My Favorite Photo Props and Where to Find Them: Backdrops
A list of some of my favourite props for food photography, how to use them and where to find them
The first edition of this series was a big success so I was positive to keep going with other props food photographers use all the time so you can also understand how to choose them.
You can catch up with the previous number here:
If you don’t know what I am talking about, in food photography “props” mean all those objects that will appear in the scene with the food we want to photograph, to help narrate a certain story. These will be plates, glasses, cutlery, napkins, backdrops, pinch bowls, kitchen gadgets…
Because most of us want to take action and style a scene to make our food look the best, we’ll need to make choices in terms of which objects we want to show, always keeping in mind the food is the actual protagonist.
In the previous piece, we discussed ceramics, and today I want to talk about backdrops, the backgrounds in which food is positioned in front of or on top of. Think about walls, countertops, tables, chairs, trays… And yes, even the “fixed” elements we can choose and change!
Kinds of backdrops
Before we start with the tips, let’s see which kind of backdrops we could use.
Static
These will be elements that are permanent to the space and we cannot move, though we can still photograph if we have the right conditions. If you are using natural light, they should be located close to a window or outdoors, so when we take the photo, there’s enough light to illuminate the scene. If your kitchen island doesn’t get any natural light and you need to turn the ceiling lights on for it to be illuminated, try to find somewhere else because your food is not going to look appealing. Even if it’s truly a gorgeous countertop.
As long as there’s enough natural light, you can photograph on a fixed element, though there are other things to keep in mind (more on that later). So see if the surface you want to use is properly illuminated.
Movable
These will be backdrops which location is not permanent. It could be a table, a chair, a tray, a tablecloth, a chopping board, a plate… You cannot move a wall but you can create your own backdrop and hang it or place it behind your food so that’s what your camera sees.
It’s also important to remember that we don’t need to create a super big scene to photograph food. We can be creative with the materials we use to support our dish, and they don’t need to weight a tone or to cost a fortune! If you want to photograph some cookies, your backdrop could be the tray you bake them on. And if you go even closer with your camera, a plate could be the only backdrop you need.
Photography backdrops
It’s interesting to have multiple options, in case you want to explore creating a bigger scene. Obviously most of us don’t have a variety of kitchen counters to play with or several tables at our disposal, this is why photography backdrops are super useful to have!
Recently more and more companies have been creating really beautiful vinyl backdrops that can be rolled up and are printed to represent a different material. I own many of them and they are extremely versatile. You can immediately have a wooden table, a marble countertop, a stone wall or even some French doors to photograph your food in front of. Keep on reading to find out where to purchase them!
Vinyl backdrops photograph best in top-down shots or completely vertical as a background. If you want to take a photo at an angle, the surface may start looking not so real because at the end of the day, it’s a print.
Another option is to buy or make your own solid backdrop. These are wooden sheets that are painted on and can serve as surfaces or background behind the dishes. They are heavier and bulkier than the vinyls but they photograph better from the side, on a 45 degree angle, because they show the real texture.
A rule of thumb on when to buy vinyl and when to get a wooden backdrop is to ask yourself if you could replicate it. For example, I tend to buy vinyls that represent marble, tiles and doors, and make my own painted wooden planks so I get the amount of texture I like. If you are interested, I could share a tutorial on how-to.
Surfaces vs. Backgrounds
Keep in mind the angle you are going to photograph your food in before choosing the backdrop. I recently wrote a piece on the different photography angles and you should read it if you are not sure what I mean.
If you want to photograph your food top-down, you will only need one kind of backdrop: the surface in which the food will be laying on. But if you want to shoot straight-on or at a 45 degree angle, you’ll probably need another backdrop to be positioned behind the food. For example, image a burger with different layers. It will be placed on a surface (let’s say a wooden table) but also it will have something behind (let’s say a white wall). Because you want to show the layers, you’ll be photographing both the table and the wall behind your burger, so you want to make sure both make sense and look good.
Think of the style
This applies to the whole scene and all the different props, but also to the backdrops. The first think you need to ask yourself is: What kind of scene I want to create? What feeling I want to produce in the viewer?
Maybe this will be influenced by the food itself. For example, if you want to photograph an Indian curry maybe you’ll want to choose elements that remind the viewer of India. It could be an artisan plate and a colourful surface underneath it.
If you want to share a beloved family recipe you may want to think of a more toned down backdrop that will be less exciting but more rustic, like a wooden table, or a marble countertop.
If it’s a Mediterranean recipe you could choose a nice stone as if you were just about to serve the food in a villa. Or if you prefer something more minimalist you could opt for a cement slab or a neutral color.
Remember, you don’t need to own a marble kitchen to be able to photograph one. Stay with me and I’ll point out where to find different vinyl backdrops that you’ll love.
Avoid reflections
Before choosing a backdrop you need to know if it’s going to work for your food.
If it’s a faux one, it’s easier to control, but if it’s a real countertop, table or wall it’s very important to see how the light reflects on the surface before setting up your scene.
You want to avoid anything that is not completely matt. Reflections will create a very distracting highlight on your photo that will take away the attention of the viewer from the food. See first photo.
The best ones will be honed countertops, raw stones, un-varnished wooden tables, matt tiles or old baking trays.
Just enough texture
I said it before, but the camera loves texture. Little specs from a painted wall, the grain of wood, a crafted tile, the variations in color of stone… It all adds to the visual interest. We need to keep in mind that the dish or food is the most important element in our photograph, so we don’t want any distractions from that.
The idea is that the backdrop, as well as the rest of props, have to be supporting actors. Some texture will capture the light creating highlights and shadows, but too much could be taking away from the food.
The right colors
The right colors are going to be the ones that support your story and your dish. Here the sky is almost the limit, though you need to be quite aware of color theory to know how to add color while still making your food the protagonist.
My advice is to start simple. If you are thinking about buying a vinyl backdrop of a marble countertop, get the white one instead of the rare purple. You’ll use it many more times. Also think about the style of photography you enjoy most, is it bright and airy or dark and moody? This will influence if you opt for lighter colors or darker ones.
It’s also useful to keep in mind the season. Brighter colors will make more sense for spring and summer than during fall and winter.
In terms of the static elements, if the table you are thinking as a backdrop is finished in an orangey varnish, it’s not going to look very nice on camera. And it will bring reflections, which we don’t want either.
Also, try to avoid stark white surfaces. As I mentioned in my ceramics’ post, props should be in between too white and too black, as one will blow out your exposure and the other one will cancel any shadow. The only exception to this is a pure black cloth or cardboard as a background if you want to create a very moody image in which the attention is 100% centered on the food and not on the surroundings.
Get creative
As I was mentioning before, we don’t really need lots of space to photograph food, which works in our advantage. Look around keeping in mind what we’ve been talking about in terms of colors, light and textures to search for backdrop opportunities. It could be a newspaper, a stool, a stone floor, the tile of your bathroom, a kitchen cloth (more on linens in a future newsletter), a wooden chopping board, a vintage platter…
If you understand what to look for, you’ll start seeing many possibilities on what to photograph!
Where to find them
The following recommendations are for non-fixed elements, because I think you should decide your kitchen countertops with different metrics rather than “what photographs well”…
I have been looking for a rustic wooden table for a long time for my photography studio but I haven’t quite found the one yet; you may be lucky in flea markets or antique stores. There you’ll also find many pieces that have lots of character as they are older and normally less shiny, which is what we want on a prop.
If you cannot find a real wooden table, you could buy a vinyl, which is what I have so far. My favorite photography vinyl shops are:
Errer Backdrops: Based in the Netherlands but they ship everywhere. Most of my backdrops are from them and I love the quality and all the different styles you can go for. My favourite ones are the tiles, the marble and my wooden tabletop. Recently I purchased one of their French shutter prints in the bigger size to use as a background and I love it!
Capture by Lucy: Based in the UK, they also ship everywhere but you may need to pay extra taxes if you are outside the UK. They have a tone of options to choose from. I love all the different colors they offer as many are prints from a hand-painted original which brings texture and a unique quality. There’s a backdrop for every style you may have.
Story on a plate: Based in Slovenia, ships everywhere. I don’t own any of these vinyls but I have seen how Kristina (the owner and also food photographer) has styled them and they look fantastic! She likes playing with colors and is quite whimsical, so this also translates in the options for the backdrops.
If you prefer something that shows real texture, you may want to go with a wooden backdrop. There are shops that do a great job creating small table tops and painted ones. Now, keep in mind this is an actual wooden plank. You’ll need space to store it and it will have some weight to it. Some online stores are:
Woodville: Based in Russia but ships everywhere. They are double sided so you could have a wooden table top on one side and a painted one on the other side, giving you multiple styling options. They photograph beautifully from every angle, but there are not as many options as with the vinyls.
These shops have been used and tested by me, but if you want to explore other options I recommend to make sure the surfaces are matt, they can we wiped and are durable. It also helps a lot if there’s a photographer that has tested them first and recommends them, as you can see how they photograph. If you want to invest in some of these I’d recommend to start with a vinyl one. They are quite affordable for the use you’ll give them and they take so little space! You can also have instantaneous stone, tile and wood for your photography needs!
To wrap it up
To wrap it up, here’s a summary of what we’ve been talking about:
Choose the backdrop depending on the style of the scene.
Look for some texture that is not distracting.
Avoid surfaces with reflections. Matt is the way to go.
Stay away from varnishes and orange tables.
Start with simple colors and explore some fun ones keeping the style and the season in mind.
Buy vinyl backdrops for instant tile, stone and wood surfaces.
Buy or create wooden backdrops for real texture surfaces.
Find your pieces in flea markets, vintage shops and online stores.
Have fun experimenting and tag me in your photos so I can see them!
I love that you displayed examples of each point. So helpful!
Thank you for this! Definitely checking out Capture by Lucy