Paper backdrops are great - they are an affordable way to expand your prop options, can be rolled up and transported in the parcel tubes and can be used as scoops. They are also a great way to bring new props in for individual clients and charge transparently, and even better, they can be disposed of straight after the shoot if space is at a premium.

However, you may want to mount your printed backgrounds to make them last longer or seal them so you can style food straight onto the surface.  

Mounting your backgrounds onto boards will of course make them more durable and they can be easier to set up to work on.  Sealing them will also make them water resistant and stronger on the surface so even better for food stylists and other messy creatives. 

Hey everyone, here are some of the photography projects I've worked on that have been released during the latter part of this year.  It's been a privilege to work on some huge brands and household names, mostly styling Christmas in the heat of the summer!

I really enjoy working with a mix of photographers and under different art directors bringing their ideas to life through my sourcing & styling.  I can provide food, drinks, still life and interiors styling, alone or with a team around me in studios or on location.

For more info and rates please don't hesitate to get in touch - hello@blackvelvetstyling.com or 07866 636070.  I look forward to hearing about your project!

Treat your stylish one to some fabulous backdrops and help their creativity flyyyyy!

Our gift vouchers can be used across the entire range on printed backdrop sheets and professionally mounted and sealed photography backgrounds.

Select £10, £25, £50 or £100 depending on how good they've been....

I am very pleased to now be able to offer same day dispatch on all of my printed photography backdrops. This means you could order today before 1pm, for delivery for your shoot by 9am tomorrow! (I'm whooping as I type!)

So, here are 8 styling ideas & ways to decorate this Christmas 

Like many other Brits I guess, I haven't had sweet pumpkin before, oh apart from spiced lattes! So it was really nice to create this recipe and eat pumpkin in a different way.  We waste so many around Halloween anyway don't we so it's good to have another recipe up my sleeve to make use of them.  Maybe you could peel and chop the pumpkin up straight after Halloween and freeze it until you need it?

Anyway, it was both delicious and a dream to shoot - I mean that colour! And autumnal natural props always make me giddy, so this was a dream job for me.  I'm going to write a post about the work side of this recipe shoot - the photography set up, styling and editing - but for now lets focus on the recipe itself.

I used one which called for fresh pumpkin rather than tinned to use up a big pumpkin I had left over and it wasn't hard at all - just took a bit longer to prep and cook but I think the colour and flavour would be much better with fresh anyway.

I wanted to write a short blog about social sharing and my use of customer images (user generated content or UGC to marketers) as it is very valuable to my business and much appreciated, but only of course, if you're down with it too.  I want to check that I am approaching it correctly and respectfully.

So, as I use hashtags on Instagram to mark entries to the monthly giveaway (yeah I give 3 free photography backgrounds away every month just for sharing an image! Check out this post about it for more details.) and I'm now using product specific hashtags to share both my and customer social images on the backdrop listings too, I wanted to clarify my thoughts on the etiquette of it and make sure they are in line with yours.  And get your feedback if not!

Hi :) If you didn't already know, I'm a stylist and content creator too, so I want to share some affordable, everyday food photography backdrops and props with you, ones that you can get on a pretty small budget or may already have at home.  

I'm a big advocate of having lots of different options* and I'm not naive enough to believe or propose that you should ONLY EVER USE MY PRINTED BACKDROPS! :D For me, good food styling starts with a beautiful dish of food - everything else is purely framing - and using layers and texture is a big part of that for me.  So even though I often start with one of my backdrops when creating content, there will always be other elements and smaller surfaces to compose the shot and frame the hero. (UNLESS! I am creating content to sell the backdrop itself - then propping will be minimal to show the surface off!)

Styling surfaces come in all shapes and sizes, and if you're photographing food or other smallish still life cameos, it should be easy to find interesting, affordable backgrounds big enough for your needs.

Congratulations to Nicky Ryan who has won Octobers 3forFREE giveaway!

Nicky is a food, lifestyle and travel photographer based in Sydney Australia and entered with this stunning still life photo, shot on my Bridge photography backdrop.

Recent reports in the media about how much plastic is floating around in our oceans and the devastating effect it has on marine wildlife is heart breaking.  As a child, spending our summer holidays in St Mawes, Cornwall, my dad instilled in me and my sisters the practice of leaving a beach cleaner than when we arrived. Sometimes that meant taking an extra piece of litter home, other times it meant doing a full-on litter pick.  It wasn’t what we wanted to do as kids, but it has instilled in me an ethos that I have carried with me ever since; only take what you need and always respect nature.

Now I know many plastics are recyclable and I don't consider PVC evil in any way - it has it's uses - but I really don't have faith in the current recycling processes - clearly the UK government has not been acting respectfully, and at worst possibly just passing our rubbish and recycling on to other countries to deal with. Or not as it turns out.

So I have made the decision - at home and at work - to use as little plastic as possible.  I would like to be 100% plastic free but I can't see this happening for me at the moment and I think we can still bring change by voting with our money and putting pressure on our government, so I am committed to the following rules I've set myself -

This is a completely new business and product range for me so I'm really pleased to have this great feedback on what I had hoped would be (and is proving to be - thank god!)  a good solution to the needs of stylists and photographers on a lower budget or when quick fixes are required if you supply props for many different clients.

Another good sign is that we're already getting repeat orders - only in our second month of being in business - so that makes me very pleased too. Not only are people enjoying shooting with my photography backgrounds, but they're also coming back for more, giving me feedback, discussing opportunities and generally being part of our journey.  It's fabulous - thanks so much if you're one of those early advocates.

If you are on the fence as to whether these backdrops would be right for your photography, read on for genuine customer comments and click through to see how these guys are using their BVS backdrops on Instagram or their own websites.

It's sad to say goodbye to such an amazing summer, but

Autumn is awesome too.

I'm excited for more mushroom foraging, pumpkin-spiced lattes, crunchy walks, chestnuts, cosy (forgiving) fashion and all the rich colours the English autumn brings.

Here is my AUTUMN EDIT #1 to get you in the mood for some seasonal styling (and maybe for Netflix and comfort food). I've kept it quite colourful - as that seems to be my style - but also I don't want to go full on dark and wintery yet - Autumn can be bright and sunny and there's still lots of colour around - roses, dahlias, berries, garden apples - all make beautiful natural props before we resign ourselves to winter.

A very quick post to show you how well my printed backdrops stand up to commercial product photography and food styling.  I can't share too much until the clients release the content but maaaaaaaaaaaaan these colours look gorgeous!  

We shot Christmas, mothers day, cocktails, breakfast, bakes, valentines, fathers day, cinco de mayo and more for web and social media content, POS and packaging images.