Choosing the Best Size Background for Your Photography

During some point in your career or hobby, it's more than likely that you will need to invest in a backdrop or two for your photography or videography. With the plethora of different types and sizes available, it is hard to know where to start and what will suit your shooting style. This blog post is designed to help you make the decision for which size background to purchase for your work to enable efficient shooting, portability, and above all, minimal editing for your images. 

Questions to Ask Yourself

What’s the size of your Shooting-Space?

First and foremost, you must take into consideration the size of the space that you have to work with. If you have a small home studio or if you are travelling to for home-shoots, we recommend going with smaller, compact background solutions. This can include collapsible background options which are super light and fold down to into a portable carry bag which is perfect for travelling with, and can be easily propped against a wall to shoot with. Many of these collapsible options will easily fit within the room height limits of most houses, so you don't have to worry about them being too tall. 

Another portable, compact option would be half-size paper rolls with our PiXAPRO Gutter Background Stand. Designed for when you need to transport your equipment on the move to reduce the kit you need to take, the Gutter Bracket allows for a half-roll of paper background to be mounted with just one light stand! Great for if you need a pop of colour without the huge setup.

If you have a large permanent studio space however, then a larger rolled background such as Vinyl, HandPainted and Fabric will give you more versatility, especially if you plan to shoot multiple subjects. If you are an Events photographer, it wouldn’t hurt to have one small and one large background depending on the venue you're shooting at. It's always best to have options! 

2x4m Dual Sided Blue And White Vinyl Backdrop and 3x6m Heavy-Duty Crease-Resistant Muslin Fabric Background (Chroma Key Green)

For large or spacious studio areas, we also recommend the Easiframe Cyclorama System backgrounds, which offer the option for a portable, collapsible infinity curve styled background without the cost or the maintenance of a constructed studio. These backgrounds offer a smooth, curved background in a range of sizes to allow for easy full-length portraits, in a range of different fabric colours. These backgrounds can also be transported for location shoots if needed, and can take as little as 20 minutes to set up for flawless studio-styled images for your client. 

Find out more: FAQ: EASIFRAME Curved Background Systems

Do I want to shoot Full-Length, or Headshots, Half-Body/Three-Quarter length?

If you plan to shoot full-length images, you will need a background that is long enough to continue down to the floor (unless you don’t mind having the studio floor in the shot, or you have a complimentary floor-drop). Space-permitting we would recommend having about 2-3m of background on the floor for full-length images, which will give you and your subject ample space to work with.

Some train backdrops are available within the collapsible background range, but if you're looking for longer options or studio backgrounds, a roll-mounted background will be a better option, such as paper. 

How many People do you Plan to Photograph?

Another question that you need to ask yourself is: how many people do you intend to photograph at one time? Now, this doesn’t have to be all the time, however, if you have an idea of a rough top-end figure of how many people you plan to photograph, will give you a good indication of what size backdrop you should go for:

• 1-2 people – Approx. 1.3m – 1.5m
• 2-4 people – Approx. 1.8m – 2.4m
• 4+ people – Approx. 2.4m – 3m
• Large Groups – 3m+

Bear in mind that the larger and heavier the background, the sturdier of a background support system you'll need. Our standard 2.8x3m Background Telescopic Stand kit holds up to 8kg and is great for most paper rolls, but the 3.2x3m Heavy Duty Background Telescopic Kit holds between 10-12kg and is better for supporting heavier vinyl backgrounds on aluminium core rolls. 

Backgrounds for Product Photography

Sometimes you need a background for photographing products on, rather than for photographing people. If you want to photograph small products, such as consumer electronics, jewellery and cosmetics, a smaller backdrop, such as our 60x130cm or 1x2m PVC tabletop backdrops should be more than up to the task.

If you would like to photograph products of a larger size, such as clothing on a mannequin, small furniture, such as chairs and bedside cabinets, or large consumer electronics such as TVs, will usually require a larger background. Backgrounds around 1.5m or so in width is usually sufficient for photographing such products.

TableTop Background Stand With PVC Background and 100x200cm Grey PVC Background (Matte Finish)

Photographing large products such as large furniture such as sofas, beds, etc, as well as some home appliances will require a large background sometimes up to 3m in width. Again, unless you don’t mind having the studio floor in your shot, we recommend having a background that extends along the floor for a seamless look.

Focal Length

The Focal length of the lens that you want to use, can also be a factor to take into consideration when selecting a background. For example, if you are the type of photographer who likes to photograph a single subject and use a wide-angle lens to exaggerate proportions for effect, then a wider background would be a better option to go for. Wide-Angle lenses can exaggerate perspective, making the background look smaller in the frame than it does in real life. If you are using a smaller background with a wide-angle lens, there is a higher chance that your subject may come off the background in the final photo. Using a larger background (if possible) will help avoid that problem.

Conclusion

If you are still unsure, the safest solution would be to purchase the largest background that your shooting space can accommodate, as you can easily use a large background for a small subject. Whilst it is not totally impossible to shoot  multiple subjects on a small background, it will involve more work in the post-production stage to fill in any gaps naturally, even with today's AI generative fill technology.

If the background needs to be something that you can travel with then it may be best to go for one that is on the smaller side (unless you have a van or something to transport it in) and be conscious of the limits that a smaller background might bring!

If you've got any questions about the products you've seen in this blog, or would like some more information about background or our lighting products, why not get in touch with our team at info@essentialphoto.co.uk!