Kate Mullen's Blog

Well I received the grey background in the mail! It had some ripping, but more like 3 inches, not 3 feet. I just cut off the ripped part. I have used it for 3 shoots now, and it is quick and easy. It gets dirty fast, but you can not see it in the final image.  I would recommend a paper background to new photographers any day. :) I love the “fashion grey” too, it goes from a light blueish grey to a sandy dark grey, depending on the lighting and white balance settings. We also just purchased color gels for the lights. I am going to test out changing the color of the background to many different shades. Ill post some pictures of this :)

kate

    Being new to the photography biz, its not surprising that I haven’t purchased all of my basics. However, being a photographer with no money, it is surprising that I am going to purchase materials in which I can’t afford. or is it?

Anyway, its time to buy my first paper background. I shoot out of my father’s studio, so naturally, I have excess to many backgrounds. Here is the unfortunate part, I’m a picky b%$#h. Yes, I could utilize the selection of many painted canvas & cloth backgrounds, but I wont. 

My father uses them and they work great for him, but I am my own photographer. I am allowed to have certain pet-peeves of my own, correct?

Dear Cloth Background,

 You’re a wrinkled pain in my ass. No matter how many times I walk back & forth, up & down a ladder, and pin & clip you….no matter how I fold/roll/store you… you just seem to find a way to wrinkle…you evil piece of sheet. Plus you just anit my style yo…. and you’re heavy….. AND I always trip over you. What I am trying to say is I’m moving on to another material. I am sorry. Thank you for your time. You’re fired.

  Now, of course I realize there are issues with paper backgrounds as well. Dirt, rips..ect… but I think I can overlook these flaws, resulting in an easier partnership. So off to B&H I went.

Backgrounds/paper/ color…..”grey?” or “gray?” …which spelling? hmm…who really knows…Gray…Results:

67 different gray backgrounds. HOL-LAY…..thats a lot of grays. Thunder gray, sky gray, suede gray, studio gray, storm gray, smoke grey, slate…..I could go on.

One other character flaw you should know about me is that I am the slowest shopper ever. I like to shop around, check out every option, then make an informed decision. Doesn’t sound too bad if you’re referring to expensive purchases…but when you’re behind me at Starbucks, you’ll wanna punch me. I dont want to regret getting whipped cream guys. 

So I read all of the reviews, and it seems that the most loved gray was Savage’s “fashion gray”. However, every review I read stated it comes ripped 3 ft into the roll. Apparently, this ripping is caused by a small piece of tape that happens to be placed in a sensitive location. 42 reviews, and the ones I read (good & bad) complained about this. Why hasn’t Savage/B&H fixed this problem after 42 reviews? You would think its a matter of moving the tape, or using something other than tape…I don’t know… string, plastic wrap? It’s nice to know they care about costumer satisfaction. Sarcasm? Yes, I believe so.

After sleeping on it for two days…I purchased “fashion gray”. $60 later, I completed the purchase. Who knows, we will see when I receive mine on Friday! I’ll let you know if the shipping damage issue has been fixed. BUT If they haven’t I’ll be writing a review suggesting they change the product name to:

Savage “Fashion Gray” Paper Background. (107” x 12yds….but not really…more like 11 yds….sorry its the tape’s fault)

Of course, I’ll post some images with the new background, and let you know my much anticipated experience with #56 of the shades of gray.

Kate