Blog Photography Tips : How to Improve Your Shots with BACKDROPS*

Instagram is a wild beast that I don't think anyone knows how to slay these days. Not even those people who buy followers or set their bots loose on the 'Gram to comment sh*te [& ALWAYS, for some reason, use that bloody emoji with the sunglasses on all over ya shots. No, unlike this guy suggests, your behaviour IS NOT cool. Anyway. I'll save my Insta tea for another time.] What I do enjoy about this somewhat flawed social media platform however; is creating, sharing and finding images of products, places, people and things I love. And leaving creepy, inappropriate comments all over ya grid to test the boundaries of our online friendship, obv. 

I've been spending a lot more time using the 'Explore' feature recently & browsing hashtags - and it's put the fun right back into Insta. I've loved chatting with new people, finding fresh feeds to stalk & having a proper good lol. This source of new inspiration, the discovery of beaut images / products and overall new-found sense of enjoyment has meant that I've actually been enjoying taking photos more too; getting a bit more creative with my props, colour scheme and content. 

Photobackdrops.co dead kindly sent me loads of new backdrops to incorporate into my shots... which have inspired me even more  - and triggered LOADS of questions from you guys, off the back of featuring them in my InstaStories. So I thought I'd do a quick blog post on the ones I have & have been using recently in ma pics - focussing on how they can improve the quality of your images and add real atmosphere & meaning to your photography. And also, Lucy is a total babe who's become one of ma fave Snapchat buddies - so defo drop her a line for a chat. She's hilar.

I used to use a sheet of marble wrapping paper for my backdrop; yeno, to create the illusion that I live in a pure luxury home with casual marble surfaces. When in reality, my flat looks like an actual crack den at the moment, cos I'm so far behind with housework, blogging, cleaning & life admin. Doing it for the 'Gram. 

But since Lucy's versatile, tough backdrops rolled into my life, the wrapping paper illusion is over. Yes, the paper life was cheaper in the short term - but one rogue swatch and it was game over. They stain, they crease, they curl up at the edges and they rip like lil biatches - meaning I'd have to make repeat orders, which was costing me a frigging fortune annually. These bad boys by Lucy don't crease. They're firm, are impossible to rip - and they wipe clean if you accidentally smear lippy on them mid shoot. Actual game changers, worth every penny you pay for them. They look so convincing too - that smooth surface looks infinitely more professional than bubbly or creased paper / vinyls. 

Their longlasting nature makes them a million times better value than having to constantly order new paper backdrops; look after ya photo back drop right & it'll last you for years. 

I took dat photo. It looks like a digitally produced image of marble; it's so perfect. But it's not. And it's not my photography skillz [or lack of] that make it look so profesh either. It's alllllll the backdrop & how great quality it is. If you want to improve your photography game, investing in a decent backdrop is key; I'd say. Picking the right one provides your subject with the perfect, complementary atmosphere; making your shot dead aesthetically pleasing. And makes your Insta theme & blog photos look more consistent, professional, sick and with stacks more continuity. They become a part of ya brand, and what makes people recognise your photos a mile off. Dat distinctive sense of style, yeno.

Here's a quick rundown of the backdrops I have, how I use them and my personal recommendations on how to get the most out of them. I'm no expert mind; just a bit of a knobhead with a camera who occasionally takes an alright snap. But Lucy's tips page has stacks of handy hints on how to slay the flatlay, and I trust her judgement lots more than mine, cos she's an actual professional and that.

My current fave : The Plain White Floorboard

Style : Simplicity*

Every photo I've taken recently has been on this backdrop. I'm obsessed. Simplicity is, as the name suggests, beautifully simple and minimalist; with its all over engraving detail adding a subtle fleck of texture & grey to it. I prefer this to a pure white background, as I don't like my photos to look washed out or over-exposed. This and Icon, which you'll see in a minute, are my faves for styling flatlays. 

The Blogger Cliché : Marble

Style : Icon*

Every blogger in the world has a marble backdrop - and I'm a proud member of this cliché. People will call me basic ... hell, that naked troll called me boring & some proper keyboard warrior even called me tacky... I've been called worse, like - but I don't even care. I love marble. Of course, I'm too much of a tramp's arse to afford the real deal & deck out my bathroom / kitchen counters with the finest blogger blend, so I'm employing the fake it till I make it [lol I have my suspicions I'll be forever fakin' in every respect] lifestyle with this babe of a BBL. It's especially good for snapping dark / black coloured products against, to really make them P O P!

The Cosy Grey One : Rustic Flooring

Style :  Farmhouse

I was lucky enough to win this sexy AF backdrop in a competition on Twitter just before Christmas. It's bloody brilliant and literally makes taking dece snaps so much sh*tting easier! White and light coloured backgrounds can be difficult beasts to slay, but Farmhouse just gives everything you shoot against it this incredible crisp look. It's atmospheric and cosy AF; I used this one for many of my warm, wintery Christmas pics due to its rustic, homely appeal - but it's also perfect for shooting white products against [cos I'll tell you something for free, those buggers are hard AF to capture effectively against white or marble!]

The Neutral, Summery One : Nude Cement

Style : Tuscany*

I'm so excited to transition into this nude, peachy backdrop for Summer. It reminds me of architecture, floorings and pottery I've seen abroad; always flanked in sunshine and intrigue. It's neutral enough for pretty much all products to look great against; adding a splash of warmth to the shot with its peachy glow & coral undertones. It makes me wanna get all creative! But then I remember I'm boring asf. BUT I'M GONNA DO IT ANYWAY! It looks so 3d and so realistic, it's hard to imagine it's just a sheet of PVC haha. Lucy knows her sh*t.

The ULTIMATE SUMMER BACKDROP : The BEACH

Style : Soft Sand*

YESSSSS! The beeeeeachhh! Even if I'm poor asf and I've not even been outside properly for the past year - let alone to the beach, I can pretend I'm totes there with this backdrop; dead professionally shooting my products in the sand. Even if in reality, I'm in my spare room in my pug onesie swearing and eating biscuits. I have so much love for Summer and all things Holiday related, and I can't WAIT to start featuring this in my shots. It's quite a seasonal backdrop - but it's also my FAVOURITE SEASON [Winter can suck a turd, sorry] so this backdrop makes me very, very happy.

I am super mega glad to have stumbled across my gal Lucy - she's a babe [I would, like], a newfound buddy, a proper boss business lady & her backdrops are sick. If you're looking to improve your blog or product photography & you're not sure where to start, 100% get yo butt over to her site now - these photography props absolutely change the game & help give you dat BOOST in getting creative with ya camera.

Have you shopped with Lucy yet? What's your favourite backdrop on her site?

*Lucy proper kindly gifted me these backdrops for me photos, but all opinions and expressions of slightly gay love for her are my own xoxo