The best cheap backgrounds for food photography and social media flatlays. My secrets for faux marble, vinyl ‘wood’, baking sheets and more! All $25 or less.
I have gotten an overwhelming amount of positive responses to the flatlay and food photography tutorials that I share on Snapchat. You guys really like seeing what I use to create my food images and all of the fun flatlays I share on Instagram. Because you are obviously interested in the behind-the-scenes part of blogging, I thought I would turn it into a series right here! It will be nice to have a permanent home for all of the things I’ve learned over the years.
I wanted to kick things off by sharing some of the backgrounds I use almost daily for food photography and also for flatlay shots on Instagram.The most expensive background I use regularly is $25 and many are FREE! Also, you’re not sure what a flatlay is, it’s those fun overhead shots of things arranged beautifully that are so common on social media.
Cheap Backgrounds for Food Photography
DIY Faux Marble Photography Background
One of my favorite photography backgrounds, faux marble, was only $10. I took a plain foam core board and covered it with faux marble contact paper. It’s the most realistic marble surface that I’ve worked with, and I actually own the fancy Sur la Table marble slab that every blogger on the planet has. I’ve also tried a faux marble vinyl shooting surface made specially for food photography and the contact paper was still better.
White Posterboard as a Photography Background
I also love white poster board. They are a dollar at my local drugstore, meaning I don’t have to feel guilty if I stain them with food. This one ended up with frosting and grease spots, but it didn’t matter! The matte finish means light is distributed evenly and they also double as great homemade light bounces (reflectors).
Distressed Metal Shooting Surface
I rescued an old drip pan used for automotive work from the trash and it’s turned into one of my most beloved shooting surfaces. I just have to remind myself that it’s not food safe! This is the exact one that I have, but obviously some nice stranger did all of the hard work distressing it for me.
Apologies, because I know it’s frustrating to hear about props that are one-of-a-kind, but let me say this. Keep your eyes open for potential props in even the most unlikely places and eventually you will stumble upon a gem too!
Vintage Baking Sheets for Food Photography
Old baking sheets make amazing shooting surfaces. You can often find them for a few bucks. The more banged up the better. You can also make them even more interesting by spilling things on them and baking them at high heat. Olive oil is a good one.
Salvaged Wood Photography Background
This piece of wood is another gem I picked up along the side of the street. I’m not exactly sure what type of wood it is, but it’s awesome because it mimics boards of wood but they are actually all connected into one sheet that is fairly lightweight. I painted it with two coats of primer and voila – a beautiful shooting surface that was free.
Linen Towels as a Photography Background
A linen towel gives a little texture and can make a great food photography background. Fair disclosure, there are many people that use linens as props well and make it look effortless, but I am not one of them. I find that I spend a lot of time editing later to make the color more even. That being said, towels are cheap and it’s worth a try to see if they fit into your photography style!
Vinyl Faux Wood Photography Background
My last favorite is vinyl faux painted wood background you see in the photo above. It’s the most expensive of my cheap background options, but still a great value at $25. I love that it rolls up and can be tucked away when not in use.
What are your thoughts? What shooting surfaces do you love?
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That’s so cool, thanks for sharing your behind-the-scenes process Kelly! These are my favorite kind of posts.
I have marble contact paper, it indeed looks very realistic! And my recent background affair is tiles from Home Depot 🙂
P.S. Some links for etsy stores don’t show the products.
Yay! I’m glad you liked it! I just double checked the Etsy links and they work for me, but just in case the store that I use is Ink & Elm.
These are so awesome. I don’t do a ton of food photography but these are great for many different types of posts. I have an old fence that blew down and I use that pretty regularly. I have also used a chalkboard.
I wanted the marble slab but now I think I will go get some contact paper. THX
I’m so glad this was helpful! I love the idea of an old fence. I see that sort of thing out and about all the time and it’s all I can do to not run away with someone’s fence! 🙂
This was so helpful! These backdrops are great for food but I also think they’d be great for beauty posts as well! Definitely going to use these for my blog, thanks!!!
Agreed! I use them for cosmetic flatlays all the time (as I’m sure you can tell from the photos above).
Thanks for the tips! I was just wondering about those faux wood vinyls and if they work well. I think I may invest in some.
I really love them and they are so easy to store!
I’m so happy I came across this post! I’m always looking at other bloggers photos wondering how on earth they take such great photos! I’m hoping some of these tricks will help mine 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Hooray! I’m so glad it was helpful. I’m planning a couple more to come soon!
Thankyou this is so helpful! Definitely using some of these tips on my blog.
You’re welcome!
Thankyou this is so helpful! Definitely using some of these ideas for my blog!
Awesome, so glad to hear that!
So happy to find the tip for the marble surface! I need one for a shoot and I was on the search for a simple, light option.
Yay! So happy it was helpful! It’s pretty great that the best option is also the cheapest, right?
Love, love, LOVE your ideas and your photography. You are truly talented. You have mastered everything I struggle with lol. I have an issue with the “backdrop” blending with the shooting surface. And lighting of course, is hit and miss. Any suggestions? Thanks a bunch! PS. My distressed baking sheet NEVER looks as good as yours does. 😉
Thank you, you’re so sweet! Natural light is best, often the problem is too much light, so hanging a sheer white curtain to filter the light could help. I use a tri-fold poster board for most of my shots with a backdrop but honestly I struggle with it too so I mostly just shoot from overhead or the side with a long enough shooting surface that you don’t need a backdrop. Hope that helps!
How do you handle the seams on the backdrop you make with contact paper? I have several vinyl ones but on some, especially the marble, you can see the texture of the vinyl; it’s not perfectly smooth. Thanks!
I either strategically place things over it or fix it in photoshop with the spot healing brush.
Yes, that makes sense! After I posted the comment I remembered the spot healing brush, also available in Mac’s Photo app.
Great post! I love how candid you are about you will and won’t do ? Linen def has it’s time and place. This inspired me to finally answer some questions for my readers as well…thank you!! ❤️❤️
Awesome! That’s great!
Happy to come across this post as I have been looking for new background ideas for my jewelry photography! Thank you!!
Hooray! So glad it was helpful!
Great ideas. My favorite is finding the wood on the street.
Agreed! Obviously something you can’t plan for but when it works out it’s amazing!
Wow! This helped me tremendously. Headed to the dollar store, habitat restore, and craft store! Thank you so much!
That makes me so happy! Make sure you tag me in your new photos! 🙂
Will do! And I love your blog, added to my list to check out regularly! Happy holidays!
That’s awesome! Happy holidays to you too!
Thank you SO much for this post!!
No problem! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This article was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you! Do you have any tips or favorite places for finding cheap but interesting dishes or props?
Awesome! I talk about a lot of my favorite places for props here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hX2p9pA23I. I like antique stores in small towns that aren’t super touristy, H&M, Target and Goodwill (especially in nice neighborhoods).
So glad I found your post! For Ink & Elm, what do you recommend for the best size for food photography? 2 ft x 3 ft? Thank you!!
I usually buy the biggest rectangle size of any backdrop! I find the squares I don’t use the space because my camera shoots rectangle and everything I post is rectangular!