Photography Backdrops

When you sell goods online the advice is always to photograph your item against a plain uncluttered, non-busy background.  Fair enough, it makes the item easy to see and draws your eye straight to it and doesn't leave you wondering which item you should be looking at.  I've done this method for many years.  I made my own backdrop using some blackout curtain material and some plain white voile and its done me proud up until now but that advice is probably better suited to small things like jewellery but it is really boring for things like shawls.

I'm seeing a lot of successful sellers who use beautiful settings to take their photos of clothing items, some are absolutely stunning, like fancy sweeping staircases, carefully manicured formal gardens or stately looking room settings, the kind of thing you find in stately homes, National Trust properties and old hotels.  I've even seen one seller who is lucky enough to live right by the coast and takes her photos up on the top of a cliff with the person modelling looking forlornly out to sea with the wind blowing in her hair and the shawls and they look amazing, full of life and movement.  I live on a housing estate, no such beautiful settings for me without costing me an arm and a leg to hire the place.

Printed backdrops, that's the route for me, carefully selected printed backdrops and I could get quite a few different ones, subject to finances.  I am limited on space though, so I have to bear that in mind, that I need to be able to use the backdrop without furniture etc getting in the way between the backdrop and the camera.

After much thought and search online I have ordered from a company called Katebackdrops, they have a US site and a UK site and are reasonably priced.  I've ordered two backdrops from them, I just hope I've ordered the right sizes, quite a bit of guess work involved as to which size is best to go for as they come in quite a good range.  One with an urban feel to it, something that I could use for modelling the scarf type shawls and shawlettes against and then a whimsical floral framed balcony setting that will be perfect for the wedding type shawls.  Fingers crossed.