Does all photography stuff have to be expensive???

Anyone who has been a photographer for long knows that photography equipment is expensive. There is always something else to buy and anything that is labeled for photography seems to instantly double or triple in price. So, do you HAVE to spend tons of cash to get great results? Well, maybe not for everything.

I needed a backdrop frame for a job. It needed to be portable so I could transport it to the shoot location. Professional portable backdrop frames cost hundreds of dollars and usually come without backdrops. The backdrops alone can run several hundred more for EACH additional backdrop. Now, hundreds of dollars is something I don't mind investing in high quality lenses or maybe a new camera body, but on backdrops? Come on!

So, off to the Internet I went. Surely someone out there had already designed a cheap and portable backdrop frame. It did not take me long to find a design I liked. I found one at Kenrick Parrish's website that looked exactly what I needed.

All the instructions for building this are detailed at his site, so I won't go into that here, but the important part is I was able to put the entire package together for around $50. The other nice thing about this stand is it is easy to change out backdrops. If you keep your eyes out for sales at the fabric stores, you can secure some very nice, heavy backdrops for $30-$50. Then you can use this system to roll them up when they are not in use which keeps the wrinkles out. If you are looking for a backdrop stand on the cheap, I encourage you to check out this system.

Now, having said how much I like this system, I still am not thrilled with my portrait results. I get better each time, and I keep learning more and more, but I have a long way to go. There are still way too many visible shadows (as you can see on the top photograph and in the one of my daughter below). These would probably be less noticeable on a backdrop that was not pure white, but I want to minimize them as much as possible regardless of the backdrop color. (Just a reminder, you can click on the photographs to see a larger version. The don't seem to render very well in my blog for some reason.)

I am working on moving my flash off to the side with a wireless trigger and umbrella stand, but again, that all costs money. I have also been told to move my models farther out from the backdrop, but my current backdrop is too narrow and when I move them out, you can see the edge of the backdrop in the photographs. But, the important thing is I was able to use this system to meet the specific goals of this shoot without breaking the bank.

Oh, and my daughter loves to "peace out" in front of it. That alone makes it worth the price, right?