I mean, we’re all like “perfect MOC builders,” right? We know that if the photography is done right, our LEGO creations are gonna knock people’s socks off. So the first thing we need to produce a banger of an Instagram post is a quality camera. And it just so happens that these days, everyone has professional-level cameras built into their little pocket phone slabs. Great, problem one out of the way.
Next, it goes without saying that we know how to artfully frame an eye-catching angle for our aforementioned perfect MOC. Heck, it’s that mental image we were building the darn thing to achieve. So what’s left? Ok lighting: I think this is actually the worst typical offender in MOC photography, but for the sake of the carefully crafted scenario which is the premise of this article, we shall assume we have top-tier lighting capability to equal Ed Harris’s god-like environment manipulation in The Truman Show.
That leaves one big thing: the elusive, perfect, clean background. Let’s face it, the beige colored orange-peel-texture wall and intersection against a carpet or wood floor is a less than ideal plate to serve our delicious MOC upon. So what do we do?
Some Typical Backdrop Options
Duh, we say, we’ll just use a convenient pop-up photo booth! Well, shucks… though these seem relatively affordable, and we’ve heard good things… it turns out OUR MOC is too tall or wide to fit in a little booth.
Ok, we’ll hang up a sheet! D’oh, it’s wrinkly and hard to keep flat and unobtrusive.
How about poster board? Meh, visible transitions from panel to panel are just downright annoying.
Fine, we’ll get a large paper roll and uh… pin it to something or hang it up somewhere. K, we’re getting warm here, but not quite there. What do we stick it to, the wall? Do we leave it there to be bumped up against as we go by? Dogs walking on it, and all that? Do I have to take it down between every photo session? Yuck, nope.
As an improvement from the monstrosity pictured above, for many years, I had paper rolls taped to a half-raised ping pong table, which worked well enough… except that it was a pain to move or swap to a new color, and it got beat up over time as I built on top of it.
Well darnit, none of those options are scratching the itch are they. Let’s go back to the basics and like a good engineer we’ll write out our requirements!
Nerding Out on Requirements
Excepting those BrickNerd readers who have room for a permanent large-scale photo booth (ya lucky bums)… I've devised a wishlist below for a LEGO photography backdrop solution (add or subtract items where needed to fit your own individual scenario):
As big as possible - let’s face it, we’ve all been there when a MOC is just too big to use your current backdrop solution and that’s a pain in the butt.
The ability to set up the backdrop when we want it and take it down when we don’t want it, and the procedure is quick and easy to do with one person.
The ability to change backdrop color easily.
A smooth surface not prone to shadows or gradations.
A gentle curve as the backdrop transitions from vertical (behind the MOC) to horizontal (under the MOC) so there are no jarring visible interruptions.
Ideally, it is something that can be easily stowed out of the way day to day since storage in LEGO workshops is at a premium.
Affordable.
The ability to swap out backdrop material if and when it is damaged, dirty or worn out
Well lucky for everyone who has this burning need, I have found a solution that checks all the boxes (depending on your definition of “affordable”), and I’m here to share it with you! This is a DIY LEGO MOC photography backdrop solution, and I’ll walk you through how it works, how to set it up, and where to find the components needed.
The Solution
Cutting right to the chase, my solution is a multi-roller system that can mount to a wall or ceiling, and holds three rolls of paper which can be quickly winched up and down using side pulleys.
It’s so wonderfully easy to lower and raise the sheets of paper when it’s photo time, and when stowed the whole thing sits overhead in otherwise unused space! Alrighty, what all does one need to put this system together?
Note: I’d better lead with the caveat that you’ll need a dedicated space where barnacling something onto the wall/ceiling is acceptable. You'll also need permission to do it, I’d imagine drilling some decent holes and attaching boards is less popular in rented domiciles. Plus, you'll need to own or borrow some basic hand and power tools and know how to use them safely and properly.
Anywho, first and foremost is the paper roller system: this is an easy to source product on Amazon or other vendors that hawk photography equipment. This is the one I purchased for about $100 at Amazon:
NEEWER Photography 3 Roller Wall Mounting Manual Background Support System with 2 x Tri Fold Hook, 6 x Expand Bar, 3 x Chain, Load Capacity per Roller: 22lb/10kg
Next up is a capable mounting system to hold all this weight. Safety first my friends! Nobody wants to rip holes in weak drywall or plaster and injure someone as the whole rig comes down in a heap of paper and plaster dust. This is assuming your wall or ceiling studs don’t line up perfectly where you want your roller system brackets. So you’re gonna need something that bridges between the studs and the brackets. One method, and the one I chose, is to first install stout wood boards to your wall/ceiling studs then mount the roller system brackets onto the boards.
I’d suggest acquiring decently long boards to give you flexibility in your mounting options. I went with roughly 6’ x 10” and 1” thick (I can’t recall the price from at my local Dunn Lumber store).
Great, now you have the roller system mounted to the ceiling… how do you get the paper on it? You might get lucky and find paper rolls with the proper inner diameter that fit over the mounting hardware of the roller system… but I wasn’t so lucky. So I purchased PVC pipes, and I transferred the paper rolls from their cardboard inner roll onto the PVC. PVC is strong enough for the long span I am using, and it supports the widest typical paper I can find on Amazon. I’ll admit the process of transferring the paper onto the PVC pipe is not super fast or easy. Shucks, nothing is perfect, eh? But if you buy a pretty long roll, you can tear off the bottom as it gets ratty and just keep rolling more out for a while until the whole roll runs out. And though it’s a pain, I don’t think you’d need to swap out paper rolls often.
Make sure the PVC is long enough to accommodate the widest paper you expect to use, plus a little wiggle room. I think the big tubes were roughly $15 or $20 a pop (at Lowes)? It's not crazy money-wise, but it's not totally cheap either. They are 5’ long and 2” inner diameter:
The last thing I did, which is really up to any individual person, was tape a small PVC pipe to the end of the hanging paper so that it had a little heft and the paper would behave nicely as I winded it down. These were 5’ lengths of 1/2” inner diameter PVC tubes. Sadly, I have no recollection of the cost (also purchased at Lowes):
I’d better also share the paper I purchased! I haven’t used all of the colors I’ve bought yet, so no promises on perfection, but I’ve been happy with the ones I’ve used thus far. This is a 50’ long roll of 4’ wide paper ($23 - $31 at Amazon depending on sale pricing):
So far it’s working out great!
Here’s a recap of the essentials you need to make a DIY photography backdrop for LEGO MOCs:
Paper roller system (~$100 - should never need to buy another)
Mounting boards (~$20? - put ‘em up once and they should last forever)
PVC pipe (~$45 for three? - infinitely reusable)
Backdrop paper (~$75 for three - purchase other colors as needed)
Ok, that’s it for major components! You’ll also need painter’s tape or something similar, as well as screws for mounting the boards and a bunch of typical tools. I highly recommend using an impact driver for the screws insertion. Boy, what a life-changing tool that has been! As for fasteners, I used 2.5” outdoor wood screws with Torx heads. Finally, don’t skimp on the board thickness or the screw length and quantity, as each link in this chain needs to be strong.
Step-By-Step “How To” Directions to Build Your Backdrop
Now, for a grand tour of the entire process, let’s do this!
Note: FYI I’ll write this guide without differentiation for if you’re hanging on the wall or ceiling, it should all apply, but a wall mounting is likely a lot easier and should only need one mounting board. I’ll just say wall/ceiling and you pick which one you’re doing!
OPTIONAL STEP 0 - Paint the mounting boards to match your wall/ceiling
If you’re a perfectionist and less lazy than me you should probably paint your mounting boards to match your wall/ceiling color so it’s inconspicuous.
STEP 1 - Select mounting location of the roller system
Locate so that the paper hangs down just behind where you either have a table or can easily move one into place there.
Make sure the width between the brackets is enough for the PVC pipe (which should be wide enough for your paper plus margin) and a little extra for the roller hardware.
STEP 2 - Install the boards
Note: I’ll describe what I did, and I’ll share some lessons about this method at the end.
Locate the general area where the boards need to go to support the roller system spot you picked.
Determine the orientation and spacing of your wall/ceiling studs… “studs” aka structural boards, haha, NOT LEGO studs.
Ensure the boards will each span multiple studs to attach to.
Make sure there’s some wiggle room - i.e., the bracket locations aren’t planned to be right on the edge of a board, for instance.
Find the studs using a stud-finder, measure and mark the board location and then mark the screw locations on the ceiling. See the red lines I added to the photo below to get a sense of the pattern of studs in my ceiling.
Measure and mark the screw locations on the boards to match the fastener pattern you marked on the ceiling.
Drill holes in the boards (about the same diameter as the screw body minus the threads).
Get a friend or two and a second ladder for this step: Hold up the boards and mark through the holes where the exact screw holes need to be in the ceiling. Make sure they still line up near the center of the studs where you planned them to be. If you can’t get the fastener spots to line up well on the studs, you might want to drill new board holes. Can’t move those pesky wall/ceiling studs after all!
Drill holes in the wall/ceiling (about the same diameter as the screw body minus the threads).
Hold up the boards in place and drive in screws through the board holes and into the prepped holes in the ceiling panel/studs.
LESSON LEARNED: I found mounting the boards to be quite difficult, they are heavy which makes it especially hard to work overhead and ensuring the fastener pattern lines up through the boards into the ceiling was tough. I think what I should have done is attach the boards to the ceiling panel with a few screws which should be able to hold the board weight only, and then drill through both the board and the ceiling panel and into the studs all in one go to attach the load bearing screws. Either way, until the boards are at least attached with a couple screws you’ll need one or two helpers to hold em up while you work. However you do it, the mantra measure twice and cut (drill) once still applies, and careful planning and measurement is your best bet for success.
STEP 3 - Mount the roller system brackets
Re-calculate the exact width you want between the two brackets - it’s really important to ensure you have adequate width for the PVC tube plus the bit of extra width that the roller system tube holders take up between the brackets. A little extra width won’t hurt, but too little means you have to move a bracket as things just won’t fit.
Determine about where the two brackets should be on the boards, then measure and mark the first bracket spot. You can trace the outline of the bracket directly on the board as a helpful reference to locate the bracket on the other board later. Also, while you are holding it up, make marks on the board in the center of each fastener hole in the bracket.
Measure from the traced first bracket to the other board for the location of the second bracket. I found it difficult to ensure the brackets were perfectly in line. My best option was to measure the distance from the nearest wall so both matched.
Trace the bottom of this bracket, too if you wish, but all you really need to do on this one is to mark the fastener spots through the bracket screw holes onto the board.
Drill fastener holes for all the fasteners on both boards (about the same diameter as the screw body minus the threads).
Hold the brackets up and drive fasteners into the pre-drilled holes.
Can you feel it… we’re getting close, the hard work and heavy lifting is done!!
STEP 4 - Transfer your paper onto the PVC tube
My best advice is to spend the effort to align the paper to the tube as well as possible at first so it rolls up nicely. Tape the end of the paper onto the tube, and then start rolling.
STEP 5 - Insert the roll holders into your PVC tube and tighten them into the tube
No tips here! It is pretty straightforward.
STEP 6 - Hang the roll up on the brackets
I’d suggest you phone a friend for this, but if you have to, it’s doable to hang on your own by climbing a ladder, then levering out the far end away from you until you’re able to get it onto the bracket, then pop on the near side.
Tighten the roll holder to a reasonable degree so it has some friction and won’t just unspool on its own… but isn’t too hard to reel up and down later.
STEP 7 - Install the reel chain & counterweight
Not much to it, just choose how long you want it to be by adding or removing links!
STEP 8 - You’re Donesies!
Step back and revel in your ingenuity and handy nature, hot diggity you’re a rockstar! This looks so fancy, and how stinkin great will it be to lower down a backdrop in seconds when you next need a picture!
Conclusions
What do you think? Not so bad, eh? And since you paid serious attention to safety and robust mounting, this installation should stand the test of time and pay infinite dividends - yahoo! Just uh… don’t reorganize your room in such a way that this location doesn’t work anymore. However, if you chose long and wide mounting boards, that should give you some decent flexibility to move the system later if needed. Oh heck, if you really need to move it, just take it all down and repeat the steps above with the same parts you already have in another spot. Phew, you’re safe!
I’d be really curious to see what other people do or if you have another slick solution for versatile photo backdrops. I bet there are some uber-creative ideas out there in our BrickNerd readership—you AFOLs are seriously crafty peeps.
The last thing I’ll say is that I didn't mention photo editing in my list above, which certainly comes into play almost every time. However, there are those treasured moments when the raw photo is so good you don't even need to edit. Having the right conditions and a solid backdrop solution makes such a case all the more likely, so there’s the motivation! Make your LEGO look better than ever!
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and that some of you find value in my learnings. Let us know down below in the comments if you try this out or have a story about photo backdrops!
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