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JASON BUFF

@jabu_studio

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Handpainted Canvas Backdrops
For photographers, film-makers & set designers
Custom orders & ready-to-buy
Made in the UK, shipped worldwide

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Dzitya, Yucatán 2024
www.instagram.com/jabu_studio

Lighting: @westcottlighting
Makeup: @cocomakeupstudio_
Model: @preciousjewelry by @jabu_studio

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5 months ago

That soft directional lighting is creating the most delicate shadow play across this hand-painted backdrop turning those muted neutral brushstrokes into living dimension - watch how light sculpts gentle shadows on the wooden floorboards and lets texture breathe across that canvas instead of flattening everything into boring uniformity. The photographer positioned the light source to wrap around her beautifully so that light green blouse with subtle ruffles gets highlighted while controlled shadows add depth to her relaxed forward lean with chin resting on hand, proving that one quality diffused source beats a dozen strobes when you actually understand what shadows contribute to mood instead of treating darkness like the enemy.

This rustic chair setup is genius because that vintage design plus the additional chairs slightly out of focus in negative space creates compositional balance that guides your eye straight to her thoughtful expression and elegant dark denim pairing without feeling like staged furniture catalog nonsense. Her pose reads authentically contemplative with that relaxed yet poised energy where confidence meets introspection, and the hand-painted backdrop in those warm earthy tones provides textured artistry that contrasts her smooth features while staying neutral enough to let her stand out as the undeniable focal point instead of fighting for attention like some desperate painted screamer.

The way this lighting enhances rather than overpowers shows serious restraint - those gentle highlights and shadow interplay add cozy intimate ambiance while letting craftsmanship of both backdrop texture and her refined styling tell the story together as a cohesive visual experience.

When shooting seated portraits do you embrace vintage props and multiple furniture pieces for compositional depth or keep it minimal because one chair is all the story needs?

Photo by @freddy_billqvist

#portraitphotography #handpaintedbackdrop #softlighting #studiobackdrop #vintagefurniture by @jabu_studio

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8 months ago

We talk about production design quite a bit here, and how you can use our backdrops to transport your shooting space to 'somewhere else'. Well, here's a great example of that — @jonnycreative has created a 'room with a room' using a set of our pale blue backdrops. So if you're shooting from your kitchen, living room or some other space in your home, you can make a studio very easily. Contact us to have us make a set of drops like this!

#canvasbackdrops #modelportrait #studioshoot #paintedcanvasbackdrop #canvasbackdrop #handpaintedbackdrop #fineartportrait #paintedbackground #studiolighting #painterlyphotos #photographybackdrops #paintedcanvas #portraitshooting #photographystudio #studiophotoshoot #creativeportrait #studioshot #handmadeuk #photographybackdrop #colorpalette #texturesandtones #portraitsdaily #editorialphotography #handpaintedbackdrops #portraitsession #artofportraitphotography #portraiturephotography #studioportrait #creativephotoshoot by @jabu_studio

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2 years ago

Two light grey canvases, the same dress form in front of each. The first is Rose Grey and the second is Mist Grey. Rose Grey leans warm, a soft greige with a faint pinkish-beige cast. Mist Grey sits neutral to slightly cool, closer to pale stone.

The difference is subtle until you see them side by side, and it matters on skin. A warm grey keeps things gentle and goes nicely with ivory, blush and cream. A cooler grey looks cleaner, and it makes warm fabrics like that champagne tulle read a touch warmer by contrast.

Slides three and four show both canvases hung bare at full size, 180x270cm each, so you can see the whole spread of texture.

Warm grey or cool grey for your work?

#greybackdrop #portraitphotography #studiobackdrop #handpaintedbackdrop #newbornphotography by @jabu_studio

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17 hours ago

Magenta beads, silver crystals and a crown, all against a pale warm grey. The canvas behind her had the easiest job in the building: stand still and look plain. Nailed it.

It's the right call behind this much sparkle. The pink comes straight forward, her black hair and deep brown skin are the darkest things in the frame, and nothing behind her fights the crystals. The pose helps too. Hands on hips with the elbows out builds a strong triangle, and that grin is all hers.

Every crown shoot comes with a bag of hair grips and one person whose entire job is keeping it level. Unsung heroes, the lot of them.

Plain grey or bold colour behind a gown like this?

Photo by @phil_lynam

#pageantphotography #portraitphotography #greybackdrop #studiobackdrop #handpaintedbackdrop by @jabu_studio

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2 days ago

Ivory pearls and champagne tulle on a deep garnet red. Red is the obvious pick for Christmas minis, but a bright pillar-box red can end up looking like a shop window. This one is muted and slightly brown-leaning, with lighter rose and darker oxblood patches through it, so it reads warm rather than loud.

It's our smallest size, 100x135cm, and in slide two you can see the whole canvas hanging from one wooden pole on a stand. That covers head-and-shoulders portraits, children, pets and product shots. For a day of back-to-back short sessions, a backdrop that small is easy to live with.

Cream, white, black and gold all sit well on red. And slide three is the back of the same canvas: cream with the red soaking through, for families who'd rather go light.

Red or cream for your Christmas minis?

#christmasminis #christmasphotoshoot #redbackdrop #portraitphotography #handpaintedbackdrop by @jabu_studio

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3 days ago

Charcoal canvas, black twists, black lace shirt. Nearly everything in this frame is dark, so the warm brown of his skin is the only real colour left, and that's exactly where your eye goes.

That's the quiet trick with a dark backdrop for low-key portraits. It doesn't need to be pitch black. This canvas is a slightly lighter slate grey on the left and drops to near black on the right, which puts a soft gradient behind his head instead of a flat void. To our eye the light reads like one soft source from the left, with the background left to fall away.

Trying low-key for the first time? Keep your light on the face and off the canvas. The further the backdrop sits from the light, the darker it goes.

One light or two for this look?

Photo by @mikewojcik.co.uk

#lowkeyportrait #portraitphotography #studiobackdrop #headshotphotography #handpaintedbackdrop by @jabu_studio

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4 days ago

Deep teal-green on the front, cream and pale sage on the back. Same canvas. Swipe through and you'll see the dress form stood in front of both sides.

This is how our canvases end up reversible. The paint soaks through as it dries, so the back comes out cream with the teal-green showing through in patches, heavier at the edges and lighter in the middle. It looks like weathered plaster, and no two backs are ever the same.

So one canvas gives you two very different backgrounds. The front is dark and quiet, good for moody low-key portraits, and ivory and cream jump straight off it. The back is light and busy, much closer to a textured fine-art look. Deep Sage is 180x270cm, so either side covers full length.

Dark front or textured back?

#reversiblebackdrop #handpaintedbackdrop #portraitphotography #studiobackdrop #greenbackdrop by @jabu_studio

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5 days ago

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15 days ago

Two backdrops, one frame. A turquoise canvas hangs in the middle and a chocolate-brown one fills both sides behind it, so the set has depth before a single prop goes in.

Then the props go in, and plenty of them: an ivy-wrapped stepladder, a birdcage, sunflowers and wisteria. The turquoise stays calm in the middle so her copper hair and the rust suede boots have somewhere clean to land. The painted crate on the left picks up the same turquoise, a neat bit of set dressing that ties the two sides together.

To our eye the light reads fairly soft and frontal, with leafy shadows in the top right that might be a gobo or a real plant. The team would know.

One backdrop or two layered?

Photo by @lrm_photostudio

#styledshoot #editorialphotography #handpaintedbackdrop #studiobackdrop #fineartportrait by @jabu_studio

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16 days ago

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16 days ago

Olive satin on an olive canvas. Matching the dress to the backdrop sounds like a way to lose the subject, but here it does the opposite. The tones are so close that the eye goes straight to what isn't green: her skin and the gold jewellery.

It holds together because the texture is low and the paint moves in broad, soft patches. A busy backdrop would fight a satin sheen. This one just lets the fabric catch the light.

The key reads like one big soft source high on camera left, with the right side sinking into darker olive. The flying panel of the dress drifts into that shadow, and it's what gives the frame its movement.

Tonal or contrast for maternity?

Photo by @tiannajwilliamsphotography

#maternityphotography #maternityshoot #handpaintedbackdrop #studiobackdrop #greenbackdrop by @jabu_studio

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18 days ago