dncphotos wrote:
What is to be said about a photographer who uses wronkled up background fabrics??? Also photographers using blankets and bedspreads as backdrops????

In my opinion I think they are either to cheap to buy some real good backgrounds, or to lazy to iron out their backdrop before a shoot.
Unless you are going for the wrinkled look...but most aren't.

Then you have some models who are just posing infront of it like its about to be the best shot ever.

Models....Would you pose in front of a wrinkled backdrop?????

Photographers who don't do this....what do you think????

WOW!! I especially like the dirty 20 year old rust covered pool chairs in the background of your avatar pic lol. Thanks, but I'll keep my wrinkled backgrounds insted...at least they are clean.

dncphotos wrote:
What is to be said about a photographer who uses wronkled up background fabrics??? Also photographers using blankets and bedspreads as backdrops????

That depends.  Do their photos look like they have wronkled up background fabrics, blankets and bedspreads?

I say use 'em if you got 'em, but make 'em look good.

(And my PSCS healing brush does just as well on backdrop wrinkles as it does on facial blemishes.)

Brian Diaz wrote:

That depends.  Do their photos look like they have wronkled up background fabrics, blankets and bedspreads?

I say use 'em if you got 'em, but make 'em look good.

(And my PSCS healing brush does just as well on backdrop wrinkles as it does on facial blemishes.)

Yeah some are meant to be wrinkled.
I wasn't stating those, but some aren't and looked toooo wrinkled. Like its been balled up into a corner for 10 days and they don't photoshop them. Photoshop is good, but would be easier to maybe iron  or get the backdrop straightened out some.

and some using blankets. I still say thats funny.

DigitalCMH wrote:
Stop picking on me

lol. Haven't looked at your port lol.

Just stating my opinion. Some may not like my port either, but you won't see what I stated above in it.

Brian Diaz wrote:
I've seen some bad ass quilts that I'd like to use.  I need to make more friends involved in sewing circles.

lol well when I say comforters. Im speaking of those $25 ones you get at target. and you can tell what they are.
Using fabrics and getting creative is what a photographer does, but make it look creative if your going to do it you know.


great work btw

XtremeArtists wrote:

If I understand this correctly this reply means; *Some of the strongest statements are made without ever speaking a single word?*

EMG STUDIOS wrote:
Can you introduce me to Nene?

you can email me and I will see what I can do. She is in Texas however.

dncphotos wrote:

Yeah some are meant to be wrinkled.
I wasn't stating those, but some aren't and looked toooo wrinkled. Like its been balled up into a corner for 10 days and they don't photoshop them. Photoshop is good, but would be easier to maybe iron  or get the backdrop straightened out some.

and some using blankets. I still say thats funny.

I keep my backdrops rolled up on a long pole like a roll of paper towels. Easy storage, no wrinkles unless I want them.

EMG STUDIOS wrote:
Can you introduce me to Nene?

Who will she have left to shoot, then?   

EMG STUDIOS wrote:
I think they're called Muslin... 9 out of 10 studios have them, when they're used correctly the look great. When they're used incorrectly they look like wronkled?? up sheets.

YES, EXACTLY!!!!!

Patrick Walberg wrote:
Well it just so happens I'm one of the guilty photographers who has used a wrinkled fabric or sheet as a background. I can give you a seamless and wrinkle free background if you want. The reason I don't mind the wrinkles is that it gives the background some depth and texture.  I've got a piece of canvas that is expensive and I use that for a background.  It STAYS wrinkled!  Also I shoot bedroom scenes where the llama implies that she has slept in a bed with the sheets around her being wrinkled. 

I think the wrinkles should be less noticed if the focus is sharp on the llama and the depth of field is not way out there! That the wrinkles are so able to be noticed in certain pictures maybe what is bothering you.

Good reply,

Yes some are meant to be wrinkled or set the mood, those I have no problem with.
Then again some are just that the photographer doesn' care how the background will look with the llama and its like your attention goes from the llama to the backdrop. I think the focus should be on the llama, but some backdrops can be so out of context with the image that your attention goes straight to it.

Brian Diaz wrote:
That depends.  Do their photos look like they have wronkled up background fabrics, blankets and bedspreads?

I say use 'em if you got 'em, but make 'em look good.

(And my PSCS healing brush does just as well on backdrop wrinkles as it does on facial blemishes.)

Well said!
"He who hath not sinned shall cast the first stone"
Wasn't that in the bible? ;;D

Avicdar wrote:
Who will she have left to shoot, then?   

Avicdar, you're a bad boy! Nene is sexy, I'll do her well while DNC watches! (Photogprah her real good, that is!!!)

DNC I'm no stranger to Texas; Houston, San Antonio, even El Paso. Holla atcha Boy!

dncphotos wrote:
What is to be said about a photographer who uses wrinkled up background fabrics??? Also photographers using blankets and bedspreads as backdrops????

In my opinion I think they are either to cheap to buy some real good backgrounds, or to lazy to iron out their backdrop before a shoot.
Unless you are going for the wrinkled look...but most aren't.

Then you have some models who are just posing infront of it like its about to be the best shot ever.

Models....Would you pose in front of a wrinkled backdrop?????

Photographers who don't do this....what do you think????

Real fabric backdrops (often muslin) ARE wrinkled.  Almost impossible to keep wrinkles out, and rather than being cheap as you suggest, they're actually quite a bit more expensive than using rolls of paper.  Of course the paper needs to be replaced more often than fabric does so the cost goes the other way... eventually.

In any case, the trick to using fabric backdrops is to first of all move the model far enough forward of the backdrop and second , to use a larger aperture (reduced depth of field) so that the wrinkles are out-of-focus and unnoticed.  And as a method of last resort, there's always Photoshop.

I do agree though that photos with visible very wrinkled backdrops are bothersome.

Cheers!

Eldor

theda wrote:
5) Insisting on a full release for TFP (unless the photograer is god)

Hmmmm.....

dncphotos wrote:
What is to be said about a photographer who uses wrinkled up background fabrics??? Also photographers using blankets and bedspreads as backdrops????

In my opinion I think they are either to cheap to buy some real good backgrounds, or to lazy to iron out their backdrop before a shoot.
Unless you are going for the wrinkled look...but most aren't.

Then you have some models who are just posing infront of it like its about to be the best shot ever.

Models....Would you pose in front of a wrinkled backdrop?????

Photographers who don't do this....what do you think????

Well I have to reply to this one because I always wad up my cloth backgrounds so they will have thousands of wrinkles and that gives them texture .
I would much rather see wrinkled cloth than paper for sure but even wrinkled paper is fine if it is out of focus.
I looked at your work and I am going to make and observation about the backgrounds in your images . First --your images are not bad but they may be better if the backgrounds were out of focus or at least not competing with the model . There are so many angles in your avata that it is hard to get a lead line.
My point is that --in my opinion ---you are wanting the viewer to focus on the girl and I am distracted by the hand in the lower rt hand corner just sort of hanging around and the chairs in the back ground being in focus enough to add two large white areas behind her head . One leads off to the right and the other goes straight up . Are the elements of the image adding or taking away from her face ??
This is not intended to be a blast in any way just an observation from my point of view.

dncphotos wrote:
thanks extreme. I am still a beginner photograher, but one thing I would not do...is the wrinkled backgrounds or the comforters.


So can we get back to the topic.

Why even start a topic about it?  I mean really, you are never going to like every photo you look at.  It is like you are pointing fingers even tho' you're not mentioning names. 

I haven't seen a topic where pro-photogs are chatising the 'newbies' about the quality of their work.  Before you posted this topic, did anyone rag on you?  Probably not.  But you got a few pokes in this thread. On the contrary, I do see many photogs encouring the newbies to keep shooting.  No to mention, they are very generous with their time and providing valuable learning tools through these forums.  You need to remember that different people learn in there own ways.

Not to mention, money is a factor and not everyone has  unlimited funding to buy every cool photog toy out there. 

Heck, I'm still learning, I'm just finishing of my BFA.  I don't have unlimited funds... I wish!  So I have to get creative.  For Example:

I use 2 white sheets (yes, white bed sheets - the flat one, not the fitted) from Walmart stretched around a large metal frame to make a large, soft light source.  Worked great and I used it on many of my shots posted here.  I didn't want to purchase a soft box for the universities lights and I really couldn't afford to either... the sheets work great.

I wanted to play around with different colored backgrounds... at $55 a pop for seamless... I bought a white one and then bought cheap latex paint at Home Depot and painted the seamless.  Sure the paper bubbled up a bit... nothing photoshop can't handle.   

Heck, I even used the pillows off my bed as props for headshot of Katarina that I have posted here.

So I would suggest, you spend more time finding photogs you admire and conversing with the pros on these forums to learn and further your work as opposed to degrading others for not being good enough.

Just my two cents

...cheers...

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I keep my backdrops rolled up on a long pole like a roll of paper towels. Easy storage, no wrinkles unless I want them.

Great idea! I never thought of that!... Right now all of my backdrops are folded up and up on a shelf. I like your idea better! It's amazing, but sometimes I do actually pick up a tip or two from reading these forums. I'm going to Home Depot and looking for some poles to do this with ASAP

theda wrote:
2) Tying to make their apartment look like a profession studio (this would include the wrinkled back drops)

Ever since I bought a softbox, no one has questioned whether my apartment is a professional studio.  No softbox=tacky.  Softbox=pro.

J L Norris Photography wrote:

Well I have to reply to this one because I always wad up my cloth backgrounds so they will have thousands of wrinkles and that gives them texture .
I would much rather see wrinkled cloth than paper for sure but even wrinkled paper is fine if it is out of focus.
I looked at your work and I am going to make and observation about the backgrounds in your images . First --your images are not bad but they may be better if the backgrounds were out of focus or at least not competing with the model . There are so many angles in your avata that it is hard to get a lead line.
My point is that --in my opinion ---you are wanting the viewer to focus on the girl and I am distracted by the hand in the lower rt hand corner just sort of hanging around and the chairs in the back ground being in focus enough to add two large white areas behind her head . One leads off to the right and the other goes straight up . Are the elements of the image adding or taking away from her face ??
This is not intended to be a blast in any way just an observation from my point of view.

Hiya, no you weren't blasting. Actually this was my first shoot and like I said I am a beginner and constructive criticism is great if it will help me get better and learn new thing. So critique me if you please, just add some helpful hints for my next shoots. Which are next saturday )

Brian Diaz wrote:
Ever since I bought a softbox, no one has questioned whether my apartment is a professional studio.  No softbox=tacky.  Softbox=pro.

What's a soft box? *wink

Brian Diaz wrote:

Ever since I bought a softbox, no one has questioned whether my apartment is a professional studio.  No softbox=tacky.  Softbox=pro.

I have a window. Does that count?

Brian Diaz wrote:
I have one 12x20 muslin backdrop (which is larger than the apartment I was living in when I bought it, not counting kitchen and bathroom), and the instructions that came with it said to keep it stored in a bag so it will appear wronkled up, rather than having a grid of fold-wrinkles.  (Does anyone know what a pain it is to iron a 12x20 piece of fabric?  It sucks.)

Yep, same here...have two painted muslins and it also recommended balling them up to keep the wrinkles "uniform" rather than folding. Not to mention, I have tried ironing a 12 x 20 muslin...just don't have that kind of free time, and unless you iron it and immediately hang it...it becomes 'wronkled' anyway.
I am kinda liking that word 'wronkled'...lol

Karlton wrote:
...I have tried ironing a 12 x 20 muslin...just don't have that kind of free time, and unless you iron it and immediately hang it...it becomes 'wronkled' anyway.
I am kinda liking that word myself...lol

I found that if it's already on the background stand, it makes it easier!

And the proper usage is "wronkled up".