Backdrop stand on the cheap
Photography as a hobby is one pretty expensive hobby. As a business it’s a pretty expensive business if you really need some of the specialty gear. I love the fancy new gear, but when it gets right down to it, how much of it do I really NEED. So when I look a purchasing some new camera equipment, I look at it’s function and determine two things.
1) Do I really need it. Not want, but actually have a need for it.
and if so
2) Do I need that particular product to fulfill that need or can it be achieved some other way.
I have several little construction projects I’ve done to create some of the things I needed. I’ll show you some of them, but for today I’m going to show you my portable backdrop stand. I really need this for portrait shoots. But since I’m a “mobile” photographer I wanted something that was sturdy, transportable and didn’t require a ceiling for support. So for about $12 I made my own out of PVC. Couple that with a $9 set of clamps and I have a complete backdrop stand that breaks down into something I can easily carry and fit in the trunk of my car. Here’s how I built it:
Required parts:
3/4″ PVC, enough to create 14- 3′ sections, 8-1′ sections and 4-2′ sections.
4-3/4″ elbow joints
12-3/4″ ‘T’ joints
This will make 2 3′x7′ grids that are sturdy enough to hold a full sized canvas backdrop and can be easily reconfigured to be portable light modifiers using standard twin sized fitted sheets.
Two stands bundled up. Nerf Sword not necessary to construct stand.
One stand laid out on the floor.
The base setup. There are several ways to make the feet, this is one of the simplest. If necessary I weigh down one of the leggs to make the stand more sturdy.
Two stands side-by-side are 7′ tall by 6′ wide. But they don’t have to be right next to each other. You can easily put space between them to accommodate really wide backdrops.
The final setup. The hand clamps are great because you can easily use them to pull out most wrinkles (not shown here.)
