DIY TEXTURED PAPER BACKDROP ♡ OLIPHANT INSPIRED

Hello lovelies,

As you may or may not know, I have a bit of a thing about creating texture in my images. Yes, I was totally that kid thinking they were cool 6 years ago chucking all sorts of scratches and grungey-ness over my images. Cringe.

As I've grown up (and hopefully my photography has improved!) I'm still rather texture obsessed but in a more subtle way.

Like a lot of people, I pine over the beauty of Oliphant backdrops. You may have seen my painted poly-board V flats in this 'Behind The Scenes' blogpost. I really love shooting with these but since they are polystyrene, you can see the little holes and it's just not the same as a creamy soft canvas.

I really wanted to have an option without the holey texture but I've been browsing for suitable canvas for a while to no avail; I still might find some yet but the usual recommendation of canvas dust sheets are not easy to find here in the UK. Sigh.

I felt I was resigned to never being able to make my own softly textured backdrop and continued to potter about creating it in post- but then one day I wondered how backdrop paper would paint! I tore off a tiny corner, got some paint, water, and a sponge and really just dabbed with no direction and let it dry... it looked like it could work!

A few days later, I measured out some paper (enough for a tall model in heels and then some), lay down some plastic dust sheets and set to work.

I always feel like I've turned my wee living room into a scene from Dexter when I've covered it in plastic sheeting!



I just used what I had lying around; I wasn't sure if it would even work so I didn't want to waste too much. The little tester pots of paint were left over from painting the texture on my V flats so I thought I would use them up. I also thought the two shades of grey would blend well with the grey paper. They're just the second cheapest range in B&Q but they have a good thick texture and lovely colour density.

The sponges are just artist sponges from Hobbycraft but I forgot how tiny they are! The whole thing would have gone a lot quicker if I had bigger ones so I'll definitely get some for my next project! Do you know where I could get some big ones? If you could comment and let me know that would be grand! ♡



I watered down the paint considerably; I didn't work to a ratio or anything sensible like that. I just added until it was a water-y consistency but still rich in colour. I also hoped the inconsistent water to paint ratio would enhance the smudgey texture effect.

Note: the use of old Chinese take-out containers for mixing. How professional! 🙊



I was loving it; swishing, dabbing, and feeling like a painter. And yep, I'm holding each corner down with a candle! Really showing how much of a MacGyver job it was here, aren't I?

I made sure to add some extra clean water straight onto the paper as I was blending to hopefully smudge it all together beautifully and not have harsh lines or blocks of colour. 


Here is it just finished- I really don't know if it needed to be this wet but hey, I thought I'd err on the side of caution and just thoroughly soak it apparently! I set a fan down on the floor, making sure it wasn't blowing directly on the paint, but rather just above it, and let it dry. I wanted to make sure it was completely dry before I moved it so I waited overnight.

I really do love the result. It could be softer, but trust me, when it had already taken an episode and a half of Criminal Minds, I was ready to just be finished! Sooo I think I got a little slapdash towards the end.


I thought it was going to look good in camera but unusually for me, I didn't rush to photograph it immediately. I waited until my shoot with the ever fantastic ladies Grace Arthur and Steph M Artistry to try it out and I was absolutely SMITTEN with the results!

Here is a little sneak peek of some of the images from that shoot! The background hasn't been touched in post at all. Infact, there is just some skin retouching and colour toning, that's it! So so so pleased with them. I hope you guys love them too!