10 Things You Can do with Seamless Paper

Morgan

6 years ago

Seamless Paper

Savage makes great seamless paper that you can use in a variety of applications for photography and video. Most people use it to create seamless backdrops for portraits – but that’s not creative!! In this lesson, we’ll show you ten different ways you can use seamless paper then just your typical backdrop.

I’ve been using seamless paper for years now, ever since I started my photography career. What is seamless? It’s a roll of paper that’s about ten or twelve feet long that comes in a variety of colors.

How to Set Up Your Seamless Paper

It’s super easy actually! Just set up two C-stands with the arms out and pull the seamless in between. The seamless paper is on a cardboard pole so you don’t have to worry about the middle sagging. You can tell that your seamless is straight when the gap between the C-stand and the paper run parallel to each other. If they aren’t, that means one side is higher than the other and you have to move your C-stand higher or lower accordingly. I like to tape down my seamless using painters tape to secure it. Don’t forget to put a clamp on the top of your C-stand arm! If you don’t you risk the seamless paper slipping.

Rolling

There are two ways you can roll your seamless paper. The first is the more conventional way with the bend coming across the floor. This is good for when you want that ‘infinity’ look (or sweep) where you can’t tell where the floor and wall meet. The other way to do it is having the seamless paper fold out the opposite way where the bend is away from the camera. This is a great tip for when you want to get the ceiling in your shot as the seamless paper can extend all the way up, creating no spaces between the wall and ceiling.

A Tight Fit

Sometimes when you’re rolling your seamless paper back up, it can get lose and all over the place. Here’s a tip: when the paper is all rolled up, continue rolling! This will make the seamless paper that’s already rolled tighter. Just keep rolling it till it’s nice and tight so you can fit the paper back in the box.

1. Spirals

If you put a few rolls of seamless together and roll it out to your desired length, you can make spirals with the different cuts you make. Just cut straight through and roll the strips to different lengths. This will create a lot of texture and will look great as an interesting backdrop.

2. Show the Seamless in the Picture

Who said you’re not allowed to see the seamless paper in the shot? It can work well with creating a ‘fantasy world’ look. Sometimes calling attention to something makes for exciting images!

3. Fashion Photography

The old faithful – the one you should always have up your sleeve. It’s a great tool to create seamless backgrounds that separate your subject and have them pop out. Using the colored seamless paper works well here too.

4. Props!

Who said you have to just use seamless paper as backgrounds? You can also cut it up any way you want to make some interesting props. Flowers, vests, dresses…if you can think it, there’s a way to make it out of seamless! All the props in this image were made from seamless paper.

5. Use More Than One Color

You can use more than one seamless at a time. Just cut the edges and tape them to another seamless. This is a great way to create a juxtaposition in your shots.

6. Paint it!

If you want some more color in your life, paint it on! We did some splatter paint on a white background to create this photo. I think it turned out nicely!

7. Green Screen

Savage makes a green screen color seamless paper that’s great for green screen. You can use this for both photography and video. Just remember to watch out for green tints in your talent’s complexion!

8. Textured Background!

Hey, it’s just paper so don’t feel bad. You can crinkle and crumple it up to make different textured backgrounds!

9. Isolate Your Subject from the Background

Roll out the seamless paper on location to get a different look. If it gets dirty, just rip it off. But the separation that the seamless gives you will make for some interesting shots.

10. JUMP!

Jump through the seamless for a video effect or a gag.

Well, that’s all we have for now. What ways have you used seamless paper? Let us know in the comments! If you want to grab yourself some seamless, check out our B&H and Amazon stores. They can ship it right to your house, no hassle.