Background paper for digital studio photography.

These views are in our studio in Guatemala, where we are doing a Mayan ethno-botany project. This means we are photographing all the fruits, vegetables, and other plants that serve as a utilitarian use for the Maya people of Guatemala, as well as plants that were eaten. This is pitaya, the fruit of a cactus-like night blooming vine that grows wild all over the country.

If I remember correctly, they also have backdrop colors that can be used for green chroma key and blue chroma key. Just be sure to light your subject carefully so the reflection from the green or blue does not color the back of your subject.

For background paper you need a background stand

Yes, there are cheap ways to jerry rig your own homemade backdrop stand. But they sag, and look unprofessional. It is more professional to have a background stand. If your studio is for serious commercial photography, then you would need a background stand for holding at least three rolls at a time.

Savage Universal Corporation makes four styles of background stands, including a portable one.

Savage Universal Corporation also offers digital fluorescent lighting

FLAAR is a specialist in studio lighting for digital photography. We cover digital fluorescent lighting by

•  Westcott ( Spiderlites, good lighting),

•  Videssence (made to hang from the ceiling, so they are too unbalanced for using on light stands, and the carrying cases fell apart),

•  Balcar (great lights, every professional)

and Lowel (we have used Lowel lights for decades)

Until I visited their website four years ago I did not realize that Savage, which I know for decades for their backdrop paper, also has added fluorescent lighting. We can't comment on them otherwise until we have them available in our studio, but it is clear that fluorescent lighting is becoming increasingly popular for digital photography.

Important to select an appropriate background paper for a backdrop

We at FLAAR have an in-house photo studio, and several photographers on our in-house staff. Since about 40% of our photography is during field trips to remote areas of Guatemala, Central America, we tend to favor studio equipment which

• can easily be packed and unpacked
• can survive being moved many times a year (without falling apart)
• can be handled by photo assistants without a year's prior training!
  And most importantly
• Studio equipment which results in attractive results.
  

Thirty years ago I used seamless background paper from one brand. Year after year, decade after decade: one major brand of seamless paper. Then about 12 years ago I met the hospitable team at SAVAGE Universal Corporation. I switched to using their material. Now we at FLAAR ethnozoology, ethnobotany, and archaeology photography institute use exclusively backdrop products from SAVAGE.

We take this material on field trips to mangrove swamps, to remote villages deep in the rain forest, to the Pacific Ocean beach eco-systems, and to the Atlantic (Caribbean) coast eco-systems. We were photographing with SAVAGE Widetone material near the Caribbean a week before CES,

And were photographing with their Savage backdrop material a few meters from the Pacific Ocean a week before Christmas.

Since we actually use this brand (Savage Universal) WIDETONE, we recommend it to photographers in studio situations, as well as for out on location.

Vinyl background material from Savage

Since snails and most seashells are wet, even when you try to dry them off, they still leak liquid from inside. So your background material for field work needs to be vinyl. Savage offers their Infiniti Vynyl in white, black, Chroma green, and gray.

We look forward to having vinyl background material from Savage since we do a lot of photography of flowers and insects and reptiles out in the remote rain forests of Guatemala, Central America. Most creatures urinate when you place them on a photo stand. We are nice to them, we return them to their natural habitat, but to get a scientific record of their species it is essential to have a creature on appropriate background material in a photo studio (we take the studio out to the swamps and jungles).

Most recently updated Feb 5, 2013.

First posted June 19, 2006, updated September 9, 2010 and Jan. 11, 2013.

Available by october 2008 Available by octuber 2008 Available by october 2008 Available by october 2008 Available by october 2008

Nicholas Hellmuth’s Medium Format Digital Camera Initiative For over 40 years Nicholas Hellmuth has used Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras to record the flora, fauna, and archaeology of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Now for several years he is extending his medium format experience to digital photography. Since FLAAR works both in a studio as well as out on location, we are an ideal focus for judging portability. We have experience with large format digital scan backs (the excellent BetterLight) and we also use Nikon and Canon digital cameras. A full-service digital pro should have at least one medium format digital system and should consider large format digital options as well. Although we started with a Leaf Valeo 22 coupled with a Mamiya 645 AFD body and lenses, we are open to showcasing all bodies as well as other digital backs. Indeed we have tested an Imacon 4-shot back on a Hasselblad H1 body. Then (February 2006 onwards) we are evaluated a MegaVision black-and-white dedicated back for fine art photography. Next we are testing a 33-megapixel Phase One P 30. Since 2008 FLAAR has used a Phase One P25+ (a great way to update an aging Hasselblad ELX body with its excellent Zeiss lenses). Camera resellers or manufacturers who wish to have their cameras, lenses, and backs included in this initiative are welcome to send their equipment for evaluation. FLAAR is the de facto source of information because we have been university based, independent, blunt, and we are one of the few review sources that dares to review advertising specs, advertising claims, and advertising hype. We can afford to reveal all the pros and cons because FLAAR is a research institute. Photographers feel they can trust a university research professor who has devoted years to understanding the pros and cons of each aspect of a digital camera system and workflow. Notice you are not blinded by blinking, flashing, or pesty ads for low-bid camera stores on a FLAAR photography review. I am always amused by a pseudo-review that obviously is simply paid to send you to a camera store. You can download our colorful FLAAR Reports on our medium format digital camera initiative.