FIGURE A

Here's the photo that caused the fuss. Click picture for a larger image.

Becky Ohmea writes, "I really like how the texture of the background makes the subjects stand out. Are those backdrops expensive? Where can I get one? And how much are the matching stands?"

It's really a yoga mat
Becky, the backdrop is not expensive at all. Denise bought that particular mat for about $22.95 from Hugger-Mugger (at http://www.huggermugger.com). That's right. That lovely purple backdrop is really my wife's yoga mat (officially called a Tapas Sticky Mat), shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

I, uh, borrowed my wife's yoga mat. Click picture for a larger image.

A few months ago, when Denise was doing her yoga stretches, I noticed the mat and commented that it was both an interesting color and texture. As a photographer, I'm always keeping my eyes open for objects that might be useful in shoots and this mat definitely caught my eye.

This mat is also interesting because it has slightly different textures on each side, as shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

Depending on which side you use, you'll get a slightly different look. Click picture for a larger image.

To set up my shot, I just taped the mat to a back desk, as shown in Figure D, using blue painter's tape, which leaves no residue (as long as you remove it in less than a few days). Just for the record, it took me almost three weeks to give my office a spring cleaning and one of the more happy results was my spare desk is now clear enough for fun projects like this. It's anyone's guess how long that'll last!

FIGURE D

Here's the mat, taped in a drape, on the desk. Click picture for a larger image.

By draping the map in a shallow curve on the desk, you can begin to see how the nice, gradual background takes form. What was cool about this yoga mat is that it's got a fun, almost spongy texture, shown in Figure E, and that makes it particularly nicely suited for draping.

FIGURE E

These yoga mats have a really cool, spongy texture that holds small objects very nicely. Click picture for a larger image.

The sacred dollar store
This, of course, brings us to the matching stand, shown back in Figure A. Ya see, uh, the matching stand isn't exactly a matching stand. It's a cheap, incredibly ugly napkin holder that makes a much nicer photo prop than a napkin holder. It's just a happy coincidence that the purple color of the napkin holder matches. We also got a blue one, shown in Figure F.