I've been shooting photographs of my 3D work on gray backdrop paper, creating gradation by manipulating my lighting. I'd like to short cut that process by using a backdrop that has the gradation on it. Does anyone have suggestions as to the best to use. I see a few online: "Varitone" or "Flotone" etc.... Any suggestions on which is the best? Thanks in advance!
You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!
Replies
I recently ordered the Varitone background #09 in the 21" x 15" size from Photo Tech. After I received them I was disappointed that the gradation was not printed correctly so it would fit inside my 12" EZ Cube with the black at the top and fade into white at the bottom. They won't ship just one piece and make you purchase 5 at a time. I ended up having to return them all since they were useless to me. Does anyone have any suggestions of other places that print roughly this size but with the gradation done correctly? I'm looking for black to white. Thank you!
You could have easily cut them down to the size you needed. The 21x15 is good for a small cube because it's horizontal so there's the entire gradient within 15 inches. There is no other source that I know of, except for purchasing backgrounds directly from EZCube. Give EZCube a call and ask what they recommend.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
I've been recommending Photo Tech for years. I though everyone knew about it. It's been listed as one of my resources for backgrounds:
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/backgrounds.htm
Larry Berman
I've bought mine from Photo Tech Inc (http://www.phototechinc.com) They are out of St. Paul MN.
As Larry wrote, gradient #9 is good. I have also used #28 occasionally and #39 more often. Here is a link:
http://www.phototechinc.com/graduate.htm
Cheers, L
Thank you so much for this information. I have wondered how people got the graded backgrounds and now you have provided the answer. Just ordered some. THANK YOU!
Thanks Leo. I will check them out!
The commercial backgrounds are pretty much the same. You purchase based on the size so you can have more control over how the graduation appears in relation to the size of your pieces. I've always used Varitone #9 , which is silk screened on vinyl, but since my supplier was sold, I'll be trying the Flotone graduated background that B&H sells when I run out of my current stock.
Though it will end up costing more money, an alternative is adding the background afterwards, which will give you cleaner jury images that have backgrounds that match perfectly no matter how different the size of the pieces are.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Thanks Larry. I'm eager to give them a try. I think it will substantially cut down on my set up time for shooting. When you add the background afterwards, do you remove the original background with the photoshop background eraser tool?
Removing a background is done by creating a selection around the piece. Something that can takes a great deal of practice learning how to do it correctly. Then proper shadows need to be added. Everything needs to look perfect when completed.
Larry Berman
Thanks again Larry. Your comments/ answers on this forum are always greatly appreciated.