Seamless Studio High Key Wall DIY

Jeremy Winterberg

hehe, I decided I was sick of using bedsheets for my studio "backdrops"... So, I'm in the process of creating a Seamless High Key Wall. You know, those really expensive ones that bigger studio's have? NO! This is the same thing, except It only cost me $50 in the end. (a tad higher than what I told you earlier Nikolai)

Granted its not "Perfect" but it sure as heck will do just as good of a job!

For all of these pictures I just have my 580EXII mounted on top of my camera... I have lost my cactus wireless receiver.. so I'm sad.. no more off camera lighting for a while.



Took a little over an hour to put together and paint.

Dimensions: 8'W x 6'9"T x 10'L and I have another 10 feet till I hit the other side of my basement. just enough room!

Oh, what's that? You want to know how I did it for $50? Sure, I'll let you in on my secret.

Supplies:
4- 4'x8' white tile boards ($12 at Menards per board)
10- 2x4 wedges, aprox. 10 1/2" long, and the top of the triangle is 4" tall. (had scrap wood)

Aprox. 20- 1.5" or longer screws (I used 1" but, they seem to be just a tad too short)($2 at Menards)
1- Power Drill (cordless preferred... no cords to worry about)
1- Paint Roller (I used a big one for the middle, and a smaller one for detail work around the edges)
1 Quart- Super White High-Gloss Acrylic Paint (for that nice reflection look everyone likes)($8 at Menards)

Start by finding an area that will fit the dimensions given above... if you have a larger area you would like to do this in, adjust the amount of tile boards and support wedges to how much space you want to cover.

white balance is off, but this is my untouched space.


Then I just moved the first board up and down along the wall till I found a good spot for the bottom to look right, then I screwed one corner up... measured the distance from the ceiling to the top of the board, and then aligned the other side up to that height.



For extra support on the bottom, I took 10- 2x4 wedges, placed those at the bottom and screwed those in. The reason for doing this was A. Add weight so the bottom doesn't slide out, and B. If someone steps there they wont rip out the screws at the top!



Once, its all assembled you can paint it... I have only done one coat so far, but will be doing another when this coat dries.



Here are some assembly pictures... Thanks to the wonderful world of interval tethered shooting, I was able to just work and let the camera do its thang!


trying to get it just right...

Taking a break... gotta stay hydrated ya know?

Realizing I had the boards crooked... :rofl

Bringing in the tile board for the floor

And some detailed painting

Jeremy Winterberg

Test Number 1: Subject - Angry kitty that doesn't like being man handled or told to sit out on a white floor that smells like paint; especially after being yelled at for walking on it when the paint was wet! Luckily I grabbed him before he walked back onto the carpet with wet white paws!



I guess no one wants to talk about my wall... :cry

D'Buggs

Q.

Why didn't you run it up to the ceiling?
IMO it would've been more versitile....

Curious to see if the 2nd coat improves the reflection factor

---

> LOTS cheaper than a sheet of acrylic.


NICE work on this thread!
Maybe show us a pic of these "wedges" that you speak of.

D'Buggs

Oh.... Kitty pic ROCKS!

Jeremy Winterberg

D'Buggs wrote:

Q.

Why didn't you run it up to the ceiling?
IMO it would've been more versitile....

Curious to see if the 2nd coat improves the reflection factor

---

> LOTS cheaper than a sheet of acrylic.


NICE work on this thread!
Maybe show us a pic of these "wedges" that you speak of.

Well... the main reason why is... the boards aren't long enough... plain and simple...
I'm thinking about "redoing" it.. as in, lowering it so that there is a 4 foot gap between the current setup, and the ceiling... and adding another panel to make it go to the ceiling... It would help alot if it did go up there... hmm... I might do that right now. Yep. Its 2:33AM and I'm going to work on it! I don't like sleeping at night. It's Overrated!

Yes, I think High Gloss Super White Acrylic paint should give the same effect as a sheet of acrylic. maybe not as well hehe...

And for the wedges... I'll take a picture in a sec.. meaning about 10 minutes... BRB

Edit: Added Wedge Picture to original post! - Now, Back to work! Will post pictures when done... hopefully in less than an hour!

Scott_Quier

I really like this idea - nice (semi-) permeant arrangement. To run the panels all the way to the ceiling, I think I would simpley get one or two more panels from your supplier and cross-cut them in 1/2. Some places, you can get the retailer to do this for you. Home Depot and Lowe's will. This saves you the time, effort, and mess of doing it yourself. If you do have them cut it, look for damage to the finish side from them not taking their time about it and/or from cutting it wrong (with a circular saw, I think you want them to cut with the finish side down).

Anyway, for only having just the one light, I think this is going to be a super solution. And easily maintained. When a model wears dirty shoes on it, you just touch it up with paint that night and it's ready to go the next morning. Cool solution.

Jeremy Winterberg

i ended up taking one of the two floor panels, and put that on top... then I lowered the original wall panels down till they were 3'9" from the ceiling giving the top 4' wide board plenty of room to overlap... also making it slightly sturdier...

Took a little longer than what I wanted... I just finished redo'ing it... I will purchase another panel sometime to replace the one I took... which would then give me LOTS of flooring to work with

heres one underexposed to see the panels right (w/b is off sorry) I never painted the original "wall" portion with the High Gloss Super White paint... I did paint it with a semi-gloss white but that didn't show the greatest reflections... so I'm just finally putting on the first coat of the final color. which is why it looks "blotchy"

blown out (high key looking) To show the seams pretty much go away for the most part...


At some point I might sand it and plaster the seams... to make it look "perfect" But, this should work fine for now... and the seams that do show in pictures... will take a minute to clone out anyways... so, no biggie!

Angelo

ambitious project and I hope it works out well for you... but; Why didn't you just buy a roll of seamless paper?

Jeremy Winterberg

Angelo wrote:

ambitious project and I hope it works out well for you... but; Why didn't you just buy a roll of seamless paper?

Seamless white paper+backdrop support+clamps = $170 roughly...
My Solution+2 minutes of cloning to get the same effect=$50 roughly...

The cost to make this appealed to me more than buying a background stand (my PVC homemade one would not be acceptable for a roll of seamless paper), paper, etc... when the paper gets dirty, you have to throw it away right? this you just paint over it again, or wash it, and its good as new!

D'Buggs

Wood Wedges;

We call those home-build door stoppers! I'm amazed that they hold things in place for ya as they don't have much mass. Goody for YOU!

I wouldn't worry about finishing off the seem; better IMO to keep it close to portable as possible. As you say, PS'ing them is a no-brainer and for some things, simpliest is bestiest.


I'm just now in the works of obtaining REAL studio space - You've given me some ideas to ponder. THANKS!

ChatKat

Electrical Doweling
I used some 10 ft galvanzied pipes in the Home Depot to make some backdrop stands. Then I went into the hardware department and got some rubber tips that fit on the end of the pipe. Then I went to Lawn hardware and found a hose bracket - bought two of them. Affixed to the wall with some heavy duty toggle bolts. I can have 6-8 backdrops on each one of the pipes. Way nicer than the PVC and the pipes cost me about $3. each plus $1.50 for the rubber tips. Less than $100 and I have a 10 pipe system on two walls. Only issue is that the Ceilings are too high for me to change them around without a ladder but it's really nice for me

Jeremy Winterberg

D'Buggs wrote:

Wood Wedges;

We call those home-build door stoppers! I'm amazed that they hold things in place for ya as they don't have much mass. Goody for YOU!

I wouldn't worry about finishing off the seem; better IMO to keep it close to portable as possible. As you say, PS'ing them is a no-brainer and for some things, simpliest is bestiest.


I'm just now in the works of obtaining REAL studio space - You've given me some ideas to ponder. THANKS!

You're welcome! Unfortunately I'm having a dual with space issues... I need a lot of space, but there is also work-out equipment that needs space too... so the half of my basement that has the studio in it looks nice... the other half... not so nice right now!

Oh, and as for the door stoppers holding it down... Its not working as well now I'm going to get some longer 2 1/2"-3" screws and put some 2x4's along the backside of them... I guess they worked before because the bottom of the wall was kind of wedged into the carpet... stopping it from moving.

After college is done, and I'm not living with my parents (which is where I am right now) I'm definitely going to get an actual building for my studio. And not have it in my house!

Good luck with your space hunt!

Jeremy Winterberg

ChatKat wrote:

I used some 10 ft galvanzied pipes in the Home Depot to make some backdrop stands. Then I went into the hardware department and got some rubber tips that fit on the end of the pipe. Then I went to Lawn hardware and found a hose bracket - bought two of them. Affixed to the wall with some heavy duty toggle bolts. I can have 6-8 backdrops on each one of the pipes. Way nicer than the PVC and the pipes cost me about $3. each plus $1.50 for the rubber tips. Less than $100 and I have a 10 pipe system on two walls. Only issue is that the Ceilings are too high for me to change them around without a ladder but it's really nice for me

A picture of this setup would be nice... I actually was thinking about adding something similar to this setup... the backdrops would just roll out over the boards... I need the boards so that the subject/model isn't just walking on carpet...

Jonnyyaya

I like the idea keep the photos coming, I am getting ready to turn a Bedroom into office / studio soon this gives me a idea? I have all the cloth backdrops but this might work good for another idea..

Thanks so much..

Wil Davis

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

…snip

I guess no one wants to talk about my wall... :cry

Not at all…



Cute kitty…

…what's its name?

- Wil

BTW: This might interest you (perhaps you've seen it before, in which case sorry for the duplication…) http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

Jeremy Winterberg

Wil Davis wrote:

Not at all…



Cute kitty…

…what's its name?

- Wil

BTW: This might interest you (perhaps you've seen it before, in which case sorry for the duplication…) http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

He goes by buddy or Rosco Rescued him from our farm... he was a wee little tyke then... now he's HUGE!

I actually got most of my ideas from that page. When i get my Alien Bees (hopefully in about 2 weeks) I will be removing my closet doors

Jeremy Winterberg

Jonnyyaya wrote:

I like the idea keep the photos coming, I am getting ready to turn a Bedroom into office / studio soon this gives me a idea? I have all the cloth backdrops but this might work good for another idea..

Thanks so much..

You're welcome. And I sure will keep posting pictures as i continue to improve on it... also when I finally get a client in it for a session!

tijoseph

ChatKat wrote:

I used some 10 ft galvanzied pipes in the Home Depot to make some backdrop stands. Then I went into the hardware department and got some rubber tips that fit on the end of the pipe. Then I went to Lawn hardware and found a hose bracket - bought two of them. Affixed to the wall with some heavy duty toggle bolts. I can have 6-8 backdrops on each one of the pipes. Way nicer than the PVC and the pipes cost me about $3. each plus $1.50 for the rubber tips. Less than $100 and I have a 10 pipe system on two walls. Only issue is that the Ceilings are too high for me to change them around without a ladder but it's really nice for me

can youe show us a pic of your setup? I'm curious how you have several backdrops hung.

Thanks in advance.

ChatKat

Give me a couple
Sure I can post a photo. Will take one tomorrow.

Scott_Quier

ChatKat wrote:

Sure I can post a photo. Will take one tomorrow.

It has my interest as well!

Jeremy Winterberg

ChatKat wrote:

Sure I can post a photo. Will take one tomorrow.

I take it you've been busy... or forgot... here's a reminder about the backdrop holder you were going to show us pictures of... I'm still interested in seeing it!

ChatKat

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

I take it you've been busy... or forgot... here's a reminder about the backdrop holder you were going to show us pictures of... I'm still interested in seeing it!

Thanks for the reminder. I have a bunch of deadlines that I am working on. Hopefully, I can do that in a few days!

Jeremy Winterberg

ChatKat wrote:

Thanks for the reminder. I have a bunch of deadlines that I am working on. Hopefully, I can do that in a few days!

sounds good... no rush, just wanted to remind you:D

Skippy

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

i ended up taking one of the two floor panels, and put that on top... then I lowered the original wall panels down till they were 3'9" from the ceiling giving the top 4' wide board plenty of room to overlap... also making it slightly sturdier...

Took a little longer than what I wanted... I just finished redo'ing it... I will purchase another panel sometime to replace the one I took... which would then give me LOTS of flooring to work with

heres one underexposed to see the panels right (w/b is off sorry) I never painted the original "wall" portion with the High Gloss Super White paint... I did paint it with a semi-gloss white but that didn't show the greatest reflections... so I'm just finally putting on the first coat of the final color. which is why it looks "blotchy"

blown out (high key looking) To show the seams pretty much go away for the most part...

At some point I might sand it and plaster the seams... to make it look "perfect" But, this should work fine for now... and the seams that do show in pictures... will take a minute to clone out anyways... so, no biggie!

Wow Jeremy what a great setup, your very fortunate that you have the room to construct it, and I see you have the convenience of two power points, one on each side of that wall.

I think you've done an awesome job
Big thank you to you for showing everyone how you built your Studio

The cat doesn't seem to be all that worried about sitting on it,
now you'll just have to make sure it doesn't pee all over it

I hope you will post more shots taken in your new Studio.

Well Done, and congratulations on being so creative ... Skippy .

Jeremy Winterberg

Skippy wrote:

Wow Jeremy what a great setup, your very fortunate that you have the room to construct it, and I see you have the convenience of two power points, one on each side of that wall.

I think you've done an awesome job
Big thank you to you for showing everyone how you built your Studio

The cat doesn't seem to be all that worried about sitting on it,
now you'll just have to make sure it doesn't pee all over it

I hope you will post more shots taken in your new Studio.

Well Done, and congratulations on being so creative ... Skippy .

Thanks, I completely forgot about this thread. I need to refine my design however.

I'm not currently at home, I'm going to school in Indiana. Home = Wisconsin...

But! I'm going home Christmas break, and this is my plan.

I'm going to create a frame for the tile boards. That way it does not move at all, and doesn't require me to drill into the wall. I'm going to use 2x4's all the way up to the ceiling. creating a box shape, then use X braces (2x4's) to support the box. the wall wasn't as secure as I would've liked it to be. So, its in need of being fixed.

I will post a more thought out design when I think of exactly what I'm going to do. Right now, finals are next week so I can't mess with this right now.