A Cheap Do It Yourself Photography Backdrop Stand for around 24 dollars

I've looked around on the net and found a bunch of articles about these cheap stands, so I figured I would write my own little article and tutorial on how to buy and construct one.

As I've mentioned in the articles title the component cost is very very cheap. I as able to buy all the parts for this frame for around $24 dollars at Home Depot. The canvas I bought to drape over the frame cost me another $24. If you wanted to purchase a professional light stand / canvas setup it would probably cost you around $300 dollars

Don't get me wrong - the professional setup will be more durable, easier to deploy and transport, and will probably last you longer... but if you just want to play around with some backdrops - $50 is practically free.

PVC Backdrop Stand

Items you'll need

  • Two 8ft PVC pipes of 1 inch in diameter ($2.80 each x 2 = $5.60)
  • Two 1 inch PVC T fittings ($1.50 each x 2 = $3.00)
  • A wooden closet coat hanger 7/8 of an inch, or 1" in diameter and 6 foot long. ($4.00)
  • A pair of 3/4" crutch rubber pad replacements (found at any Wallgreens or other pharmacy) $3.50
  • Some foam pipe insulation that fits the PVC pipe you buy ($3.50)
PVC Backdrop Stand

Assembly

The two PVC pipes are going to be your frame legs, and the coat hanger is the top piece. You use the T connectors to hook these three things together.

Since my coat hanger was a little thinner than the 1" diameter of the T-Connector, I used some electical tape to thicken it up.

Snap those cruch pads into the bottoms of the PVC pipes for some grip, and put the foat pipe insulation on the top of the frame so it wouldn't damage the walls when it leans back

That's it. Takes around half a minute to put together and costs anywhere from 20 to 30 dollars.

PVC Backdrop Stand

PVC Backdrop Stand

Alternative Construction

I spoke to Vaidas about my backdrop assembly and he made a pretty good suggestion - for a more durable / easier to trasport solutions the PVC pipes could be replaced with collapsable/extendable painters poles. They're usually very light, firm enough, and will cover the same height. The price goes up a little bit for a setup like that - but if you really need to collapse the frame so it's easier to transport it might be a better choice as opposed to the PVC. And you won't look like an idiot who's constantly having plumping / piping issues.