Ooh I have a problem
I need a backdrop for cupcake photography on Friday, but I'm well skint. Does anyone know enough about photography to tell me what kind of fabric or paper I can buy as a cheap substitute for a proper expensive backdrop?
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:53, 5 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Use those rubber bedsheets you were telling me you bought

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:54, Reply)

god,
Does IN SECRET mean nothing to you?!
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:56, Reply)

Wait, what website is this?
Shit, I thought this was FetLife.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:59, Reply)

No this is the super happy cupcake times website
WHICH DOES NOT INVOLVE PISSING ANYWHERE. I learned that in Basic Food & Hygiene.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:04, Reply)

My bad

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:09, Reply)

Use human skin

(lkjshaglkasjdhglkhjz lkcvl; g;aodh;owih, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:54, Reply)

you're both very helpful!

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:56, Reply)

What colour does it need to be? Can't the photographer supply a background?

(lkjshaglkasjdhglkhjz lkcvl; g;aodh;owih, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:57, Reply)

He's a student photographer
so he doesn't have that much of his own equipment yet unfortunately.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:05, Reply)

On a serious note
Blackout curtains maybe?
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:57, Reply)

I need it to look like a non-existant background though and the weave on blackout material is pretty coarse
I think. I really don't know though to be honest.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:06, Reply)

If the focus of the pics is the cakes,
he should easily be able to blur the background out. So use white bedsheets or something
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:07, Reply)

That's true, I have quite a bit of white coutil for my corset making which is thick white fabric
but it's got a herringbone pattern so I thought that might show up, but I never thought about the focus thing. I know nothing about photography.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:09, Reply)

Get in close and use a large aperture
Then the background will be out of focus.

Or, I've just been rather rude.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:56, Reply)

I think I get what you mean
but I don't know what an aperture is.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:09, Reply)

Low F number.

( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:17, Reply)

I am none the wiser.

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:18, Reply)

It doesn't have to be in doors
depends what lighting you want for it
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 10:57, Reply)

It'll be done on Friday night so it would be dark outside
I really don't know to be honest, I've never done anything like this before. They just need to be photos of the cupcakes themselves, they're not going to have fancy sets or anything.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:08, Reply)

Plates??

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:08, Reply)

I'm not sure yet, I was going to mess about with them and see which looked best
I do have some nice black square plates but that would kind of mess up the white background bit I think, so I might just put them straight onto the backdrop. Obviously the focus wants to be the cakes themselves, but I was going to do a little bit of decoration, for example on the strawberry ones there will be the cake itself and then I was going to have a couple of whole strawberries next to the cake, things like that.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:13, Reply)

you could use the black plates
with the cupcakes that have white icing
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:18, Reply)

Then the photographer should easily be able to blur the background
so the material of the backdrop doesn't matter. For the lighting effects that he might be able to produce, the herringbone pattern wouldn't matter even if it did show up, especially since you're going for a 1950s style anyway :)
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:13, Reply)

that's true
maybe I should include more stuff in the photos, like ribbons and lace and shit, since the company will be called Corsets & Cupcakes. Good thinking BatAmberl
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:15, Reply)

that would be good
ribbons round the cupcakes (the nice satiny type) and you should consider either modelling with a cupcake or getting a friend to do it- sitting there with a cupcake that sort of thing, open-palmed so it's fully displayed etc
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:19, Reply)

palmed legged
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:29, Reply)

Best get a friend to do the modelling
Someone who's at least alright looking, and doesn't look like the cupcake they're holding is the sole survivor of a feeding frenzy.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:39, Reply)

I hate you

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 13:02, Reply)

I think you should just get loads of photos of people eating them looking happy.
Pictures of food are DULL
(PsychoChomp, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:40, Reply)

Now I really want to do a photo where I put the cake on her shoulder and try and get her to eat it

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 13:04, Reply)

Use a labia or something.

(PsychoChomp, Tue 12 Oct 2010, 11:00, Reply)