In the studio, where everything is under strict control, the choices of background can simplify or complicate your life. For most photographers, and for many years, the standard choice has been seamless paper. Most photographers don’t even think about it anymore. Once the choice of subject is presented, it’s only a matter of minutes before a roll of seamless is selected and rolled out to the proper specifications. But nowadays, while paper may be the “bread and butter” of studio backdrops, photographers are no longer limited. The world has opened up in any number of ways: you can choose from paper, muslin, floor drops posing as backdrops, green screens, specialty backdrops, and even vinyl.
Vinyl? Since when did vinyl factor into the equation? You may not know it, but vinyl has become a go-to backdrop material for many photographers these days.
Benefits of Seamless Paper
Color Variety
We all know about seamless paper: it comes in a wide variety of colors, more than you’ll ever really need for everyday work where black, gray and white are the dominant background colors (if you don’t believe it just pick up a fashion magazine and see how many different colors are in use today).
Disposable & Inexpensive
There are a number of convenient sizes to choose from, and ultimately, they are disposable and relatively inexpensive. It’s almost a no-brainer. Every photographer has several rolls of paper backdrops in the studio. You can paint on them, tear them up, roll them out and cut them up, get them dirty and throw them out. It won’t wrinkle. If it gets scuffed, you just tear it off and throw it away. If you don’t shoot too often, paper just makes sense. It’s the easiest thing in the world to deal with.
See more: 5 Reasons to Use Backdrop Paper
Photo Courtesy of Ryan Walsh, Featuring Tulip Seamless Paper
Benefits of Vinyl Backdrops
One-Time Purchase
But vinyl may be a better choice in your studio for several reasons. It may not take the place of paper, but for those photographers who are shooting a lot, paper expenses can add up to a lot of money if you’re not passing on the cost of the backdrop to the client.
Matte Finish
First, vinyl is not the kind of material you’re thinking of right now. It’s not that shiny stuff that raincoats were made of in the 1970’s. It’s not plastic. The best vinyl has a subtly textured matte surface that eliminates the kind of reflective glare vinyl used to have back in the day.
Quick Cleaning
It’s easy to clean (imagine photographing a dog on paper, or worse, fabric and you’ll know what I mean) and rather than simply tear off a chunk of it the way you might with paper, a damp sponge will take care of most messes. This yields a major advantage over paper in several ways: first, if you are doing a shoot where the background is constant, using vinyl instead of paper will save you time and money. Catalog photographers take note: instead of ripping off paper, you’ll be reusing the same backdrop over and over again, which brings us to advantage number two: environmental concerns. You will not be throwing away tons of paper every year and that is a good thing for the environment. You will feel it and your clients will take notice. In this day of “green concerns”, you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
See more: Vinyl Backdrops: An Essential for Pet Photography
Wrinkle Free
Advantage number four: vinyl won’t wrinkle. Advantage number five: stored properly, it will last a lifetime (consider the cost savings of that!)
Photos by Ryan Walsh, Comparing Black Seamless Paper to Black Vinyl
No photographer should ever be without seamless paper. You simply have to have it as part of your kit. But in many instances, you’ll find good quality vinyl to have great advantages over paper in many areas of your work. It is a wise investment that will serve you for years, if not decades, if cared for properly. You may be pleasantly surprised at how quickly it becomes an important part of your studio, and if you pay even the smallest bit of attention to your cost of doing business, having vinyl backdrops in your studio makes a lot of dollars and sense.
James Schuck
James Schuck is a writer and photographer working in Southern California. He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City and has photographed everything from Architecture to Auto Parts to Cookies to Portraits and Weddings.
Learn More
I’ve read all the advantages of using vinyl….but I’d really like to hear the disadvantages (if any)? The one I can think of is that you don’t quite get the sheer number of variety compared to seamless paper. What are the other disadvantages?
Hi there! I’ve historically used paper as my product photography backdrop, but with small, light-weight products shot from low down I’ve had to resort to spray gluing my backdrops to a board to give a perfectly flat surface. Does the vinyl have enough weight and conformity to lay “properly” flat on its own?
Hi Mark, thanks for your comment! We recommend checking out our Translum Backdrop. This is a semi-translucent plastic material often used for diffusion, though also popularly used as a background. The surface is completely smooth and durable.
Thanks for your article. I have a question about the white savage 20′ roll I just purchased from B&H. I am a portrait photographer and I have been using savage white paper for years and years and the cost is becoming prohibitive (mainly the shipping cost more than the paper!) . I use the white for cake smashes and am wondering if it wash out ok w/ a damp sponge? I don’t want to ruin it with all the different icing colors. Also, is there a “right” side to the vinyl? Thanks, Kristin PS . I LOVE savage papers!
Hi Kristin, thanks for your question and thanks for shooting with Savage! While vinyl can be cleaned with a damp sponge to get out marks like dirt or footprints, we’d hesitate to guarantee it against cake icing because the dyes could discolor the material. Some photographers like to lay a sheet of clear plexiglass over their backdrop on the floor for messy cake smashes to ensure the background stays clean. We also recommend checking if there is a Savage dealer near you that you can pick up paper from to eliminate the costly shipping: https://savageuniversal.com/shop/.
Hi there, great write up. I have been trying to shoot some videos using regular white cloth backdrop and I have 2 major issues. 1. The wrinkles are extremely hard to completely get rid of, even with a good amount of time ironing them. 2. The backdrop is not easy to light up completely using 2 LED’s. Now I am looking to use either paper or vinyl and really lost between the two choices. Getting a clean and consistent light using the least amount of lights is my main concern. Which one would you recommend ?
Hi Pouya! Thank you for your comment. Both of the materials will give you clean, consistent lighting because they are both non-reflective, matte materials.
Hi There, I’m setting up my studio and need a 2.7 metre wide backdrop, my stand isn’t very strong, which is lighter in weight paper or vinyl backdrops??
Hi Kristen, great question! In general, vinyl will be a heavier weight than our paper backdrops.
Our 2.72m x 11m seamless paper size weighs about 15 lbs. / 6.8kg. Our 2.75m x 6.09m vinyl backdrop (which is most comparable to that paper size) weighs about 29 lbs. / 13.17kg.
Thank you for your article! I recently purchased my first set of vinyl backdrops. I’m having some difficulty in getting them to even unroll! The vinyl is incredibly stiff!
Have you any suggestions/helpful hints at managing this or making the vinyl less difficult to work with?
Thanks so much,
Tom
Hi Tom! Thanks for your question, did you purchase Savage brand vinyl? There should be no issue with unrolling the backdrop. Once the tape is removed from the edge, users can pull out the desired length and then clamp the core to your backdrop stand or support system to keep from unraveling.
Is the vinyl non slip? When photographing dogs I sometimes find the paper can b slippery(especially) big dogs.
Hi Jaime, thanks for your question! Savage vinyl backdrops have a fine texture to the front side, which should help the dogs’ feet grip. Be sure to tape the sweep down to the floor on all edges to secure it before use.