Painted Canvas Backdrops

What is in this collection

Classic studio canvases include mottled mid-grey, warm chocolate brown, charcoal storm grey, black with subtle brown mottling, oxblood burgundy, smoky plum, deep teal, sage green, pale duck-egg blue and peach and apricot. The old masters burnt sienna and umber canvas has the look of classical portrait painting. Muslin looks include cream and parchment painted muslin and crumpled hand-dyed grey muslin. More contemporary looks include abstract navy and gold brushstrokes, expressive blush and grey brushwork, ivory palette knife impasto, pastel mint and lilac paint clouds, a warm stone plaster-paint finish, aged terracotta fresco and an ochre and rust grunge canvas.

Studio backdrops for headshots and portraits

A painted studio backdrop is the classic portrait background because it is soft, even and gently mottled. These digital versions fill the frame, so you can place a cut-out subject at any size with no stand or floor line to hide. For school photos, headshots and family portraits, the mid-grey, chocolate brown and sage are safe and flattering. For low-key and fine-art work, use the black, charcoal or old masters canvas; for high-key newborn and christening sessions, the cream muslin, duck-egg blue or ivory impasto. The abstract and grunge looks double as template backgrounds for galas, band photos and modern events. For canvases hanging in a studio room, see portrait digital backdrops; for plaster and stone, textured wall backgrounds.

Tips for using these backgrounds

• Light from the same side. The old masters, chocolate brown, black, plum, plaster-paint and peach canvases are lit from the left, and the charcoal, deep teal, duck-egg blue, oxblood and grey muslin from the right. Match that side when you shoot or relight your subject.
• Put the face over the lighter mottling. Painted canvases have soft light and dark patches. Scale the subject so the head sits over a lighter area, and add a gentle vignette to keep attention on the face.
• Match the file to the session. Use portrait for headshots and school photos, landscape for family groups and square for social profiles. The mottling is even, so all three files keep the same look.

For headshots on a painted canvas look, see digital backdrops for headshots.