Muslin musings

FiddlerMD

FiddlerMD

Well-known member
I recently bought a black muslin, having never used them before and while it worked for what I needed it for, i noticed that the material is pretty thin and if there is light behind it, it'll bleed through a bit - is this the case with the particular muslin I got or are they all like this?
 
When I first glanced at this title - I thought it said "Muslim Musings"
I figured it was going to get deleted right away.
:)


I think this might just be that case with the Muslin that you got.
What exactly are you trying to use the Muslin for?

If you're trying to use it to block light, you really need something heavier like Duvateen. If you were just using is as a backdrop - then it's just a matter of making sure you have enough light in front so as to not see any bleed through.

Then again, I don't really know what I"m talking about.
:thumbsup:
 
i got a black one for a black background but there was a window behind it and the scene was dimly lit .. luckily it was evening and the light from the window didnt hinder it too much
 
In the future I would work on blocking the window seperately - and not try to rely on the backdrop to do that for you. Duvateen can do the trick - or even some posterboard and gaff tape.... or even cheaper than that - aluminum foil.

just my thoughts.
 
Keep in mind, a lot of muslins out there are manufactured with still shooters in mind; us guys with our Nikons & Speedotrons would be shooting at, say, f16 at a 250th or 500th of a second... takes one hell of a window to blow through the background at those numbers! If I were shooting 2.8 at a 40th or so... that's another story.

Black foamcore behind the backdrop could be your friend in this case -- MC
 
I think it's the one you got. I've been looking at them on eBay, and lot of them seem to be rather thin. Look for something with an actual review of the quality or something with a foam backing. I still haven't bought one, btw. It's hard to sort through the crap, but I must if I wish to be cheap. :)
 
Muslin is thin--that's just the way it is. Especially if it's just dyed or raw. It gets a little body if it's painted--a mix of 1 part elmer's glue to 2 parts latex paint works pretty well for painting--it prevents the paint from cracking and gives the material a little more body. As Luis mentioned, Duvateen is useful if you want to block windows--it's much heavier (and expensive).
 
the window in question was floor to ceiling (about 10 feet high) and about 8 feet wide (several windows actually .. covered the whole wall), so aluminum foil really wasnt ideal :)
in any case .. like i said - it worked out fine - i just wanted to know if muslin is supposed to be this thin. guess so.
 
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