Photography staging area

If you’ve been following my posts over the last few days, you’ll have seen how I created some backdrops and a reflector for my photographs. Today I’m showing you how I put these together to take my photos!

First I place one of my wooden backdrops on top of a small drawer unit. The wood is slightly larger than the drawer unit, but not so much so that it could topple off. The unit is luckily exactly the same height as my desk, so if I create larger wooden backdrops they will still fit.

I then place another backdrop against the wall. This could again be a wooden backdrop, or I can tape paper or fabric to the wall, or just use the wall itself. The only problem with using the wall is that it is grey, and sometimes in photos it looks like a poorly lit photo of a white wall! So I will probably paint a white wooden backdrop (I quite often use white paper). I’d also love to try this idea for creating a faux kitchen backdrop!

At the moment I have to hold the tinfoil reflector up while taking the photo, or balance it at a slight angle against the shelving, but I think I will add some method of attaching it to the shelving. There is a large window in the wall at right angles to the one shown, to the left, and I’ve hung voile panels so I can vary the light levels.

My other method of setting up this area is to use a trouser hanger, hanging from the shelving, to hang up some fabric. If I’m doing it this way, I balance the reflector against the back wall, but I have to lean over the desk to take the photo, and this can block the light a little.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my photo setup. I’m loving that the photos I take now are so much better, brighter and more interesting. I’m now reading a bit about photo staging, so that I can add other items into the photos I’m taking, to make them even more interesting, like I did in this photo of my lace bowls.