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How to Make a Backdrop Stand

Photography backdrops are large rolls of paper that hang behind a photographer’s subject, whether it is a person, animal or still life. Some are just over 100-inches wide and 36-feet long. Photographers or their assistants must hold the backdrops in place so that they are smooth and clean looking; no warping or rippling of the paper surface can occur. Here is a simple-to-build wood frame backdrop stand.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 10-foot strips of 2-inch-by-2-inch wood
  • 2 10-foot strips of 1-inch-by-3-inch wood
  • Tape measure
  • Pencil
  • Saw
  • Steel square
  • T-brackets
  • Binder clips
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create the vertical uprights for the backdrop stand using two 2-by-2-inch strips of wood. Lay them parallel to each other on the ground or floor.

    • 2

      Measure and mark the width of the roll of photography backdrop paper on each 1-by-3-inch strip of wood. Subtract the width of two 2-by-2-inch strips. By doing so, the frame will end up being precisely as wide as the roll of backdrop paper. Saw the two 1-by-3 strips to identical lengths.

    • 3

      Lay the 1-by-3s between the two 2-by-2s, perpendicular to them. Set them 5 inches in from each end of the 2-by-2 vertical rails. Set flat T-brackets at every corner where the strips of wood meet. Check the corners with a square to make sure they form a square before permanently screwing the T-brackets in place.

    • 4

      Raise the finished frame up, and lean it at a slight angle against the wall in the photography studio. Unroll the backdrop, and clamp the top edge to the top cross piece using a series of binder clips.

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