Big Time Backdrops!

Since our return from the east coast, I have been experimenting with the new MacroMats photo backdrop kit made by TableWars.

I am especially excited, since it has several key elements which will be so helpful for what I am doing nowadays!  That is size (the mats are 15 x 30), portability (see the case below) and durability.

The backdrop setup comes with this rig, which is easy to assemble.  I am familiar with this format, since one of my camera tripods is very similar!

You have a few options when it comes to putting together the crossbar.  You can do one piece, or both, and all you have to do is snap them in place.

Again, this is all very rugged, and that is essential for photographing large numbers of figures, or massive figures, and even terrain pieces as I intend to do.  

Speaking of terrain pieces, I thought I would grab one of the largest structures that I have at the moment and give it a try.  I have not been able to photograph this yet, since I didn't have any backdrop that came close to covering it.  You can see that it was not a problem at all...

I grabbed a few of my portable LED lights, which can be positioned in any number of ways, to snap a few images!

This is only a few minutes after taking the kit out of the box.  I have more elaborate lighting set ups that I will use with this kit.

It comes with 3 different mats, including the blue to white fade, which is great for me.  Over many years, that was the type of backdrop which needed to be used for cover art and blister packs, and it is nice to know that I can add more images of these new large scale things with a similar background.

This large box is my own photo rig that I created for taking pictures of big stuff.  I have 3 under cabinet LED light strips that shine down on all parts of the figures at once, eliminating shadows.

The top bar is the longest at 18 inches, while the strips on the sides are 12 inches.  You can see the nice padded clips that come with the MacroMat rig!

I set down some of my early war German Bolt Action vehicles, and snapped a few pictures.

I was amazed at how nicely the pictures turned out, and that I was able to put so many vehicles on there at once!  In fact, I could have put more on it, but my photo box was actually too small for the mat!  Incredible.  

There is also a larger size photo mat in the works, which will be 30 x 30 inches.  I cannot wait for those!  It will be the final piece to the photography puzzle.

Here's a link to the TableWar website where you can get yours:

http://www.tablewar.com/the-macromats/