{"id":6221,"date":"2018-07-15T14:37:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T13:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gavtrain.com\/?p=6221"},"modified":"2018-07-15T18:33:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-15T17:33:16","slug":"bed-sheets-as-backgrounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gavtrain.com\/?p=6221","title":{"rendered":"Bed Sheets As Backgrounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first started shooting portraits, I made do with some very basic gear. My studio was my garage, my second light was a reflector and my backgrounds were sheets of fabric.<\/p>\n

Fortunately I’ve added one or two more lights to my gear over the years and I have my own, permanent small home studio. My backgrounds have evolved a bit too but one of the most challenging parts of being in a studio is the limited choice of backgrounds. So in the video below I revisited my early days by buying three cheap bed sheets for use as backgrounds.<\/p>\n

I love dark and moody studio shots, so my three bed sheets (technically they’re duvet covers) were a basic black, stripy black and damask patterned black. Each gave a very different result, as you’ll see in the video below.<\/p>\n

[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9pv_LX319uU[\/youtube]<\/p>\n

So what did I discover? First off, king sized duvet’s are amazing value (I limited myself to \u00a320 max per sheet) and because they open up, adding some timber inside helps them hang well.\u00a0However the creases were a real pain and took an age to steam out.<\/p>\n

If all you want is a basic black background, a bed sheet is cheap and works perfectly. If you want a pattern, look for sheets that are advertised as crease resistant or ironing free but be aware that those terms aren’t really accurate from a photographic point of view.<\/p>\n

As a bonus each duvet set comes with two pillow cases. So what should I do with those? Ideas below please.<\/p>\n