Pros and Cons of Vinyl Backdrops.

There are allot of different materials that you can use in your photography business.  There is vinyl, cloth, fleece, paper, poly paper, canvas, and a bunch more. Starring out with my business I often purchased vinyl backdrops.  


There are allot of pros with using Vinyl backdrops.  The number one thing with a vinyl backdrop is that it is very affordable.  I live in Parkersburg, WV this is a small town.  We do not have any stores close to here that you can purchase backdrops form.   I have to order all of mine off the internet.  I have used allot of companies to purchase my backdrops from. I like allot of the companies featured on Etsy.  Another great benefit of the vinyl is it is very easy to move around.  Most of them are pretty light weight and can be hung easily.  Vinyl typically has very bright and nice colors also.  The colors look great on the vinyl.


There are for me more cons to Vinyl than pros.  It was a good option when I started because it was about all I could afford.  Ordering all of my backdrops off the internet can get very expensive for shipping.  When vinyl is shipped it is heavier than a cloth or poly paper backdrop so you do generally pay more money in shipping.  Vinyl does have a tendency to have a bad blare.  Allot of lighter colors in vinyl is ok but darker colors do tend to glare terribly with my studio lights. The lighter colors and backdrops with white are typically ok to use.  Stay away from all dark colors in vinyl especially black.  If you turn your lighting up at all you will have allot of glare.  Vinyl is not always wrinkle free. Sometimes the vinyl will crease very easily.  It is not easy to get the wrinkles out of vinyl.  Light wrinkles will come out easily with a little bit of heat applied but deeper wrinkles can be very aggravating and take allot of time and effort to get out.  Most vinyl needs to be stored rolled also. For larger sized drops this can also become and issue.  If you have a 10 ft long drop you need a large space to store that rolled.


Overall, if you need a cheap alternative for a backdrop vinyl is ok. I have found it is worth it to spend more money and get a nicer material like fleece or wrinkle free cloth especially on the larger drops.  This will save you storage space and set up time. 


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