Has anyone built a high key wall sweep in their studio? What did you use to do this? Any advice?

Thanks we are hoping to build one soon.
Thanks

http://www.opensourcephoto.net/forum/index...=white+seamless

Zack knows how to build one without building one.

To be honest, unless you plan on doing a lot of large product photography or the majority of your portrait work entails solid colored backgrounds, you'd be better off going with 9' seamless paper. Less mess (don't have to paint it every time it's scuffed or you want a different color). Less space (a cyc is a lot bigger than two light stands, a closet dowel and a roll of seamless).

With that said, here's how to build a cyc--

(I don't have one now but have built them)

Build a frame with 3/4" (or thicker) plywood and studs. Cut the cyc (curved part) in the sheets of plywood and place studs in between the pieces of plywood (plywood ribs should be 12" apart) for support. Fix the frame to the floor with nails or screws or bolts. If you have concrete floors you can fix the frame to the floor with a .22 ramset (very cheap at Home Depot).

You can make the curved surface out of thin plywood or thin drywall. You can try masonite, but might have a tough time in the long run with the plaster permanently adhering to it (might want to primer it first?) Drywall might be a PITA if you've never done this before (you have to get it wet). Whatever you use, fix it to the frame with screws. Do not use nails for this!

Cover the surface with plaster to mask screws & create a smooth transition between curve and vertical wall (use drywall tape/fabric for that part).

Prime and paint whatever color you want.

Good luck!

Calumet sells parts for Cycloramas... but honestly they're WAY too expensive to build unless you plan on doing TONS of really high-end work. 9' seamless paper is incredibly versatile and is used in many of the high-end studios to this day.

or if you just have a ton of money to spend, build a cyc wall.

Seamless paper is really neat. Usually you can get it for 50-60 a roll, and it lasts quite awhile. I try to set up a light that will shoot behind the subject to blow out the white

Gav

I didn't build mine in my studio- but the previous owner did and He just used masonite- didn't do a frame or anything, just plaster, and smoothed out the lip to make it seemless to the floor and wall. I love it. It cleans up really nicely and I only have to paint it about once a year. (and even then- I've onlt repainted the back wall once, it's just the floor that needed to be redone. I'm moving to a new space and it will be greatly missed. I think I'll probably have to build one in my new space

In researching cyc wall construction I found this thread in google!

We are currently building a cyc in our new studio. It will be 19' wide by 23' long by 12' high. I'm going to be talking about the process on my blog in the coming weeks. The first load of lumber showed up today!

I'm trying to decide on the radius of the cyc right now. That is how much it curves from floor to wall.

Cheers,
Zack

My friend built one. She built the cyc, then used linolium on top of it. She got cheep stuff, and put it on BACKWARDS, so the part that you would normally see on the floor was turned under, and you saw the backing. Then she bought special paint. She tried cheep paint first, but it wasn't hard enough. She had to get something special... but I don't know what it was. Another phtotographer told her how to do this.