Again, there are a ton of ways to build these, this was just the way that worked best for me. And here is the really cool thing about using fabric you can buy more for different backgrounds! Just use the white or black side for the fill you need, then clip the fabric you want for your background to the V-flat behind your subject. If you are using the black side closing in the V-flat will darken the shadows on your subject, while doing the same on the white side will lighten and fill them in. Then you can move the sides of the V-flat around and see how it affects the light on your subject. Setting up for loop lighting is a great place to start, with the light at a 45 degree angle to the subject, slightly above eye level. I began with just one light source, placed on the open side of the V-flat. So go grab a subject and start experimenting. So, off to Joann’s Fabric I went to check out my options. Not to mention, each of these directions was adding quite a bit to my cost, and I wanted to keep this project “cheap and easy.” Then it hit me, fabric! What better to use for a background than fabric! It’s cheap (mostly), relatively lightweight, easy to source, and comes in a huge array of styles, colors, and textures. Contact Paper was an option but the luster of the plastic film was just too reflective to make a good background. You also can’t wallpaper it either for the same reasons (moisture in the glue).

Unfortunately you can’t paint foam-core because the moisture content will warp it terribly. So I needed some way of making the other side of my huge white panels black. Now for the next challenge, in order to get the most out of your V-flats you really need one side to be white and the other side to be black, so you can pick between a white or black background, etc. So I had to settle for 4x8’ sheets of 1/2 inch regular-old foam-core and just be more careful with it, since it’s not as durable (be sure you are using 1/2 inch or thicker, I found the thinner stuff to be too flimsy). The challenge here is that a supplier for Gatorboard isn’t always conveniently located near your hometown (as was my case) and, being 8’ long, they are crazy expensive to ship. It’s a laminate foam-core too, but just uses two pieces of very thin wood on either side of the foam instead of paper. The most common material used is something called Gatorboard, which is a heavy-duty form of the hobby foam-core board found at your local Michael’s or Craft Warehouse. However, also happen to be bright pink and I personally wasn’t fond of the idea of trying to paint a pink panel white. They are cheap, light, and easy to source. Some suggest rigid insulation panels from Home Depot, like Owens-Corning Foamular. I have heard a lot of suggestions for material and I found that all of them have their own advantages and drawbacks. That limits the material you can use to build them. But they also have to be light enough to be easily moved and not damage the floor or other objects in the room while using them, like said subjects. Since they are so big they need to be rigid enough not to collapse under their own weight (usually right on top of your subject, so you want to avoid that). Being that these will serve as backdrops for your subject they need to be fairly large, about 7’ to 8’ tall is a good start. And so simple to build, too! Just two boards taped together, right? Easy… um, yeah, not so much. So, needless to say, when I first discovered V-flats I was pretty excited to build a couple of my own and try them out. And by opening the V-flat wider or closing it in tighter you can control the amount of light that falls on your subject (by controlling the amount of light, or lack there of, being reflected back from the other panel). Going for a fashion/glamour look? Use the black side.

Just open the V-flat towards your light source, stick your subject inside and there you go, instant background! Want some clean catalog shots? Shoot the white side. What’s great about them is that they can instantly turn about any space into a perfect place to shoot. For those who are not familiar with them, a “V-flat” refers to pair of large boards, typically with one black side and one white side, that have been joined together so they can be folded and stood on end.

Double sided gaff tape home depot