the Bird at our recent Woodcraft Guild Exhibition by my mate and a care Gift by me using the open box.

Keeping it simple.

Kind regards Peter.


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## azamiryou

pwhay said:


> Takes me about ten minutes to set up an open box made with a two inch block of foam board and conduit frame.
> 
> Hand held flash of the Bird at our recent Woodcraft Guild Exhibition by my mate and a care Gift by me using the open box.



Can you show us a picture of the box?


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## PenPal

My open Box.

I use 1, 2, or three lights 47 watt 5000 kelvin Screw Fluros.

Kind regards Peter.


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## azamiryou

Thank you. I'm very curious about it, as a translucent box is what one usually sees recommended. What do you prefer about the open one?

Also, why a box? Why not just have the back support to attach the backdrop to, but leave off the frame pieces at the front and top?


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## PenPal

Matthew,

Being an old sparky conduit seemed the go it is not a casual construction having quite some strength and designed to support the top light, allow shooting down on an object as the pen is photographed also three sides to shoot from.

I have a bought so called box but it takes an incredible power in lighting to enable a decent aperture to be used.

It is light as to lift on top of a dresser in the lounge room, completely demountable joints not glued. You can buy cheap tube cutters used by Electricians or Sprinkler installers to clean cut conduit, also tees and elbows can be plain, another material thin plastic piping and fittings, the frame sits in the foam core section.

As a sixty plus year Photographer I had some old shades I converted as in the lit picture.

The versatility is multiplied when the background can be used in any position, I buy craft shop graduated backgrounds, felt squares, use sponged paint watercolour Portrait  Heirloom self made background (sometimes called old master).

Be a master of simplicity and make whatever suits you examples attached.

Kind regards Peter.


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## soundman

Light loss is an inevitable result of diffusion.
In theater and film, we use specified diffusion media, and it comes, full, half, quarter and sometimes 1/8.

Roughly "full" diffusion  medial will lose a full F stop of light compared to none..that is 50%.

Some of the cheap diffision tents would have to be arround the 2 full stops of light loss..its not like it is to shelf photographic media

So bargin on needing lots of light.

Why do we use diffusion?
To get smooth even light with little if any shadow.

In the past it would have been reasonable to use  couple or three 500 watt halogen lights on a small light tent to get enough light.

I've just baught a set of those colour ballanced 85 watt compact fluro units...certainly cheaper to run and cooler than 500watt QIs or in my case theater floods.

OH....When they say "compact fluro"....thats a bit of a joke...these things are as big as ya head.

cheers


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## Kirk Dietrich

I haven't photographed pens yet but I've photographed plenty of flies and many have glossy finishes.
A large storage container works well to difuse the light for even shadows and with the camera on a tripod and cable release, the f-stop is irrelevant.
Another way is to put the diffuser on the light itself and just put your subject in the open. I found that plastic grocery bags work well for this.
I'm using the flour daylight bulbs and am satisfied with the results.
Oh, you don't need a fancy camera either, check out the setup with the bags on the light, it is a Point and Shoot set on manual mode and using the self timer to eliminate touching the shutter release and shaking the camera.

Kirk






I know this isn't the pic that I took in the above set-up shot but I couldn't find that one, must have just shot it for my records but this one below was done the same way but with a cloth background.


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## Kretzky

Coloured card can be as good as anything for backgrounds
David


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## 76winger

For my background, I simply *snagged a dress shirt out of my closet* that was close to neutral gray. A little darker, but it works for my needs quite well. 





Here's a shot of my PVC-pipe framed setup before I started using the shirt. Also, I rarely use the light on top, but once in a while it comes in handy.


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## kooster

Have you tried using "wrinkles" to your advantage? Take the cloth and totally crumple & wrinkle it and use it as a "crackled" background effect. Also, check the web for magician's silks. They come in a many colors, are inexpensive, and come in various sizes. Hope this might help.


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## Glenn McCullough

use a mailing tube and roll fabric inside or around the outside of the tube and use the straps to hold it on the outside. I have no touble with it this way.


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## fernhills

I use a old cardboard tube from paper towels for my small photo box and a old tube from xmas wrapping paper for my large box.  Once you get the wrinkles out don`t fold them again just roll them around the tubes.  Carl


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