DIY Photography Boards

Soo one issue I've been having with my photography is the lack of backgrounds to style my food on.  I find myself using the same old cutting boards or simply using the floor of my deck to capture each shot.  I just adore all the amazing photography I see on sites such as Tartelette, Cannelle et Vanille and so many others, so I knew I needed to start somewhere.  Of course I'd love to find the time to scour antique shops looking for rustic tables or pieces of wood, but that can't get pretty pricy, so I decided to just go ahead and make my own!
 

To begin, I started off by collecting a few wooden skids that my boyfriend's uncle had saved for me from his work.  We then pulled the wooden boards off (some were weathered and distressed which made them even better!) and we sanded them down to avoid splinters.  Two by fours would work great too, just go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and they can cut them in half for you right there!

Then once you have your boards, decide what colors you want them to be.  I knew I definitely wanted some white and turquoise backgrounds so I went to Home Depot and asked for the test size paint samples, which is more than enough for what you'll need to paint.

And did I mention they're only $3.00.
Score.     

I also chose to buy cheap disposable foam brushes (only $0.87 each) to use on the wood, but if you have old rollers or even paint brushes already those should work just fine.  You'll also want to buy a trim tray (you can get a pack of 3 for $3.97) to pour some of the paint in and then about a tablespoon of water, or more if necessary, just to water the paint down a bit to give the wood a more rustic look.  This makes the paint thinner and easier to manage.

Then just get a bit of paint on your foam brush and make one long stroke down the board.  Do this a few times until you get the look you want (I like that you can still see some of the brown in it) and then take a paper towel and wipe down the board.  This helps blend the paint and makes the wood look more weathered.

For the white background, I chose to just paint the whole thing white, nothing fancy or watered down.  I also found this fabulous "crackle" paint by Martha Stewart which gave the wood an older feel, just make sure to put a sealer on first!

OH and I absolutely fell in love with this textured metallic paint by Martha Stewart!  It's a bit more expensive, around $6.98, but totally worth it in my opinion.  It's a black paint with some shimmer to it that I just think will look fabulous in photos.  The picture below just doesn't do justice!

And that's it!  Sooo simple and super cheap!  You could always get fancy and nail the boards together, but I am in NO way a carpenter and decided for my pictures that I would just put the boards together whenever I needed to use them as a background.  And to save costs, paint one color on one side and use the other side for another color!

Easy peasy.

To help y'all out, here's a list of things you'll need:

• Wooden boards - free/$2.45 each
• Test paint samples - $3.00 each
• Foam brushes - $0.87 each
• 3-pack of trim trays - $3.97

Total: $22.93!

 

And that's if you actually pay for the wooden boards.  No need to be fancy, you can find pieces of wood anywhere, trust me!

Voila!

Hope this helps anyone wanting to make their own photography boards!  I'm obviously not a professional by any means and only decided to do what works for me, but I sure am excited to start using them in photos!  Can't wait to show you all how they look!