Amateur photographers quickly discover that having a good photographic backdrop is just as important as the other aspects of a good picture, such as lighting and shutter speed. Many beginning photographers use cheap sheets or bolts of cloth tacked to the wall to create a simple backdrop. While cheap and easy, this damages the wall by creating small holes. Every time the studio is taken up and down new holes are created, until the wall is littered with thousands of tiny holes. More experienced photographers know that a much better solution is to buy a background support stand. This is a simple device, which can support a variety of different kinds of background paper and backdrops.

A collapsible background support stand is simple to set up and relatively inexpensive. These stands are made of two collapsible stands and a crossbar that connects them. Many stands are both collapsible and adjustable, can be quickly broken down, and packed into a small carrying case for easy storage. Because they are portable these stands can also be used in a variety of different locations, both inside and outside, making them perfect for traveling portrait photographers.

Before hanging your seamless backdrop from a backdrop stand determine the height and width needed to properly support it. To determine the size, measure the width of the backdrop and the height of your subject. Add a meter to the subject’s height when determining the height of the backdrop stand. This will allow for some headroom when shooting the photograph. Many times a 2.7m wide by 2.4m tall stand is ideal for portraits.

Hanging the background paper is relatively easy. Many photographers’ backdrops come with a sleeve for easy hanging, but an alternative is to use small spring clamps to hang the backdrop. These are relatively inexpensive, and can hold the seamless background  in place safely and securely onto the cross bar. Background support stands are so easy to set up and so versatile that most photographers wonder why they waited so long to start using them!