I have bought cardboard, but it gets crinkly quick. also tried black velvet.

Is there some sort of plastic people use, without going all out and buying the proper photo stuff?

i have used thick white paper (you can buy this on a roll) or a white cloth that has some shine to it.  You could also try white plexi which you could shine a light through for great isolations

leaf,

Why cloth with shine?  I would think the less reflective the better (for the background, that is).

Regards,
Adelaide

yeah, well come to think of it, you might be right

i thought with shine so that it would reflect the most light possible and thus be extra white, but it might also send unnecessary light into the camera and make the image less contrasty

I use sheets of this type of foam used for chiildren's crafts.  I prefer it over paper, because it I can clean it up, and prefer it over fabric, because the shadows don't have harsh textures.  It also comes in many different colors. 

Karimala,

Do you mean EVA foam sheets?  I have two of them I bought for other purposes, I have never tried them in photography. 

I have some thick sheets of matte paper that work well in many circumstances, although they show a texture when photographed up close that can sometimes look like noise.  I used them in this series:



Regards,
Adelaide

Hi,

I use background roll paper, it comes in rolls and I like the 3meters wide as it can be cut in smaller pieces for small objects and used all 3 meters wide to people shots.
It comes in a variety of colors to choose from but the "Artic White" is the must have from them.
This rolls are not so expensive so I do not complain much about throwing some away when it's get dirt.
I also use some white plastic sheets to shoot over a glass table and those allow me to use light from behind the background. very usefull for shadow free white isolations.

I use white formica,or nevermar, it is relatively cheap and very durable. If you spill on it it cleans easily. It can be had at any home improvement store. You can lay it flat, or create a sweep. My costs on seamless paper have dropped dramatically since I purchased this.

all of these are great for backgrounds, you need to keep your options open for each shot. Be creative and have fun.

Quote from: jcphoto on January 05, 2007, 14:46
I use white formica,or nevermar, it is relatively cheap and very durable. If you spill on it it cleans easily. It can be had at any home improvement store. You can lay it flat, or create a sweep. My costs on seamless paper have dropped dramatically since I purchased this.

Paper rolls are great  for portrait work, but can be a real nuisance for product shots. If you want to shoot a lot of product, consider getting a product photography table - there are some good bargain units to be had. One of the best benefits of such a setup is that the tabletop is made of translucent plastic - you can easily provide bottom lighting and change colours to suit the situation.

I bought a 8ft by 4ft sheet of white formica from a DIY store for about $40. It curves beautifully and sits on top of a folding table (also bought a DIY store for about $35).

As JC photo says it is very durable, wipes clean and is big enough for larger objects and smaller children or babies. I also use a table top kit, but find it too small. I tried paper for a while, but really prefer a hard and durable white surface that bends to give a beautiful curve that avoids nasty corner shadows.

I just use plain white paper.

black and white velvet.

Cheap material from the carnaval shop.  It's what the schools etc use to make cheap outfits for the children.

Duvetyne AKA Commando Cloth. 16 oz is the standard weight/thickness for duvetyne in the motion picture industry. It's fire retardent. Also spelled Duvetine and one place

Looks like it's just under $10 a yard at this site. Others I saw $14 a yard. Theater supply place had it for $2.99 a yard, with a 10 yard minimum.

http://www.filmtools.com/duv54rolx50y.html

No I'm not selling it, I just got a piece free and it's pretty heavy and looks interesting. First I'll have to iron it and then get out the lint brush.

How's that for reviving an old thread? 

I use painted wall, and it's not even white (clear apple green) until I over expose it a bit

I have one spare room painted white all over, included the ceiling for bouncing. If it gets dirty at some point, just paint it over there.

For isolated small subject, I have tried many kind of paper and fabrics, and finally prefer "avery graphic" bough at a big artist store. It is shiny vinyl with a paper on back that can be peeled to glue it. I don't need the glued back, but that's what I found best for now.

I'm not perfectly happy with it, but that the material that gave me the best result until now. There is no texture, just a perfecly sleek surface.

I will try those craft foam, it seems a good idea!  Thanks for sharing about it!  :-)

You can also try a restaurant supply house. They usually have white paper rolls for covering long dining tables for events.

I myself just buy seamless from Adorama though.

That craft foam will work for very small objects.

.

chumley,
EXCELLENT suggestion. Makes practical and economical sense (cents)
Thanks for sharing that!

Cranky MIZ
The voice of reason

This isn't entirely a "backing" response, but might readers of this thread might be interested.  Zack Arias has written the BEST tutorials on shooting on white that I've ever come across.

I've blogged several links to the chapters so I'll just point you to my blog:
http://microstockjunction.com/2008/05/09/zack-arias-on-shooting-on-white-seamless.aspx

.

We purchased our roll of arctic white paper from a teaching supply store.  The largest width they had was 4 feet, but it works perfect for our tabletop area.  We hang the roll from above the table and swing it down to the front. We have no harsh creases or lines, and when it gets dirty, we roll it out a little and start again. 
We tried the foam, but there were crease lines in it, and heavy items sink a little.  The formica sounds interesting, I think we'll have to give that a go soon.
Gebbie

I have two plain white Kingsize flat sheets from out local supermarket £7 $14 each, these are sewn together to make a 9' x 18' backdrop, works great, washing and ironing is the hard part

David