Backdrops or backgrounds: there is nothing that can effect the end result of your food photography more. Try it out for yourself. Put your plate on a Formica table and take a photo. Then put that same plate on a nice weathered background and your photo will be instantly more moody and pretty.
Below I will give you an overview of backdrops and kind of material that you can use.
Metal
So to start with one of my personal favourites: metal. I love old trays, rusty baking trays and zinc plates. There is more, of course, so be sure to look around as well. Nowadays, you can find a lot of old metal in home improvement shops, but don’t forget to look in your local hardware store. New iron plates can be made old by using scouring pads, cola or vinegar and just leave them in the backyard for a few months. 😉
Wood
Wood comes in even more varieties than metal. I don’t really like new planks, but you can paint and rework them in all sorts of colors to give it the look you want. You can also find old scaffolding boards at hardware stores these days. Have them cut to a more manageable size because you really don’t need a 3-metre plank. Three 60 cm planks will do the trick. The photo of the bread pudding on the right is actually just a couple of small planks stacked together. Apart from DIY stores, you can buy them online or check whether there is an old building materials shop near you.
Vinyl
It is probably the most frequently asked question “Where do you find those backgrounds?” Because after years of lugging around boards, marble slabs and iron plates, you sometimes get a bit tired of it. And vinyl is an ideal replacement for this.
Not for everything and by no means all backgrounds lend themselves equally well to everything, but they are really handy. If you use them in the right way, they are often indistinguishable from the real thing.
Where do we get them from? I love using the backdrops made by Errer backdrops. They’re located in the Netherlands but ship world wide. Another great one is Capture by Lucy. But whereever you live there will probably be a good choice available close by.
Wallpaper/paper
Of course, you can also opt for wallpaper. Be careful that you can’t get moisture on it (most of them at least) or if you do, the use is one-off. You do often have nice patterns in wallpaper and they can work really well as a backdrop. However, really nice wallpaper is also not cheap but it might be a good idea to try and get some samples from the shop. A lot of DIY stores have a cheaper collection that might still be good to use.
Fabric
And then, of course, you have fabric. I personally like fabric that is not so stiff and rigid. And I have to say that I tend to use fabric mostly for adding some touches like in the photos below. Sure you can also use an entire table cloth but that is not so much my style.
Make sure you find fabric that is pliable and can be laid down easily. I hate using stiff tea towels.
Linen is very fine to work with and has a nice wrinkle. Softer fabrics like velvet can also be used but make sure it’s still about your food and not necessarily about the fabric you use…. 🙂 You can find fabrics at the market in all shapes and sizes (1 metre is more than enough!) and at shops like Ikea, H&M Home, Bloom, Sostrene Grene (also great for other props!), in grandma’s linen closet and often in hobby shops where they sell stuff to make plaids and the like. Fabric shops sometimes have samples they give away for virtually nothing, so you can try that too.
Options galore! Try a couple out for yourself and see what you like best. Of course you can also make your own to be unique. The downside of vinyl – for instance – is that you will find the same backdrops in a lot of different photos.
All the food styling posts will be here.
