Cheap Food Photography Backdrops Ideas w/ Behind-the-Scenes-Shots

Cheap Food Photography Backdrop Ideas. And that too DIY and Salvaged most of the times 🙂 I have been blogging for the last 4 years but have been working with Food Vloggers for the past 7 years. Food photography and food styling are a very big part of my journey as a food blogger. And believe it or not, food photography is all about ingenuity especially if you do not want to spend a ton of money. It’s not about expensive gears but more about creative thinking.

I use a lot of stuff that is lying around the house as my photography backdrops. And last year we had got the house reconstructed, so actually, there was a ton of stuff lying around and which I salvaged. Works like a charm. If you’re a sucker for that antique and distressed look, then salvaging goods from dumpsters of various sizes and shapes is your calling. Well maybe not exactly dumpsters but you’re always on the lookout for antique finds in the most unassuming places possible.

Having said that, aesthetics is in your mind and sometimes the most common everyday item can be a perfect photography backdrop.

Here are a few DIY, cheap and everyday food photo backdrop ideas.

1. Slate Tiles– You can get these from any construction store like Home Depot. Just let them know you want a sample and they will happily sell you a single piece. Their texture and color change from tile to tile and it has a natural, weathered down look, which works perfectly to create neutral backdrops for your food photos. The only flaw is that they are heavy.

2. Salvaged Plywood – This one here is a 2X3 piece of plywood that I salvaged when my house was getting reconstructed. And then I just took 3 spray cans of color in different shades and painted the board pretty randomly. Just kept alternating colors to give it a deeper hue and texture. Another thing to do would be to get a cheap stain and stain the wood. A very useful prop and you must have seen this board in the image below in so many of my images. And the good thing is the weight is not too much when compared to tiles.

3. Salvaged Metal Surface – This particular backdrop you’re seeing is salvaged from a very old computer desk. The surface has become almost a chalkboard black over time and hence it is very muted and not reflective at all. I have used this one as a backdrop for my flat lays many times or used as a vertical backdrop. Again relatively lightweight.

4. Stretched Canvas – My daughter loves art and hence we always have stretched canvas lying around the house. Sometimes if I am looking for a solid white or black backdrop these come very handy. They are lightweight and using crockery with bright accents with these enhances the look of the entire frame.

5. Construction Paper – Construction paper can be a perfect backdrop too. I have used more than one type and color of paper in one frame many times or I have used paper and complemented one type of paper with other mediums of backdrops. Cheap and lightweight and you can use your creative spin and use them in a zillion ways. The only flaw would be that once you spill or drop anything on it, it’s a huge mess.

6. Burlap – Burlap is one of my most favorite backdrops. You can buy it from a craft store like Michaels or use the worn out ones lying around the house. In the past, I have used the ones from the 20 pounds rice bags. They are again neutral, lightweight and can perfectly enhance and highlight the food in the foreground. Again inexpensive and easily available.

A few other backdrops that I have used and works pretty good would be fabrics, wooden trays, laminate sheets etc. Just look around and then picture the background with the food in question. Make sure to use contrasting colors so that you get a striking shot.

Look around my blog to see the different food photography backdrops ideas that I put to use. Trust me, mine are cheap, inexpensive and completely DIY. Feel free to reach out to me if you have a question for any particular board.

See the gallery of my food pics here.