DIY Photo Backdrops for Bloggers and Shop Owners

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When I started blogging, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Little did I know that I would have to turn into a tech geek, a writer, and a socialite, and a photographer. This blog started as a place for me to show off the things I wanted to buy and a few things that I was making aside from my Etsy shop. As I posted more of the things I was making, more and more people started stopping by and I realized that that is what I was passionate about. I was passionate about creating things and creating looks for myself. I had found my niche. Now I needed to get noticed in a sea of creative bloggers. That is when I realized that I needed to step it up in the photography game. Now keep in mind, my photography skills still have a long ways to go, but I love to teach as I learn. To see what I have learned about indoor photography, you can see that post here.

One way to make your photos look a lot more legit, is having some sort of a backdrop. I have made a few, and plan to make many more in the future. I wanted to share a few photo backdrops with you that are SO easy to make and super cheap too so they can easily be replaced.

First of all, I want to tell you that these backdrops are going to be best for bloggers and shop owners who sell online because they are small. They aren’t backdrops for photo shoots or photographing a table or anything, but they are great for small projects that are sometimes hard to photograph.

First of all, get yourself some foam core board. These make great backdrops. I use a plain white one when I want a plain white backdrop. I put on a counter right by a window so I get a lot of natural light when I am taking pictures and it makes for some pretty great pictures. I also love wrapping foam core boards in paper.

Bulletin board paper is the BEST It isn’t shiny so it doesn’t glare in the pictures and you can find it in tons of different colors and styles. The barn wood roll is bulletin board paper. I found it at Hobby Lobby, but you can find it online too. Faux wood bulletin board paper

Wrapping paper can be a great resource too. Be careful not to get wrapping paper that is too shiny or else it will glare in your photos. When using wrapping paper, I usually will use it on a flat surface and have it be the base of my photo instead of the backdrop because I get less glare that way. The red wood grain backdrop is from some wrapping paper I got at Target.  Faux wood matte wrapping paper, here is another style.

Speaking of wrapping paper I got at Target, I found this great brown wood grain wrapping paper in their dollar spot section a few months ago.

Sometimes you find wrapping paper that would make great backdrops, but it is pretty shiny, so what you can do, is just be sure always keep that one as the base of your photo.

Also pictured above in the first shot, is a pile of white burlap. I think that using fabric can be a great, inexpensive way to get perfect backdrops too. Look in the clearance section of the fabric stores to find really cheap options too. I haven’t done many projects while using fabric as the backdrop, but I know that it can look really good! I can’t wait to try it.

Those are all of the backdrops that I currently have, but here are a few other ideas I have in mind…

#1 Paint foam core with chalkboard paint and write messages on it and maybe even my watermark in photos.

#2 Get a piece of white bead board.

#3 Buy a few pieces of wood flooring to have a beautiful faux hardwood floor as the base of my photo.

Do you have great backdrops that you use while photography projects or products? I would love to hear more!