back drops

Christie wants to know:  I am making a backdrop from an old white sheet.  I want to tie dye it but am not sure what colour would be best!?  Ideas... was thinking either a light green, a blue, or a purple.... blue and green would be more unisex tho!  hints and ideas on this??

Well, Christie - that's an excellent question.  Homemade and hand-picked backdrops are awesome - an old bedsheet, curtains or drapes from the second hand store, and pieces of fabric from the bargain bin are all cost-effective ways of making a backdrop, often adding a creative element that enhances your creative vision, whether that's a wild tie-dyed bedsheet, or a really great set of mint-green curtains.

Adding touches like tie dye is a wonderful idea, as it will give you a unique and very personal flavour to your pictures.  In terms of colour, it can be really fun to have a colourful backdrop.  The only word of caution I have is that you can't control what your clients are going to wear, and a coloured backdrop isn't always going to be complementary to the skin tone of the subjects.  Lastly, you don't want the backdrop to be competing with the subject - if it's too bright or too busy, you may make it difficult to pay attention to the subject.

My suggestion it this: go ahead and make your tie dye backdrop in whatever colour you want.  if you think blue or green is more unisex and you'd feel like it has more versatility, then go for it, but if you think you'd really love purple, go purple - it's YOUR backdrop.  Then get as creative as you want - clash your subjects, be playful, go crazy.  If you want something a little more conservative, ask your subjects to wear neutral solid-coloured clothes - black, concrete, grey - they they pop out from the backdrop.

The only other suggestion I have is to get your hands on another backdrop - another sheet or some drapes or whatever - in a neutral tone - slate or pale grey, a soft taupe or brown, or, of course, plain black or white; even if they have a smudgy texture, simple backdrops lend themselves to keeping the focus on the subject, when you want the backdrop to be merely a background and not a part of the picture itself.