If you are fond of food photography or subject photography, you are well aware that one of the most important components of a good picture is the correct and beautiful background. Moreover, if you use it from picture to picture, then it is the background that can become the calling card of the photographer.
Which background to use
For photographs, you can use light homogeneous surfaces or original textured ones: you can use an old wooden table, textured material with an original pattern, brick and even artificial marble.
It’s good if the photographer’s studio already has original textured surfaces, and if not, how to make a photophone with your own hands. Very often, photographers use artificial or real pieces of all kinds of materials. But the question arises of storing such items. However, there is another way: original photophones can be made independently, while the cash costs will be minimal, and storing and moving them is quite simple.
How to make a photophone from a tree with your own hands
Wooden backgrounds today are one of the most sought after. Most often they are used in food photos, as well as for creating photos in the style of flat lay. A wooden background can be made independently using the most ordinary boards. To emphasize the texture, the finished surface can be coated with acrylic paint or stain.
Preparation method
If you do not know how to make a wooden photophone with your own hands, then you can use one of the easiest ways. For work, you will need several wooden boards, liquid nails, sandpaper, a special matte varnish for wood or stain.
Boards are cut in accordance with the size of the desired result, if necessary, each needs to be sanded with sandpaper. If desired, the tree can be as old as possible by treating its surface with a brush for brushing wood.
When the boards are ready, they must be fastened. To do this, it is best to use liquid nails, especially if it is necessary to make a bilateral background. The boards are laid next to each other, face down (you should get a square or rectangle). Liquid nails are applied perpendicular to the first layer and the second layer of boards is fixed (also perpendicular to the face up). When the liquid nails are dry, the surface of the background must be treated with a stain.
If you thought about how to make a photophone from a tree with your own hands, then know your background is almost ready. At the discretion of the stain can be applied several times, allowing each of the layers to dry. To emphasize the texture of the surface, the boards must be thoroughly sanded with sandpaper. Two-sided background can be painted in two colors. In conclusion, each side is coated with a matte varnish in two layers, so the surface will be protected from grease, water, etc.
How to make a photophone for concrete with your own hands
A photophone is of interest to many photographers, it can be a great location for a wide variety of shots. Such a background looks quite aesthetically pleasing, does not distract attention from the main shooting model, while perfectly shading it.
It’s quite simple to make such a background from improvised materials. And although the word “concrete” is present in the title, however, for such a background you only need putty on wood. In addition, a “color” is useful - it is an ink of a certain color, which will give the background a special shade. Suppose to make a gray background, you need to purchase a putty, putty knife and black color. When mixing white putty and black dyes, you get a gray tint, which is applied to the wooden base.
Necessary materials and manufacturing steps
To make a background for a photo for concrete, you need to prepare:
- wooden background;
- a can of wood putty;
- color scheme of the necessary color;
- putty knife.
Thinking about how to make a photophone with your own hands, first of all you need to choose a base, for this you can use sheets of chipboard, plywood, etc. Each one picks up their own, but the most optimal one is 50x50 cm. You need to make sure that the tree is not wet otherwise the putty will fall off. The same thing happens if there are oily stains on the wooden base. Previously, the background can be treated with a primer - it will improve the tenacity of the putty with the background.
Next, you need to use putty. It is applied in a thin layer, covering all cracks and potholes. As a result, you should face a flat surface.
The second layer of putty on the background create a picture. In this case, you can work with white putty, or dilute it with black paint to get a gray tint. The background is covered with small movements, while the tree should not be visible.
When the work is finished, the background is given 5-10 minutes to dry. Then the spatula is moistened in water and once again pass over the surface to form stains on it. Do not form them too high, there will be enough strokes about 0.3 cm high. The finished background is allowed to dry for about 1-2 days at room temperature.
Paper backgrounds
If we talk about paper, then this is perhaps one of the most budget options. It is great for rare filming and home use. If you do not know how to make a photophone yourself from paper, then do not be afraid, because it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In the work most often use rolls of wallpaper, Whatman paper, corrugated paper, etc.
The paper is lightweight, easy to install, store and transport, but its main drawback is the lack of strength and soiling. If such a background is laid out on the floor, then it will most likely be disposable, since spots and traces in photographs are very noticeable.
If you do not know how to make a photophone from cardboard with your own hands, then for the manufacture of the background at home, you can use the most ordinary wallpaper. Moreover, they can not be covered with anything, because today on sale there are wallpapers with a wide variety of textures and drawings that will look very beautiful in photographs. Of course, it is not advisable to purchase a whole roll for several shots, however, you can find the necessary trimmings of wallpaper at home, because after repair many have such trimmings.
Fabric photophone
The fabric basis for the background or the fabric with the pattern printed on it is used quite often. This is not surprising, since it is strong enough, ironable and quite easy to transport. Moreover, the fabric base is quite easy to fix, while it looks beautiful in photographs, does not scatter light and does not reflect it. You just need to figure out how to make a photophone from a cloth with your own hands.
You can simply pull a fabric background or canvas onto a wooden or metal frame, and your own portable background is ready. It is best to choose a textured fabric, of course, you can also find matter with patterns, however, it is worth remembering that the background should remain the background, and the patterns should not be too noticeable (you can’t interrupt the subject).
The minus of the fabric can be its fractures and irregularities, which are not conceived by the plot. The advantage is that such a photophone can be of absolutely any size, while it can be mounted on a wall, gate, etc.
How to quickly make a photophone: the easiest way
To get a beautiful photo, it is not necessary to craft a background of wood, paper or fabric. If you are interested in how to make a photophone with your own hands quickly and without cost, then this method will be a great find for you.
Without much work, you can get a background of a wide variety of colors and textures, while you can make a lot of them, since such backgrounds do not take up much space.
You just need to prepare a camera with a good resolution and wait for the good weather. The main task is to select the necessary textures. You can photograph an old fence, a sprinkling wall, a large snag, etc. In this case, the photos should be clear, sharp and not illuminated.
And then a matter of technology ...
At home, it remains only to view photos. You need to select only those areas in the photo that are suitable for the background. Using Photoshop, you can remove all unnecessary (leaves, stones, etc.), and make a suitable background using different filters, tones, contrast, etc.
The finished files remain to be taken to the printing house and printed, choosing the appropriate size for yourself. However, in order to use photophones in further work, it is necessary to use sufficiently thick sheets of paper for printing.
If you figure out how to make a photophone with your own hands, then you can get an impressive option. However, you need to remember that a good background and the presence of a professional camera will not become the basis of a beautiful picture. In addition, you must follow the basic rules of photography, think over the composition and put an idea into the photo, and then the photos will be interesting not only to you, but also to others.