February 10, 2012

Photography Hack

I think many of us are aspiring photographers. Just admit it. 
But let's be honest, 
who can really afford a backdrop?
Seriously? 
They are like $100-$300. 
That's just for the backdrop, don't forget about the flooring, 
and the baseboards, and the lights, blah blah blah.....
The list is long....
Well, to make this long story short, I was at the dollar store the other day, 
and well I found these...
contact paper
Contact paper! Apparently, people use this for lining in cabinets and such,
but the clear stuff, I use for laminating. 
There is so many uses for contact paper!
I have seen wood print contact paper at WalMart too, but $8...
GA! I'm so cheap. 
Anyway, I saw this and my brain got turning. 
I remembered I had this roll of paper.... I know!
(Oh you guys are going to love me!!)
paper
I'm going to make some backdrops. 
Oh yeah!
green contact 1
I stared with the edges, and lined it up as best as I could. 
If you just leave the contact paper on the roll and pull the flimsy white stuff off slowly, 
you shouldn't get any bubbles. 
Just go slow and a few inches at a time. 
green contacct 2
Then I went down the center.
All done! 

Here's the rundown:
12 rolls of contact paper
White Paper on hand
which made 2 backdrops
and 2 flooring drops
Total: $12

I just saved myself over $500!
I call that a win.

Here are the backdrops in action!
Please excuse what my daughter is wearing and her hair, oh, and the rubber band.
I let her get dressed by herself, and I was too lazy to tame that wild mane!


k with black and brown background
See how awesome! I don't have any baseboards, but I just couldn't wait to show you!
Looks pretty good right?
If you look closely you can see where the pattern doesn't line up, but come on $3??
k with black and brown flooring
There is a downside to them, 
but I think it would be the same with professional backdrops, 
they need to be completely flat. 
As you can see by my daughters feet, 
that is where the tile changes to carpet, so there's a tiny bump. 
I don't find this a huge deal for what I paid for them.
Also, the light green backdrop, 
if the background is in focus, 
you can see the lines, where is over laps. 
Again, I don't find this a big deal, I'll just blur the backgrounds!
Easy!

8 comments:

Andie said...

that is a great idea! do you mind if I pin it?

Where did you find the contact paper? which dollar store? dollar tree?

Ashley from the Canyon said...

I did find this contact paper at dollar tree, and you can totally pin it!! Thanks for reading!

Amy said...

Hey Photography buddy! . . . I tagged you. I know, I haven't played tag for awhile either. Play if your game!
http://amyscraftbucket.blogspot.com/2012/02/almost-as-good-as-hawaii.html

Charlene@APinchofJoy said...

Love creative ideas from the dollar store --especially when they produce such great results! I would love it if you would come link up with Busy Monday (through Thursdays) at A Pinch of Joy, a linky party for ideas that make life better.

Unknown said...

Great idea!! Thanks for sharing:)

Ellen said...

great idea! I did the same thing w/creating a backdrop for a shelvig unit... just used wrapping paper. less money and no mess :)

Unknown said...

Love this idea!! I am gonna try it today with wrapping paper. Probably won't turn out as cool but oh, you've inspired me! I love the patterns you chose!

Would love it if you'd post this on my linky party going on now through Monday!

http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/2012/02/destination-inspiration-linky-party-2.html


Happy Valentine's to you and your sweet family!
Michelle

JennGrover said...

Brilliant! Why not put the contact paper on some type of smooth board or even foam core?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...