Military Digital Backdrops

What is in this collection

Homecoming scenes: a white picket gate tied with big yellow ribbon bows and navy, white and red balloons in front of a clapboard house, and a harbour quay at dawn with iron bollards, coiled ropes and striped bunting for a ship's return. Formal scenes: an ivory ball hall archway with navy velvet drapes, gold rope, brass candelabra and two American flags, and an officers' club lounge with an oxblood leather chesterfield against racing-green panelling. Tribute scenes: a grass path lined with small American flags leading to an oak at sunrise, a laurel and red rose wreath on a plain limestone memorial wall, and a hand-painted flag on weathered barnwood with mason jars of daisies.

Homecomings, ceremonies and tributes

The homecoming gate and the harbour quay are made for the moment a family is together again: four to six people fit in front of each, and they work as welcome-home party photo booth backgrounds as well as family portraits. The ball hall and the club lounge suit military balls, promotion receptions and retirement ceremonies. The tribute scenes are quieter. The laurel wall and the flag-lined path suit Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Remembrance portraits. The memorial wall carries no names, so if you add one in your layout, keep the type simple and let the stone and the wreath do the work. Several scenes include the US flag; the harbour quay and the laurel wall do not, so they suit service families anywhere. For more patriotic sets, see 4th of July, and for family portraits all year, family.

Tips for using these scenes

• Let the uniform carry the detail. The scenes have no insignia, rank badges or emblems, so the real uniform and medals your subject wears are what identify their service. Photograph them sharply; the backdrop stays neutral.
• Match low dawn and sunset light. The harbour quay has soft, cool light from the right; the flag-lined path has warm, low sun from the left. Warm or cool your subject to match before blending.
• Use landscape for families and portrait for tributes. The homecoming gate, quay, ball hall and club lounge fit four to six people in landscape; the laurel wall suits a single portrait in the portrait file.

For a homecoming booth or a ball, digital backdrops for event photographers has a section on setting up a station.