If there is one thing food photographers love, it’s a good DIY Background Tutorial. It’s easy to get burnt out and stuck in a creative rut with the same background as everyone else. I love my barn wood backgrounds, and even using foam core to give a nice clean white. But what happens when you want something in the middle? Something gray and more like cement? Enter the Faux Cement DIY Food Photography Background Tutorial!
Article first seen on our sister site ChaseStudioco.com
Food Photographers love a good hack! Even more so, we love a good bargain that results in great pictures. You can have all the right props, food, and the best styling, but if you put those items on the wrong background it can drastically change your vision and feel. Many food photographers have an arsenal of backgrounds, but ask any of them and there tend to be a few that they will gravitate towards more than others. This is a fantastic experiment to have with yourself if you are a new food photographer. Create a couple backgrounds, or purchase a couple backgrounds and see what ones you gravitate towards. Some backgrounds are going to show certain colors and foods better. Some will be easier to clean. Some are even easier when it comes to editing due to the way they bounce light. This one for example casts some great natural blues, even though I only used black and white paint, and that works for me since I prefer the look of natural light that tends to have a blue hue to it.
This DIY background consisted of things I had around the house. You can easily pick up these supplies at your local hardware, craft store, or through affiliate links here to Amazon.
Materials for DIY Faux Cement Background Include:
- 2 ft. x 3ft. piece of Sheet Metal
(or sheetrock, or other background material you have)
- At least 16oz. of DryDex Spackling Interior/Exterior
- Black Acrylic Paint
and White Acrylic Paint
- Paper Towels
- Foam Brush or Painter’s Brush
- Steel Wool Pad
(you may want to use this prior to spackling to rough up the sheet metal a bit if it’s new)
- Aleene’s Spray Acrylic Sealer Matte Finish 6oz
(I didn’t use this on the one in the tutorial but it certainly isn’t a bad idea to have the extra protection).
(or sheetrock, or other background material you have)
and 
(you may want to use this prior to spackling to rough up the sheet metal a bit if it’s new)
(I didn’t use this on the one in the tutorial but it certainly isn’t a bad idea to have the extra protection).
Directions for DIY Faux Cement Background Include:
- Rough up the Sheet Metal with a wool pad.
- Apply Spackling with mud tool in a thin, even spread. Add texture as you layer.
- Once dry, add colors of choice (black and white in this case). I started with a layer of solid grey. From there I layered on different shades of grey and white in a sponge like effect with paper towels.
- Allow to dry and add a layer of sealer if you choose.
View the Video Tutorial and Subscribe for other future Tutorials here.
That’s it! It’s really that simple and quick. There are so many options when it comes to creating your own background. You can change the actual material it’s done on and get an entirely different look. You could do this exact background tutorial multiple times but will see slightly different results due to the colors and mixing of colors used. The best part about it? If you don’t like it, just do it again! This is a great way to re-purpose old, tired backgrounds and save a bit of money in the process. If you loved this tutorial and want to see more, or get more of my tips and tricks, follow me on Instagram and sign up for the Newsletter.
That’s it! I love coming to you with tips, tricks, tutorials and direct education that makes it easy for you to understand how to take command of your camera and editing. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me or grab me on Facebook – you may even get a shout out!
