Using seamless paper in macro photography
Using seamless paper in macro photography | ||
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Seamless paper has long been a key tool of professional photographers, but it didn't really become famous to the public at large until those shenanigans on the seamless backdrops in the mid-'60s cult film Blowup. Photographers use them to photograph models when they taught photo posing at an agency, managed to squeeze an entire rock group onto a 12-foot wide swathe of brown paper, and struggled to make a truck clutch look as "glamorous" as the client specified on a dark paper background. Seamless paper is just as useful for close-up photography, albeit on a smaller scale. You can buy rolls of seamless paper at most camera stores that cater to professional photographers. The big problem is that the most easily obtainable paper rolls are a bit large for close-up work. While some narrower rolls may be available, the standard sizes are 9 feet and 12 feet wide. Even a 9-foot by 36-foot roll (which costs about $40) is a little unwieldy for a mini-studio. You can sometimes find 53-inch x 12-yard half rolls that are a better size for macro photography. However, you can make your own half rolls. A few minutes with a hacksaw will earn you a couple 4 ½ foot rolls that are more easily wrestled into submission. The paper eventually gets soiled or torn (it will last longer when used for close-up photography because you won't have people walking all over it) so getting two narrower rolls for the price of one is good economy. If you're not planning to use the paper for portraits or other types of photography, a better choice may be to split the cost with a friend who also needs narrower seamless rolls. That way, you can each have a roll of a particular color and double the number of colors you have in stock. One of the very cool things about seamless paper is that you can change its very character based on how you light it. Pour a lot of light on the background, and it takes on a lighter appearance. Less light on the background, and it appears to be darker. A single roll of medium gray paper can appear to be any shade, from light gray to almost black, depending on how you light it. Extend the seamless paper a few feet back from your subject before curling it upwards, and you can light the paper to provide a gradient-tone background—very light by your subject and gradually fading to a much darker shade in the back. You can achieve some of these effects with cloth, but the smooth texture of seamless paper makes for smooth light transitions, too. | ||