Photography backgrounds~Diy Tutorial

For those of you who have been following my blog may already know about my love for food props for food photography. I am always looking out for scraps of wood, fabrics etc that I can utilise.On a recent visit to B&Q with hubby, I was getting totally bored as he lovingly examined all the power tools and gadgets on show. I guess he showed the same love that I share when I go to Lakeland for the gadgets so I can’t really complain.Whilst he was drooling over the tools, I ventured over to the wood cutting section where B&Q provide a wood cutting service. The chap there has become familier with my eccentricity, and no longer gives me weird looks as I always rummage in their rubbish pile for off cuts which they throw away.

I was really excited to find 3 really nice textured square pieces of OSB meta compressed wood. I know this is technical but its sort of outdoor wood which is made from compressed wood pieces. It has the most awesome texture.Armed with my wood I scoured the paint section for the miniture paint samples. I have recently been watching the 15 minute recipes programme on sky by Jamie Oliver. More than the recipes, I watch the programme to see his food plating ideas using most beautiful wooden boards in some amazing rustic colours.

Armed with my three pieces of wood, three pots of miniture paints costing me a total of £3.00, I was on my way home to create some amazing boards for my photography. Unforunately due to aheavy work load and un forseen circumstances, the paint sat in the bag and the boards in the garage for a few weeks.

This week I have had few days off work, its been too wet and cold to go out so I dug out the boards and paints and started on my project.I decided that to get maximum use of the boards and save storage space, I would paint each side of the board a different colour so that I would have 6 backgrounds in total. I am going to show you how I did this.You do not need any specialist skills to paint these, the more random you paint them the better and more unique and rustic the finish you will be able to achieve.

You will need:

Wooden boards of your choice
Paint brushes
An empty jam jar for water
Couple of old rags
Paint of choice, I used turquoise, white, brown and coral
An empty plastic tray/ tub for diluting the paint
A large plastic sheet or bin liner to spread on the table
1 sheet sandpaper

Method:

1.Check the edges of the boards to see if there are any splinters, if the edges are rough gently rub them down with sand paper to smooth them.

2.Wipe the wooden boards to remove any dust and make sure they are dry. Place them on the plastic sheet facing down.

3.Put a dollop of your chosen paint onto the plastic tray and add a few drops of water to thin it out.We want a white wash effect so paint needs to be really thin. Dip the brush into the paint very sparingly.

4. Paint the colour on to the board in random strokes and making it very patchy leaving some “missed” areas. This will give your boards a very rustic look.

5. Next take a rag and scrunch it up wipe away the paint in some random places to make it patchy. Leave the board to dry.

6. Once the board is dry, flip it over and you can paint this side a different colour.I painted the darker colour on one side and diluted the same colour and used it on the second side to get two different colour finishes.

7. To do the lighter colour add a drop or two of the white paint to your original colour and mix it to the desired shade.


8. Follow steps 4 and five and leave the board to dry.

9. Repeat the same procedure for the other two boards with your chosen colours.

10. Leave the boards to fully dry overnight before using them.

I love my finished boards, I have a coral board, dark turquoise and a dark brown boards. In the lighter colours I have a light Turquoise, white and a pine coloured boards.

You may all be  thinking what am I going to use the boards for? Below you can see my boards being featured in some of my food photo shoots.

Strawberry and Chocolate cheese cake and Strawberries photographed on the dark coral board:

Pomegranate shot on the white painted board.

Spices shot on the dark Turquoise board:

Red onions on brown board.

I now have a lovely new collection of background boards. I am really excited about them and hope to use them in some more shoots.

Share this post
Pin Share

Nayna Kanabar

A vegetarian influencer that loves to travel and discover new places.

39 thoughts on “Photography backgrounds~Diy Tutorial

  1. I really like the blue board, it's a lovely colour. These are great tips for budding food photographers, I'm gradually learning to improve my skills and need to start sourcing some new backgrounds soon.

  2. This is a great DIY idea Nayna, so simple and doesn't involve a long list of materials. I am definitely going to try these. Its such a basic and really helpful preparation for food styling.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *