Location: Im standin at the crossroads, tryin to read the signs, to tell me which way I should go to find the answer.
Posts: 17,421
sandi...seamless backgrounds
this is for sandi (and anyone else who is curious )
seamless is exactly what you thought...a roll of paper. you suspend it on a backdrop stand or from something secured to a wall.
in my studio, i have a 9' roll of black seamless mounted onto my wall (into studs...it's HEAVY) with room for 2-3 more rolls up there. i also have a background stand that i can use to hold either 4.5 foot rolls or 9 foot rolls (no idea how i'd get 9' rolls onto it logistically but that's because my space is tiny.)
i use it for fabric drops (with clips) or 4.5 foot rolls. the small rolls like that are only good for 1-2 people...fine for babies/kids or a maternity (one person or maybe arms of another...)
the 9' is a dream...i can shoot a family of 5 on it.
cost is about $25/4' roll for 12 yards and about $40/9' roll. over time you have to cut it and replace it.
when you do a cake smash like i did today, you are essentially giving up a few feet of the roll for the smash. no big deal...it's not $$.
this one shows the black on the wall and the stand in front of it with blue paper on it (4.5 roll of blue.) you can see where i cut the bottom after the cake smash, it's just hanging there since i haven't put away my supplies from today's session. after the smash, i literally just took an envelope opener and slid it across the paper at the point where it left the floor going up to the stand, rolled it up with the wipes we used for clean-up and that was it. easy peasy.
shows the stand and how the big roll is on the wall.
i used my broken tripod to support my reflector board.
close-up of how the big roll/hooks are on the wall. i could put 2-3 more rolls up there (with hooks.)
Location: One tank gone second thoughts are on my mind. What's this trip gonna cost me this time? The devil I know is starting to look awfully kind. But the new road is an old friend.
Posts: 38,761
wow - incredible!
I totally get it.
You're right - never could have fully pictured that.
Location: One tank gone second thoughts are on my mind. What's this trip gonna cost me this time? The devil I know is starting to look awfully kind. But the new road is an old friend.
Location: One tank gone second thoughts are on my mind. What's this trip gonna cost me this time? The devil I know is starting to look awfully kind. But the new road is an old friend.
Posts: 38,761
yeah - we had popcorn crap in the house we built - that stuff that breaks off and falls everywhere?
This house has nice, fairly flat ceilings - just some texture swirls that are easily covered with a coat of decent paint (we discovered when re-doing the girls' room). But yours looks like a distinct pattern. Kinda funky and cool
Location: Im standin at the crossroads, tryin to read the signs, to tell me which way I should go to find the answer.
Posts: 17,421
i get mine at my local wolf camera store. they order them for me from savage and since i pick them up in-store (takes about 3 days) i pay zero shipping.
How much do the rolls run at Wolf and what's the turn-around Tracey? I usually get mine from B&H because I have free shipping (NAPP membership perk) but since Savage is IN my city and my local Wolf/Ritz can order them...but they quoted me $65 per roll for the 108"! And then I have to pay sales tax too. Hmmm....
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Michele, Mamas to FOUR! WAHMing it as a photographer.
Location: Im standin at the crossroads, tryin to read the signs, to tell me which way I should go to find the answer.
Posts: 17,421
WHAT! $65? CRAZY!!
no, i paid $39 for my 109" roll of black. i paid $24 for my 54" rolls of grey and blue. the 54" roll of white came with my stand.
sure, i pay sales tax...but i literally walk into the store on a monday. tell my camera buddy guy i want x color in x size. pay for it. they call me on wednesday or thursday at the latest and i go in to pick it up. or, if i NEED it, i drive 30min into Atlanta and buy it at the main store downtown...they have most of the commonly needed colors in stock all the time. that, however, requires gas expenditure i'd prefer not to put forth.
easy peasy.
and, i get to play with some fellow camera nerds and flirt shamelessly with a guy that is almost young enough to be my son (my dh gets a hoot out of it...it's HARMLESS and silly as all get out...but makes my day that much nicer and then my dh benefits too )
LOL! That's so funny! My local Ritz employees are not nearly as fun. I think I have MWAC stamped on my forehead or something! I do think my dh would enjoy a photo-store-nerd flirting (mine!) story as well!
When I asked for a gray card, they looked at me like I had two heads! I'll have to go again and ask them to double-check the price on the paper - our local "pro" photo studio supply also charges $65! And $40 for 54" - it's nuts!
I would think Ritz would be able to get it superfast since Savage is all of 5 miles from here. (And they don't have a store or allow customer pick-ups or I'd get it direct from them! I've love to get a gander at the Savage warehouse!)
Location: Im standin at the crossroads, tryin to read the signs, to tell me which way I should go to find the answer.
Posts: 17,421
interesting. my wolf store is a tiny little place and they knew what a grey card was. the superstore downtown is like a candyshop for me. LOVE that place.
lighting, backdrops, tripods, cameras, bags, papers, meters...you name it, if i want to handle it rather than order it from b&h, i go there and they've got it.
LOVE that place.
they can do in-store transfers to my wee bitty wolf, next day, if i ask nicely. if they don't have it instock, it's 2-3 days from the warehouse/supplier.
i don't have a grey card though...i use a photovision target. i think i spent $40 on it? after a membership to photovision (which gets me 6 training DVD's per year too.) i have a 14" target.
it helps with CWB since my d300 shoots cool. i only use it on location though. once i figured out the Kelvin temps on my strobes, i realized i could set my d300 to that kelvin temp/cwb and i didn't need the target in-studio. i use it plus my sekonic and it gets me spot-on.
i love toys. cute little guys at the camera store are fun too.
oh and the guys at my store love it when i come in. they get so tired of selling stuff to "soccer moms" (their description) they are pleased as punch for someone to walk in with real gear and know what she's asking for/talking about. they know me by name at this point
Wow, that sounds awesome! I haven't found a store where they don't cringe when I come in - but I'll keep looking! LOL!
So you're happy with the Photovision target? I have a Whi Bal card and literally, my WB is way better when I don't use it. Same goes for my "digital gray kard" thingy. Same issue with white paper/white cards. With strobes, I do the color temp thing too and it's great. On-location, it's a pain to get proper CWB. I'm to the point though where I can leave it on daylight or one of the settings and then just tweak the batch in ACR - easier for me to eyeball. But probably not as accurate as a target that would actually work. I'm experimenting now with the WB shift setting in the camera. It tends to have a blue/magenta cast so I'm setting the shift one increment at a time to yellow/green and hopefully can bring the presets closer to reality.
)
that's funny. it's such a pet peeve of mine. you pay a premium around here to get flat ceilings.
)
I do think my dh would enjoy a photo-store-nerd flirting (mine!) story as well! 
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