The Best Photo Backdrop System No One Makes

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In this video, Patrick Hall of Fstoppers shows you how he created a do it yourself background stand that rotates and pivots in his home studio. Using a few unconventional mounting brackets, this paper or canvas background holder can mount into the ceiling and easily be adjust to provide a square room setup or a wider background setup quickly and easily. Why no one one makes such a system out of the box is beyond us but with a little diy ingenuity you can create a similar setup for your own photography studio.

[@antzpantz]

I've found that to be an 'efficient' photographer, a lot of these kinds of hacks have to be done as there's almost never a fully-designed off-the-shelf product that will cater to your needs. Love seeing this ingenuity!

[@kristianringen]

As a wedding photographer I completely agree! In addition to the obvious gear, my bag also carries paper tissues, hairspray and foam earbud to mention a few. All things I've learned comes in very handy! To me, it all proves that photography is way more than your traditional photography gear.

[@politipixels]

I love how proud of himself Patrick was when he realized he could use something he already had to move the roller.

[@J.Allen_Photography]

This is awesome! Gives me some great ideas for my garage!

[@FStoppers]

Lee here: What you/we need to make is a system that can either make 2 rolls side by side or it can swing over like yours does and make a 90-degree corner with 2 rolls of paper without a seam. Not sure how it can be done but there must be a way.

[@laurahompus]

Instead of using the single J hook on the boxer-unit (great find!!) bolt a piece of wood in between, and bolt a double J on that, maybe? Preferably I'd look for a plated swivel system like you see on wheels simply for the sturdiness, but then you'd lose the angular motion you now have in the boxing module thing. So that still looks like your best option.. I love what you did n there though, great idea!!

[@Chrisdgallego]

If I understood right (my English is not the best for sure), I have an idea for 2 rolls that could add 2 more, so you could hung 4 rolls in total. I could draw it because explaining it could be confuse. Anyways I'll try it. 1) Is the same system that Patrick build but using the axis he use for a single roll as a rotator. 2) Then on both sides use a + (cross? crux?) shape where you attach a roll (with the same system Patrick use with that piece that insert in to roll and unroll it) 3) Now it need to position each roll with a displacement to avoid the "chain" you use to roll and unroll the roll paper touch each other. Then we use a product called Sikadur 31. Is a mix of two products we use to fix bolts in climbing. So if you think it needs to load more weight, this is if not the best, a solid good option. I hope it has some sense. Again, I'm sorry about my English.

[@stephenban]

I do wonder...does the paper have enough rigidity that you could put the roll vertically and just bend it around a corner? Obviously then you have the problem of the gap between the floor and the backdrop, but that might be preferable in some circumstances.

[@jayel27]

As a lazy person with a small studio space this made me happy 😅🤷🏽‍♂️🙌🏽

[@kuptis9061]

For the hook plate and swivel interface you could use simply a bolt (instead of the pin) with a two nuts securing the hook plate in the middle (instead of the many washers) and one locknut on the outside to prevent the bolt from coming out. Bolts are incredibly strong in that kind of a shear load situation, so strength would not be a concern.

[@AndrewLXiong]

You are genius...often times we just used products the way they were sold to us but I really like how you modify it to make it multi-purpose uses. I'm gonna have to give it a try too, thanks much!

[@sidepieceseason1414]

Thanks! That looks really good!

[@someoneelse242]

Finally! The same energy as Joe Edelman and the slated lens of 2015 era. Other home studio channels!!

[@BaraCubra]

The industry you’re looking for is the carpet showroom industry. They often mount 100+ lbs carpets on rotating/swiveling arms that customers can move to browse through. Glad you figured out a solution too!

[@FStoppers]

Ah yes but those mounts don't let you hoist them up and down, they sort of just hang there. There are def times when I think the side backdrop will be stored rolled up and out of the way. -P

[@CraftComputing]

This is such a great system! I'm working on designing a multi-use space similar in size to this, and will definitely be building something along these lines.

[@dorianvocalartist]

I love the ingenuity! Thanks for sharing this experience 🙂

[@kashgohel]

Very logical thought process! Even towards the end I thought about suggesting a stick to adjust the roll and moments later you did.

[@elram2649]

This is actually a very bright solution for studios of all sizes! 😮👌 Move over, mother-in-law. I'm reclaiming your bedroom as my studio! 😆🤭

[@sidceaser]

This was a fantastic video, Patrick. Very innovative thinking and a fantastic result! Bravo!

[@trainbobber03]

Hey Patrick, thanks for the tips and insight. FYI, necessity is the mother of all inventions...great job!

[@syrompicturez2917]

I am watching and thinking that you are a genius. When there is a problem we should use our imagination to create a solution which you just did and YES this big Photo giant companies are going to make one now! You did good man. Thanks for sharing

[@Ranger7Studios]

Great hack! Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[@alexanderpons9246]

Oh wow great concept, then again necesity is the mother of invention Thanks for all the great content you guys make on this channel!

[@timwilliams902]

Very cool. I'm currently working on a garage studio. Love these ideas.

[@alexcasares1700]

I really love your ingenious and cost-effective solutions. :)

[@Maz-2393]

Brilliant solution and Welldone with the ladderless hack! Genius.

[@kiloserrano8595]

Amazing concept! I'm glad I saw your vid!

[@eksmaan]

This is SO much like my space. Great video!

[@footage3914]

You've made my day. Thank you!

[@ShawnPBruce]

This is fantastic. Great concept!

[@Dawn-ni4nh]

Genius! Thank you so much for sharing.

[@pglazarus]

I just bumped into you channel. DUDE!!! I LOVE IT!!! I have been having this same studio problem. Thank you so much for sharing. I will start my project this coming weekend. Its time to go build something. :)

[@TheBeautyBusNYC]

Absolutely genius!!! 💯

[@catalinsavulescu3071]

Love those hacks!!! You're creative one son of a gun. TY.

[@andreak4280]

brilliant! it all turned out well 💪🏼💪🏼🧠

[@DsPhotographys]

Awesome build 📸

[@danienelphoto]

Very very cool, dude. I have a 2 car garage studio, so got a lot of ideas from this hack alone.

[@masterbilllauer8531]

I watched this Video Clip 3x +, Butt can only like it omce... too Kool n great idea Bra!!!

[@kirkdarling4120]

This isn't something that I can use, but DIY props to you!

[@Qbulls23]

Nice job! You can see the ah ha moment at the end with the light stand 😂

[@nunoandradebluesdrive]

great idea man!

[@JennaCee]

This is really nice - Oh that mother of invention - necessity.

[@SophoclesGrafas]

Such a smart idea. Need to experiment with some alternate mounts for the spaces I use.

[@princenisbeth463]

Thank you for this I love innovation...

[@georeschen]

great! Thx for the inspiration 🥳

[@zombne]

Wow thats really cool how that works 🤔 might implement this myself

[@cococrispe]

Time for you to get into product development. I smell a kickstarter coming!

[@nadternawly2936]

this is brilliant

[@matthewpickard5575]

Great video and great idea 💡 👍

[@blueboy4244]

can't use any of this for my studio - HOWEVER.. love the rube goldberg.. hack it off/bolt it up/ fix with washers mentality...I'll look around your videos.. I'm sure there will be plenty I will use!

[@stephenwingate3419]

Nice job!

[@techtom1]

First great job. Consider using O-rings or hose gaskets on your swivel to provide rigidity with some give. The Dry Cleaning industry use tracks for moving the work from station to station. Something like that might work for you. I am sure there is something between the size of hospital curtain track and a ceiling mounted engine hoist that will work for you. It’s all a matter of finding it and making it work. Once again great job.

[@spy3d11422]

Would like to see a Video on that Idea!!!!

[@Ernesto_media]

Great video, this is the kind of content that I want to make.

[@larad8494]

Made me think of those floor rug display racks that carry heavy area size rugs

[@benjamindover4337]

Great ingenuity

[@biddy105]

Fantastic 👌

[@jackhowdeshell2529]

Thank you this content.

[@brettwooderson7442]

great idea

[@StreaminFreedom]

Great vid!!

[@fernandez1941]

Awesome!!

[@JustinMoritz]

very cool thank you

[@groncal]

I like the pivot, that's necessary...but all you needed to do was put the kupo paper drive onto the tip of a c-stand with wheels. That would have given you the full range you were looking for from the 7' radius rail idea. No ladder needed and would be plenty strong to support. Just my two cents...I love videos like this though. You guys rock.

[@shirtstealer86]

I thought the same thing but then I realized that he probably does not want anything to stand on the floor.

[@bobtronic73]

really cool hack

[@ledesclos5321]

Brilliant.

[@bhBlacky82]

i did a similar thing with curtains.. built a flexible arm out of wood and a curtain pole holds the curtain that is hangeable at some major points as support ;)

[@OreApampa]

Very creative

[@bartbrinkmann8101]

I love the gear hack. I've also done a lot of work with 80/20 extruded aluminum and you can do some pretty creative things with it when you think out of the box. I'm mouning the same backdrop supports in my apartment and I was on the fence about getting the aluminum tubes for my savage paper, but you've talked me into it. With the aluminum rods, do you ever see sagging over time with the 7 foot rolls?

[@onegreenev]

Just use electrical tubing and have it rolled to what ever diameter you need then attach each end and in the middle for extra support and on have a pulley that sits on the tube and then just roll it to any position in the arc. It’s own weight will hold it in position. Use your stick to move it along the track. Should be a cake build. Thanks for the idea.

[@johnryan5781]

I do something almost like this. I use 2 autopoles with the background holders mounted. I can put it up solo in about 5 min and have any radius i want with out drilling into the ceiling of my studio

[@BrianMackey2010]

Well played :)

[@photozen8398]

Well done….!!

[@jefoo5692]

Genius.

[@soynicho]

Awesome video¡ studio tour please

[@Provid]

Cool!

[@cecilsharps]

that looks like a lot of work before i've finished my coffee. I'm remodeling a garage into a studio so i feel your pain. Since i don't have a roller system i'm just going to use baby pin wall plates and a couple of c-stand grip arms. I have a huge 6x9 window in the garage. I use magnetic plates to mount diffusion or black cloth over the window. Denny's mfgr sells them but i homebrewed one for cheaper. the punching bag swivel is very clever.

[@Neopulse00]

I say patent a design for this kind of need when you can 🙌 I still remember many years ago when you wanted a Pocketwizard radio trigger and you made a drawing of trigger that was in a dual hotshoe with both connected to one another to get the function you wanted. Dunno if you remember Patrick 😅

[@FStoppers]

Ha yeah I remember that design and I actually found a dual hotshoe just for that design. I've patented before (Flash Disc) and it was such a pain in the ass, cost a ton of money, and then China still just rips you off with no easy repercussions. Not sure I want to own another patent any time soon but I'm happy if someone just takes this idea and makes it accessible to the masses. -P

[@JimRobinson-colors]

Well when mentioned that you were in a garage and you wanted to move something, my first thought was to use garage door hardware - rails and wheels. But cool that you figured all that out with the hooks and such.

[@FStoppers]

I thought about the garage door hardware but I have no idea how to bend that stuff and when I look at mine closely, it seems to hold the door wheels in the track vertically but if I rotated the track sideways, the track doesn't seem like a very sturdy channel that would hold a trolley in it with weight and play/movement. A unistrut seems like the better material. -P

[@JimRobinson-colors]

@@FStoppers yeah , the curve would have been tricky, but the weight would be nothing compared to a garage door. They are really heavy.

[@Miguel_Angel_Duarte]

Great!!!

[@Molaleni]

well done

[@granitfog]

I wonder if it would be more efficient to face the ceiling hook in the direction of motion of the horizontal bar. That way the rod would not have to be moved up out of the hook, then under the hook, then over to the other location. Just a thought. With the hooks facing the direction of travel, the move under the hook can be avoided. Also, I found the key words Ball joint and universal joint productive to search for an articulating ceiling attachment.

[@sendforacar9323]

Cool. I would have faced the bracket openings, like a mirror image, towards each other making it even easier to move from one to the other.

[@mikemtz8891]

Well I guess the light stand and u hook could just be used to replace the ceiling mounts? Really cool idea, on how you adapt and MacGyver photography things. I appreciate these kinds of videos.

[@FStoppers]

Not sure I follow. The J hooks hold the roll in. The U hook I used at the end would be upside down in the ceiling and wouldn't hold anything. You can of course use Light Stands but I didn't want clucky stands with large footprints in the middle of my studio space. -P

[@AdrianStaicu82]

If you put that bracket on the other side of the roller cables, you could get an overlap right there no need for a third paper. Basicaly all you did moved 2-3 feet to the right. The down side is that you need to put it right up to the cealing and will probably not clear the light fixtures. It will also be more complicated to change the backdrop. And you don't need a rail, you have a mobile light stand with a special bracket, do you can do any angle you want.

[@ParleyWells]

I'd use a light stand pole to hold up the movable end of the roll. Then you could adjust to whatever angle you want

[@Jonathanlaster20]

Cool! Now all we need is an update on the Charleston studio. 😉

[@FStoppers]

Ah dang it, yes, I have all those video files here in Puerto Rico so I can now get back to editing those....that was def a much bigger studio renovation. I feel like I've built out 5 studios in the last 3 years. -P

[@Jonathanlaster20]

@@FStoppers I can’t wait to see it. Happy editing!

[@mikefallonphotography458]

I created a scrim that hangs for a backdrop for headshots and then I can push it up and lock it with a door latch to bounce light off the ceiling since I have an unfinished basement. I also have it so that I can angle it by just tying it to a desired length.

[@arthurhughes42]

I struggled with drilling into concrete with a battery drill, even though the bits were good quality and new. I then tried a corded SDS masonry drill using the same bits and job was done very quickly.

[@FStoppers]

It's funny, I had a strong corded hammer drill and it didn't work nearly as well as my battery powered drill. I do have a SDS drill now but I haven't opened it yet. I've found the smaller drill so easy to use that I've just stuck with that one. -P

[@RichardNievesNY]

Concrete is not fun but it doesn't make noise when your A/C unit shakes due to a bad motor/rotor, then you see nails popping out the wooden wall.... Plus no worries of Tornado damage. Also good for Hurricanes... all you need is the corrugated metal sheets to cover your windows which you can easily put and remove after the storm passes. I miss my concrete home.

[@petemellows]

I love it! Great ingenuity. And of course, more tinkering will result in an even better setup. Maybe, if you have a bar that extends the full length, you could swap out paper rolls and attach a chain to a standard radial track.

[@RaspberryTea-sz4mt]

nice🎉

[@otavioleitefotografia]

Cool! :-)

[@swisselle]

would love to see how you put up the 2nd background to a seamless corner/cove :D

[@FStoppers]

Hope to have everything to do that tomorrow and will film a video about it soon. -P

[@tcphoto]

Patrick, I think that's a lot of work for minimal gain when two sets of Autopoles would work. Did you think about using your existing three roll setup and using those Autopoles to mount the side fabric or seamless? There is a tutorial on doing a corner set over on John Gress' channel. BTW, perhaps you and Lee could do a followup on Coronavirus Chronicles because we all need another drinking game.

[@FStoppers]

The original edit of this video I mention the autopole (Varipoles in my case). The problem with that idea is it places a huge liability on that pole which sits in the middle of the room. For our old studio it was fine because the paper was tucked away in a cove where you weren't likely to bump the pole but for this space I wanted it completely secured with nothing touching the ground. -P

[@AaronAubreyPhoto]

@@FStoppers My initial thought was "Why not install just the main rotating piece, and then use a heavy duty stand w wheels on the other side?" But I didn't factor in you wanting the floorspace clear!!

[@j.joe.b3384]

Instead of the pole to unhook and rehook the backdrop, attach it to the backdrop with a caster ball on the bottom that rolls on the floor. Then you have your track system idea with infinite adjustability

[@FStoppers]

I don't want anything touching my floor at all though. I don't want the trip hazard, and when I roll the backdrop up, I don't want a stand there that is need to keep it tucked away. -P

[@pablogonzalez4567]

an idea for a made up rail system could be with a straigh rail perpendicular and a longer pole that can take the extra length, it would only work for less than a 90 degre range and practical for around 45 degrees range

[@dez5]

Simply a genius. brilliant ideas. thank you sharing with us.💥💥💥, Can we use 2 in. x 10 ft. PVC Pipe Solid for $17 instead of the Fotoconic 10 Ft / 3M Metal Tube Crossbar for $49?

[@drinkinslim]

Great video. It looks like you need to cover the camera's preview display so you don't keep looking at it. ;)

[@gioazzarello1333]

I would look at curtain tracks that they use in hospitals for that track you talked about. I use to do maintenance on them and thought that would be perfect but like you said its just finding the perfect one

[@FStoppers]

I thought about those but the issue is, one of those nylon hangers would have to hold the entire weight of the roller (maybe it's 50% of the total weight). In the hospital, the entire curtain is supported by about 8-20 of those hangers but without hanging it like a curtain, and still maintaining the ability to roll it up, I don't feel confident that one of those systems would be strong enough instill confidence. -P

[@gioazzarello1333]

@@FStoppers totally understandable. Great job creating this thing though. Keep creating. I love your channel

[@nickbraleystudios132]

I wish I had the space and a square room to try this in. I don’t even have a blank wall available

[@kelliblanton9420]

To move the back drop you could also use one of those clothing hooks that retail workers use to get the clothing off the high racks.

[@FStoppers]

Maybe but why use that when I have the perfect tool made for the stand? -P

[@kelliblanton9420]

@@FStoppers Just in case you were already using the stand. So for anyone who may not have an extra stand laying about or who may want a dedicated tool just for that purpose.

[@marknowicki4156]

I built a system that swings three non paper backdrops 90 degrees so I can get to the one behind it when needed. Pretty easy set up... I own a pool service so I use old adjustable pool poles that go from 8 to about 15 1/5 ft and plenty strong as I only go to 10 ft max... I can have a back drop on the back of each so can have 6 that move and 2 mounted on the walls so with 2 walls and 3 poles I can have quick access to 8 backdrops ,,, fun to design and build ... your idea is cool too of course and more heavy duty ..(I was just in PR last week doing a few shoots)

[@FStoppers]

Interesting...I would love to see a photo or video of this setup. -P

[@marknowicki4156]

@@FStoppers Not sure how to get you a photo

[@Lousicle]

Instead of having only two hooks for positions, keep that stand adapters on a tall stand and keep the roll on it. You can then walk to any position that you want.

[@Mike_to_the_k]

Instead of depending on something out at the tip. Make a heavier duty swivel at the wall so you can just swing it. That's how I would do it personally. Then you can make a drop down handle attached to it at the wall so you can swing it from the floor.

[@FStoppers]

Not sure I"m understanding this idea. Would love to see a photo of it. -P

[@larryvaughn5843]

Home Depot sells conduit that those background paper holders fit in. They come in 10' lengths, are steel and don't sag.

[@FStoppers]

I think I've tried fitting the plastic holders in these pipes but the pipes were too small inside. They might fit in the paper ream but the other hardware won't fit inside them. Maybe there is another option? -P

[@larryvaughn5843]

@@FStoppers I bought a pipe size large enough for the expan units to fit inside. I think they were around 2" inside diameter. There are also metal corners made for building frames for plastic covered tents, greenhouses, etc that are inexpensive and are designed for the smaller electrical conduit. Use them to make an overhead frame for your white diffuser silks. The Hollywood ears hold the frame to your c-stand knuckles.