10 Best DIY Photography Backdrop Ideas You Must Try
Updated on January 27, 2023 in Photography by Alifiya Mustafa
The best Photography backdrop ideas create a dramatic, dreamy, or lively effect in your photos. A good photography backdrop complimenting your subject can instantly catch the viewers’ attention.
But, finding the backdrop ideas isn’t always easy.
Whether a professional or an amateur, you’re probably spending enough on your photography equipment and might not want to add additional expenses for your supporting equipment.
Thankfully, there are a lot of creative DIY photo backdrop ideas that you may use to make your still life and product photography more aesthetic.
Here are some DIY product photography backdrop ideas for still life and eCommerce product photography.
Best DIY Product Photography Backdrop Materials
1. Ceramic Flooring Tile
My best pick for still-life photography backdrops is a large square of ceramic or porcelain tile for a magazine-worthy look. You can find these at any local home store. These are inexpensive, look great, are easy to clean, and are durable if handled with care.
Ceramic tiles work great, especially if you’re dealing with some sprays and liquids, as these are wipeable.
Just be sure that the tile you pick isn’t too shiny and that the color is something that goes well with everything, like grey, white, or black. Don’t choose colors that are hard to fit with the different kinds of still life photography and product photography.
Neutral colors elevate the look of products and still-life subjects.
2. Painted wooden backdrops
You must’ve seen many custom-made painted photography backgrounds for still life and product photography. However, painting some by yourself can be a great and cheap option. It doesn’t require extraordinary skills; the more rustic it looks, the better.
Just be sure that the paints that you use are non-glossy. Use matter colors. You can use the wooden board as massive as you desire for your eCommerce product photography and to show off your products.
To create one of your own, you may:
- Buy a thin sheet of plywood from any local home improvement store
- Choose two to three colors in a similar color family and pour them one by one on top of each other at the center of the board.
- Use a large sponge to spread the color all over the board to blend and create a subtle effect.
- You may choose to finish with the last coat of water-resistant sealer.
3. Painted canvas for photography backdrops
It could be costly to buy professional canvas backdrops, but you can create one for yourself at a fraction of the retail price.
Buy a canvas painter’s drop cloth from your local hardware store. These are the same clothes you use to protect the floor when painting the walls of your home.
These clothes are usually large in size, so you can cut them into the desired lengths to get multiple backdrops.
Purchase paint samples for each of your photography backdrops. Be sure you’re buying primer along with it, as canvas tends to soak up a lot of paint.
Use a roller to create a smooth finish. If trying to add some texture, use a sponge and dab it onto the canvas randomly to create a rough effect.
This will help you elevate the look of your whole still-life photography and eCommerce product photography and make it unique from any other.
4. Satin or silk
Good quality satan or an already available silk piece at your home can be a fantastic choice to create a dreamy, chic, and sophisticated photography background for your eCommerce product photography.
These are perfect if you’re shooting cosmetic and skincare product photos. They are also an excellent match for model photo editing. Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest users are crazy about such product photography.
Social media is the best place to gain engagement from viewers and promote your photography skills or boost eCommerce sales if you want to sell products online.
You can simply ruffle the satin or silk cloth to give it a wavy effect. Use it as your DIY photography backdrop. Place the product in the center with one of the edges slightly covered with the satin cloth.
5. Use linens
Possessing a wide variety of linens will make your life much easier as a still-life photographer. This DIY photo backdrop idea is fantastic for having unique photography backgrounds always without spending much.
These are portable and can be used in a variety of ways. Being fabric, you can scrunch it, create waves, use it plain, or even paint it with the colors of your choice.
You can choose the fabric as the entire photography backdrop or use two materials and overlap them to have 2 DIY product photography backdrops behind your product or still life subject.
Also, place another layer of fabric underneath when covering your complete base with a piece of linen or tablecloth. This will plump up the surface and make it look more captivating.
Again, when picking your colors, stick to nudes and neutrals. Shades of deep, dark blues also look appealing, especially in the dark, moody, and profound images. This is more common with still-life photography.
However, if you’re to sell products online, then light neutrals in the shades of peach and brown can work best as your DIY photography backdrops for products.
You need to be mindful that your DIY photography backdrops are not stealing the wind from your actual subject. This means that your DIY photography backdrops shall not overpower your subject, so your topic has to fight for attention.
6. Colored papers
Colored sheets of paper can easily be available at any craft or stationery shop. Crafts and construction papers are the most inexpensive DIY photography background material.
Along with being cheap, these are super easy to store. These come in almost all kinds of colors and sizes. Keep these in the background of your products; no one can ever guess if it’s your wall, product image editing technique, or a piece of paper for real.
Product photography has to be of superb quality to improve online sales, but it need not be too expensive to leave a mark.
Hence, such cheap backdrop ideas are best to balance the expenses.
You may opt for bulk editing for a product photo editing service if you have too many images.
7. Vintage tray
Think before you dispose of your old junk. Especially the old and vintage trays you may have kicking around. They can be an excellent source for your DIY photography backdrops.
You may get them from backyard sales, antique or secondhand stores at affordable prices if you don’t have any. Like any DIY product photography backdrop material, it shouldn’t be reflective.
These are better for still-life photography. However, you may do flay lay product photography keeping it as your photography backdrop.
8. Old trunks
Do you have any old, worn-out leather or wooden trunks lying in your garage or attic? Because old trucks can be the perfect DIY photography backdrops if you want to add some rustic, theatrical effect to your lifestyle and product photography.
They write great, complimenting stories for your products and still-life subjects. Not necessarily you must use it only when you’re shooting some defined products that you think will mingle well with this DIY photography backdrop.
You can use it to capture digital products, gadgets, cameras and lenses, and many more.
Using such photography backdrop materials is excellent for quickly catching online shoppers’ attention. However, using old and worn-out things may not look appealing as you desire. The best way to combat this demerit is to perform product photo retouching.
Social media is a great place to showcase eCommerce product photography to sell products online successfully.
9. Wooden cutting boards
Wooden cutting boards can be found easily in every home. Depending on the size, you can use it for still life and eCommerce product photography. Try keeping your product and some complimenting props for flat lays.
For example, if it’s natural, you may use small leaves or organic solids. In the same way, if it’s made with specific significant ingredients like a lemon facewash or a coffee soap bar, you may mount some powder next to it.
If you don’t like your wooden board’s tint, you may color it with the shade you desire. Be careful with a warm, orange, or yellowish tinge if you buy one. These shouldn’t mess with the look of your products.
Choose the contrasting one, so it pops your product rather than blending it in. Go for the boards like pine or panels in deep espresso for darker shots.
To be an evergreen choice – paint it in crisp white or matte, gun-metal black. This DIY photography backdrop is ever-lasting and used for all purposes. You can also distress it with sandpaper.
10. Rusted metal trays
I can’t say enough about the rusted metal trays. They are cheap backdrop ideas that create the most aesthetic looks on your still life and product photography.
Most people simply throw away these nifty elements that can play a remarkable role in the background.
If you think the one you possess is no good, I’d suggest considering the product photo editing. You can adjust your DIY photography backdrop using software like Adobe Photoshop.
As rust, there are meager chances that these DIY product photography backdrops would reflect. They add a silent yet dramatic effect to your product and don’t cost you a penny to use it.
Use it as your surface for flat lays or as a backdrop for lifestyle and eCommerce product photography.
BONUS READ!
A good quality product image can boost eCommerce sales and make you stand out from the rest with your own DIY photography backdrops. There are so many options you can choose from so that you never get tired of using them, unlike the one expensive professional background in all your images.
You can play with various inexpensive varieties of photography backdrop materials for one subject to find the best that works. For more inexpensive photography backdrop materials, you can also check out Amazon, as you can get great photography backdrops that are cheap, reusable, and light.
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