Rope and Curtain
Leica CL + Leica Elmar 90mm f4
I’ve been wanting something like this for such a long time, can’t believe I finally have it at my disposal.
There is a corner of our garden where the light is just lovely, even on days when it’s generally bad. It would be the perfect setting for photos, except the background is quite busy and isn’t ideal when photographing green, grey, or brown clothing - which I do lots. I have made makeshift backdrops before, by setting up a clothing rail and draping a sheet or curtain over it. But I was thinking that a permanently installed rope - placed higher up, and running across a wider area - would be a better solution. I could then hang up various fabrics, depending on what kind of backdrop I need.
I am not necessarily looking to use this setup as a traditional backdrop, where all you see is the subject isolated against a blank background. Although it would be interesting to try that as well. But really my intention is to use it in a more theatrical/ self-aware manner, with at least some of the edge and the natural background behind it showing. The function of the curtain is mainly to offer an alternative to the tangled mess of shrubs, and to add colours other than green to the set when needed.
{Our neighbour being a good sport, after I interrupted his work. He is accustomed to my nonsense.}
This type of half-and-half composition is actually quite nice, particularly useful when the subject is holding something that requires more contrast than the natural background can provide.
I also like the idea of making the shadows on the curtain a part of the composition. Although it would actually quite unusual to get this kind of sunshine during a real photoshoot. More commonly I am dealing with very flat light, so shadows on the curtain would not be an issue.
I am still playing around with where to place the subject in relation to the backdrop, how long to make the curtain, what side to move it to, etc. I don’t think I’m scheduled to do any more work photography until the new year, so plenty of time to experiment, and I think this has a lot of potential. A fabulous outdoor studio!
