DIY Weathered Wood Photo Backdrop
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One of my blog goals this summer is to update a some of my recipe photos. I have a few from the very beginning that were snapped with my phone or just not very appetizing looking. I may even update some that were taken this past winter in my kitchen. (Most of those photos aren’t bad, just a little yellow from my kitchen lights. We’ll see if I get to those, it can be hard to squeeze in picture taking with 2 hungry little monsters sweeties hanging from my apron strings…)
I am always on the look out for pretty dishes, tablecloths, place mats or backdrops I can use to dress up my food photos. I’ve had a weathered wood backdrop on my to do list for a while, but I kept putting off the trip to Lowes for supplies.
I finally got it done and love it!
We do have a garage full of supplies and tools, but I wanted this project to be simple. (And it was… why drag out a bunch of tools and get hot and sweaty when you can work in the AC and use a little glue…) Here is how I made it:
Supplies needed for a weathered wood photo backdrop:
- Shims (they come in different sizes, mine were 12 inches long and came in a pack of 42, I bought 2 @ $3.87.)
- Wood for the back supports (I bought 3 1/4X3X2 aspen planks @ $1.24 each.)
- Wood glue (I used Elmer’s wood glue that I already had.)
- Paint (I used paint I had on hand- The blue was a sample I had for my laundry room, leftover white paint and some of my Ralph Lauren tea stained glaze.)
- Clear coat sealer (I used one with a matte finish.)
Instructions:
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| Oops, just added a little more gluing than intended to my project… |
Step 1: Glue all your shims together so they make a flat level piece of wood and let dry for about an hour.
Step 2: Line up the support pieces, using the shims as a guide on how far apart to space the supports.
Step 3: Add glue to the support pieces and place the shims. Let dry. (I placed a few heavy objects on top of the drying shims to help make sure they dried securely and flat.)
Step 4: Once the glue is dry, add your paint. To achieve a similar effect as mine, I applied one thick coat of regular blue paint, and let it dry. Then find something to distress the wood. (I could only find was a very heavy chain. It was so heavy, all I could do was drop it a few times on the wood.)
Next , with a wet rag, I rubbed my dark glaze over the entire panel, then rinsed the rag and wiped away most of the color. (You could mix water with a dark color to get the same effect.)
After the glaze dried I did the same thing with white paint- mixed it with water, wiped it on and then wiped the excess off.
After it dried, I finished it off with a quick coat of Valspar matte finish spray sealer.
Isn’t it pretty?
In this picture, I used Photoshop Elements to change the background to a dull yellow. (At the time I looked up this link, Elements was on sale for $63. That is a good price!)
I am thinking about adding some dark stained shim pieces to the back side so I can have 2 looks in one. I need to find some dark water based stain next time I am at the craft store.
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What a fantastic idea! Love your blog, you have a new follower in me 🙂
This is such a great idea! Thank you for sharing.
Such a great idea! I like the consistency in the pictures!
threeloudkids.com
What a great idea! There's usually clutter in the kitchen, little kids in the living room, and toys everywhere, so I've been known to style pictures on the bathroom floor with the door shut. This would be so much better! Love the color!
This is so amazing. Thank you bunches for the tutorial! <3
So clever! I'll definitely have to start putting some thoughts like this into my backdrops for photos. Love it.
I've been meaning to get together some more photography props and I love this idea!
What a great idea, I love what you did!! Great little trick!
This is neat! I may have to try something like it! Probably not for food – I don't do too much of that :), but I'm sure I can use it for something else!
Well done! It makes a great backdrop. I need to have a go at something like this myself.
What a great idea. And it makes for beautiful pictures!
Super cute!! That looks great – and I love the photoshop color options! 🙂
The backdrop looks great! Love the blue color. I am in need of a cool photo background for taking pictures of my etsy products – thanks for the inspiration!
Blythe
http://www.thedesperatecraftwives.blogspot.com
Clever idea!
Great idea! Backdrops can be so expensive, but this is an easy way to have more than white foamboard.
Nice.. Love the color.. Thanks for linking up at friday fun party.. 🙂
Super cool! Love it!
Great looking backdrop! Genius idea!
<3 Christina at I Gotta Create!
Wildly Original Round Up party is open!
Love that blue, great idea!
A good idea – I love your blog, I've been a reader for a while now so thought it was about time I joined you and said 'hello' from the UK, I love all kinds of craftwork and have just started my own blog mostly about frugal living.
What a great idea! I have a ton of wood! SO doing this!
Love this! Looks pretty easy, too! Now I need to make one…with all my "free" time now that kiddos are home:) It really makes your photos!!
OOH! I've been wanting to make one of those for so long! I need to at some point… Thanks for sharing!
So cool. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea! Putting together some backdrops is on my to-do list as well. Thanks for sharing! (And I ordered the photoshop- I appreciate the heads up!)