Wooden Food Photography Backdrop DIY Tutorial

DIY Photography  •  Food Photography  •  Photography Tips

Your choice of background plays a crucial role when it comes to product photography. As the images will primarily be used for marketing the products, it becomes vital that the background is pleasing and that it complements the product well. This notion is equally applicable to food photography as well. This is why you’ll find photographers investing a good sum for pristine photo backgrounds. But as professional food photographer Skyler Burt demonstrates in this video, spending a big amount is not the only solution. He shows how you can easily make your own food photography backdrops at home. Let’s check it out:

“The food photography backdrop is probably one of the most important styling decisions. And finding that perfect backdrop is one of the most difficult parts of that process.”

As Burt demonstrates in the video, all you need is some planks of wood, some screws, stain, and weathered crackle glaze. Get yourself some wood planks that have some classy textures in them. This alone will impact your final look so much. So be choosy here. Secure them using some screws and then apply the stain of your choice. Applying a stain gives a darker look to the background and adds a rusty vibe to the image. It also adds more contrast to the image and allows the food to be highlighted better.

You can apply a layer of weathered crackle glaze in between two layers of stain to add a weathered look to your backdrop. It’ll add cracks to the background and give the image an overall classy look.

This is indeed a cost-effective way of making backdrops for your food photography projects. If you’re in need of a good number of backdrops, and you’re ready to explore your creative side, this can be a good exercise for you.