Backdrop Stand Recommendations & Considerations [Photography]

In my photography hobby days I went to great lengths to attempt to use backdrops without using a backdrop stand.

I would drape a sheet over the back of the couch or staple/tape blankets to the wall..

All of this, becuase I was unaware of how cheap and easy a backdrop stand is to buy and use!

What do I use?

I use a stand from Cowboy Studio which is very versatile.

You can see the Cowboy Studio backdrop stand here.

9114 System (20′)

Height is adjustable from 2′ 7.5″ – 10′

Max width is 20 ft, minimum width is 6 ft, you can adjust from 6 ft, 10ft, 20ft

Cross bar consists of eight sections, making it simple to adjust the width

46.5″ long when closed

Crossbar has max width of 21’ 7” if using all 6 poles

How this works is this:

For $130 (the most expensive option of the ones discussed in this article, cheaper alternatives listed below) you get: 3 tripods (essentially that’s what they are), 6 poles that are each a few feet long, and 2 carrying bags. You use one tripod on each end and the third tripod can be used in the center for additional support.

The poles interlock with one another so that you can choose your width. The drawback is that the minimum width is 6 feet, which doesn’t sound too big but it can be when you take into account the tripod legs add additional width to it, making it require more like 8-9′ of space, minimum.

(Side note to anyone who is struggling with the minimum width – I found a way around this ;). The set comes with 6 poles, one of which has a hole to be used with the 3rd tripod in the center. If you use the pole with a hole, you can use an end tripod in the hole instead of in the center, and cut a few feet off the width).

I chose the backdrop set I did because it’s the most versatile and if I need to do a large group I can go up to 20′ without having to buy another set later.

Please keep in mind with this backdrop stand that there is a pole designed to go in the center when it’s at the maximum height. For this reason (combined with the fact it can’t likely hold a ton of weight) it’s not ideal for storing/carrying rolls around the pole. If I am using a roll, I leave the roll end on the ground and clamp the loose end to the pole :). Works perfect.

The stand with all 3 tripods in use + all 6 poles.

If you want to cut some expense out, you can get just the 10 ft stand for $86 or the 12 ft stand for $9 more!

If this is still sounding too expensive for you here is a much cheaper and very versatile backdrop stand. While the above stand is extremely easy to travel with (fits in one “golf bag” sized bag), this stand is a little more versatile in that it has more width options and can go down to 5′ instead of 6. For $40 you can avoid duck tape goo on your walls and obnoxious shadowing on your backgrounds!
I went through so much peril attempting to use makeshift backdrop stands that if I had but known, I would have just bought the dang stand years ago, haha.
Oh well, live and learn.

I’d like to just note real quick here that there are 500 million other stands out there.. this is just what I’m familiar with!

Now if you need help figuring out what to buy to start with off-camera flash, give this article What Equipment You Need For Off Camera Flash Photography [With Links] a gander!

If you have any questions or other recommendations, such as what you use and why you like it, post in the comments!

-Christine
Duluth Family Photographer

What Equipment You Need For Off Camera Flash Photography [With Links]

For many years I put off working with a flash.  The few times I did the photos looked kind of .. bad.. and unnatural and I just couldn’t get the results I wanted so I pretty much just avoided it.  One day  I was thinking about how other photographers get stunning photos with a flash and that there is a way to do it, and I wanted to figure out how.. and so began my journey into learning off camera flash.

A lot of others are in the same position I was in and don’t know where to start.  For this reason I’d like to share my “start up” kit.  This is valuable information to be sharing because it was no easy task to figure out exactly what I needed and what is compatible with what.

What do you need to do off camera flash?

1.  A flash
2.  A Stand
3.  Triggers
4.  A diffuser

This is it!  This is the bear minimum to accomplish off camera flash (well for the bear minimum you can remove diffuser as you don’t “need” it but.. trust me, you really want it..).

1.  A Flash – $259.00 – I started with a Canon Speedlite 430 EX II.  I love this light and it is a great place to start.  You can shoot in manual or ETTL, you can rotate the flash to aim it in any direction you want – behind you, up to the ceiling, against the wall, or straight on.  This is great because  it’s nice to  have the option to bounce the flash vs shooting it straight on, but that’s a topic for another day :).  This flash is a slave only so if you ever want to shoot with 2 flashes you will need to get the Speedlite 580 to control the 430 but if you only need one flash the 430 does the job.
A great (cheaper) alternative to the Canon Speedlites is the Yongnuo brand (around $70).  I haven’t used these yet but I frequent many photography forums and a ton of people have great things to say about them!  I may get a Yongnuo as  a master flash to connect with my Speedlite.

2.  Light Stand – $27.95 – that is the light stand I bought.. it’s a great stand :).  It goes up to about 6′ high and as low as maybe around 2′.  It comes with an umbrella attachment which is essential for the softbox I use but also good for using umbrellas which are nice to use when you want something light and portable.  It also comes with an umbrella 🙂 although I rarely use it.
Another option for a light stand is buying a simple hot shoe stand – about $10 including shipping.  this is a very simple way to move the flash around the room!

3.  Triggers – $82.89 – These are the triggers I use.  I have a Canon Mark II 5D and a Canon 430 EX II Speedlite.  These triggers seem pretty universal but you’ll want to verify that they are compatible with your camera and light.  They are wireless and are compatible with the Speedlite.. I have no complaints :)!  It took me a lot of research to figure out which triggers to buy!  I didn’t start with wireless triggers.. the first trigger I bought was a cord which connected to the flash from the camera and it works very well, but I am liking the freedom of wireless (although dislike how many batteries I’m going through nowadays).  There are cheaper cords but I wanted something long enough to be able to move around away from the camera so I invested in a longer cord.  I really like having a cord and wireless trigger in case the wireless trigger ever stops working I have a reliable backup.  Or if I don’t want to set up the wireless triggers I can use it faster :).

4.  A Diffuser – $169.90 – A diffuser is something the light shoots through to make it softer/more spread out and less harsh/direct.  When you shoot straight on it can be too much light and very harsh so a diffuser really  helps.  I started out using the umbrella that came with my stand and upgraded to one that is a 50×50 softbox.  There are tons of diffuser options though and different shapes and sizes.  You can choose circular ones, octogons, squares, rectangles.. the shape you choose will affect your photography so maybe do some reasearch on this before you pick something.  This diffuser I chose attaches to the light stand via the umbrella port.  There are also translucent umbrellas, silver umbrellas, softboxes, and PMS or you can simply aim the flash towards a white wall and bounce it.
If you buy a 5-in-1 reflector (we’ll discuss that in a minute) it comes with a diffuser in it so one option would be to shoot the flash through the diffuser that comes with the reflector.  I haven’t tried this, personally, but it seems like it would work well.

That’s all you really “need” to start doing off-camera flash!  However if all your light is coming from one direction you will find some shadowing occurring at times.. for this reason it’s really nice to have 2 flashes or a flash and a large reflector.  This is the setup I use.. (flash + reflector).

What you need to add a reflector to your off camera flash setup:

1.  A Reflector – $14.80 – I use a 48″ circular reflector but there are many different sizes and shapes to choose from.

2.  A Light Stand – $27.95 –  I use the same stand for my reflector as I do my flash, I just added a boom onto it :).

3.  A Boom – 29.95 – It’s essentially an “arm” that attaches to your stand and you can add a reflector to it.  The arm is adjustable and accommodates my 48″ reflector as well as my smaller sized one (22″).

I was taking some practice shots tonight and these are taken mostly with 1 430 ex speedlite behind a 50×50 softbox off to my left side.  There is a reflector off to the right and it did reflect some light but I didn’t have it aimed to directly reflect light, so while it made some fill, it didn’t make it to its maximum capacity.

^  this photo was just taken with a softbox and no reflector.. I am sitting in front of the diffuser (you can see my reflection in the eyes!).

So there it is!  Everything I needed to really seriously get into off camera flash.  This is a great place to start however as you “master” the art of one flash, you’ll want to start adding in more 🙂 and upgrading equipment.

Hope this helps someone [or lots of people..] out!

-Christine Ann

Duluth MN Photographer Website
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