Hi,

I have decided that I am going to make a background support for some portrait photos, as I would rather spend about £20 on materials and have the satisfaction of building it myself then spending what may end up being hundreds on ready made stuff, but I have a little question...

I'm thinking of using plastic tubing, from somewhere like Wickes or B&Q but Mrs. V. is not convinced that it would be sturdy enough. Does anyone have any experience of building this sort of thing, and maybe have some advice/opinions they could offer?

Thanks.

If you are thinking of just a simple frame then I would have thought that wood would be the cheapest option, and also the easiest to work with.

Fill yer boots......

http://www.lifeisaprayer.com/articles/p ... reenscreen

There's some very hefty plastic plumbing out there which will do the job admirably.
I did have the web address of the people we use at work for all the high pressure stuff we use, but frankly after a night on the tiles, I'm in no fit state to give advice.

A standard 'background support kit' usually comprises a couple of lightweight stands, a telescopic pole that sits between them via some simple fittings. If you have the stands already then it's simple enough to rig up a crossbar to attach a background to, but if you're starting from scratch then it' a bit more complex.

Does it need to be height-adjustable, or will a 'standard' room-height be OK? Ditto the width. Are you talking rolls of background paper, or a canvass backdrop? Is it something that will be fixed in one room, or does it need to be broken down to transport from one location to another?

If it's just for lightweight backgrounds e.g. portrait-sized canvasses, then you could probably build something along the lines of a garment rail (without the castors) from 40mm grey plastic waste pipe (pretty ridged over short lengths) - I'd avoid Wickes and B&Q though and head for a decent plumbers merchant. Use solvent fittings to connect the bits together, but don't use the solvent - they push together very snugly when dry. I think you may need to budget a bit more than 20 quid though

HTH, Pete.

I've sat down a roughed out a design sketch, and the cost should be between about £20 and £40 depending on whether I use plastic or copper tubes for the upper and side supports.

I'll try and transfer my paper design to a paint package and upload it when I get a minute...

Edit to add: thanks a lot guys, and Matt, I had considered wood, but reached the conclusion that it would be a lot heavier than plastic and not as easy to dismantle, as I would have to be able to put it away between uses.

John, I can clearly recall there being several designs out there on the interwebz for exactly this sort of support. A google should offer up a few designs.

I suppose it depends on the usage. A single size frame in the same location would be easily and cheaply made from wood rather than plastic. As soon as you want portability and size variations then plastic becomes the best choice.

C'est la vie.

As for plastic or copper, then plastic is probably the better choice.

Even 22mm copper tube would be nowhere near ridged enough for a structure of any size. Plus, it's very soft - and expensive right now. I'd recommend sticking with 40mm plastic tube - you can fill it with expanding foam if you need it to be more ridgid, or add re-bar (or sand) if you need more weight.

I'll be impressed if you can put something together for £40, all-in.

Cheers, Pete.

All this has got me thinking now. I've been experiementing with white background for Emily's photos (posted recently in Random Photo thread). fortunately being an ickle baby I could just throw the sheet on the bed but as she starts to situp more I'm going to need something upright.

Popped into B&Q this morning and picked up a few bits... All tubes and fittings are 40mm, by the way.

3 * 2 Meter tubes @ £1.60 each
1 * 3 Meter tube @ £2.38
8 * push fit tee pieces @ 1.18 each
1 * bag for life @ 10p, which isn't part of the build, but it's still a cost!

This came to £16.72 and the material, which I picked up from Abakhan cost £7.40, which makes a grand total of...

£24.12p

I did take some pictures while I was putting it together, and will post them online when I get a minute.

The only thing I need to do is get some velcro to hold the material up, but for my test shots I taped it to the support, and even if I do say so myself, it's pretty damned good!

The wife has just said that she thought it would be "a load of sh1te" but you can tell she's impressed really... so I'll leave the final words to her...

"I have to admit it's a lot better than I thought it would be"

* Pictures to follow *

Eagerly awaiting for the pictures.

Uploading them to Flickr now... will update this post with a link when it's done.

Update: Flickr Link

Edit to add: It was only after taking the pictures that I realised the t connectors on the top are the wrong way around. It works fine, but since those photos were taken I have rotated them so they are in the "T" position... it just looks nicer, and is easier to use, as I can attach big croc clips to the ends if I need to.

Nice - and those fittings are a good price! I'd figured for solvent-weld as they'll be stronger/more ridgid, even dry-fitted - the push-fit stuff will be watertight, but not especially strong as it's held in place just with a rubber 'O' ring. I'd also allowed for end stops on the 'T' sections of the bases for stability, and another crossbar at floor level to stop the legs splaying out, buy hey if it works for you then that's great - though you could probably have used regular elbows at the top crossbar

Good job!

Pete

It's not actually finished yet, as there are a couple of bits I want to add, now that I've seen it built...

I will put another bar across for added stability. I'm thinking about slicing the side supports in half and putting a tee piece in there with the center mount holding the horizontal bar, but I want to get some advice about how putting the tee piece in the middle will affect stability.

The problem with solvent weld is that it's a permanent connection, isn't it? I needed something that could be assembled and dismantled for storage fairly quickly, as I simply don't have the space to "keep it up"

I also chose not to use right angled connectors at the top because I wanted to make it as flexible as possible... I'm thinking that at some stage I may use crocodile clips to attach bits of equipment to the support for ease of access. I'm thinking about small things like torches and... other stuff!

I still haven't made a final decision about how to secure the background fabric to the support, but I'm still thinking velcro will do the job... unless anyone has a better idea.

Thanks again for all the feedback and support.



PS. Technically I could add as many extra support struts as I like, given the price!