Have you wondered what’s common among those breathtaking pictures on Pinterest and Instagram? While they all have a remarkable subject in the foreground, they also have an absolutely eye catching backdrop. A great backdrop highlights the subject and adds character to the photo. For many people, it also creates brand consistency, since it gives them a particular background to use over and over again.

If you are looking for some awesome background ideas to make your photos stand out on Instagram, Pinterest or your blog, we have you covered today. And guess what? They’re all under $30! 

Foam boards

This is the easiest way to create a clean white background for your photos. The best part? You can pick these up for less than $5 at Michael’s or your local craft store. These are very light, so you can easily move them around based on where your light source is. You can also use these in different colors to spruce up your pictures. This set of 10 foam boards in different colors on amazon is a great deal!

Works great for: minimalistic or bright white photos.

Hint hint: Wanna learn how to grow your Instagram followers with purpose?

Download my snazzy, FREE workbook and I’ll share my growth tracker, inspiring prompts to get ya thinking about your Insta’s vision and purpose, and strategies on finding better, killer hashtags. You know you want it. 🙂 Click the link below to grab the workbook!

Vintage and textured fabrics

(photo source)

I love the airy feel and the lovely texture that fabrics add to photos. You can use old curtains, scarves, hand towels, muslin cloth, white sheets – you name it. Just lay down a piece of fabric, place your subject over it and click away.

Fabrics offer a lot of texture, color, and pattern to photos, which makes them pop. It also makes your photos more memorable and unique. You already have all these in your house, dig them out!

Works great for: rustic- or vintage-inspired photos and food photography.

Paper Goods

I have seen so many pretty Instagram photos which use paper as a photo background. Check out some pretty wrapping paper at your local craft store or just print out some amazing digital patterns on your printer. Also, if you love color, then using big pieces of colorful paper (or following our colorful backdrop tutorial here!), will give you nice pops of color to add to your photos.

Pro tip: choose colors that match the branding of your website for fluid brand consistency. One of our favorite sites for colorful paper backgrounds is Color-aid, which offers TONS of color choices that will match your brand colors really well. 

Works great for: designers, bloggers, and anyone who loves quirky/colorful backgrounds.

Distressed Wooden boards / Table Tops

(photo source)

I first came across these while I was staring at food photos on Instagram. I love the rustic texture that wooden backgrounds add to photos. If you have a wooden table in your house, you can make complete use of that, too. But if not, don’t worry! You can find a distressed wood tutorial that I wrote right here. Creating a background like this will also certainly help you create a more consistent and memorable brand, since it’s not something that many other people do…you’ll stand out!

Works great for: food photography, beauty bloggers, and rustic-inspired photos.

Textured Vinyl backgrounds

If you are not one for DIY and want an easy fix, you can purchase vinyl backdrops or contact paper. They are available in different colors and textures and provide you with a lot of choices, from wooden textures to marble! This Etsy shop specializes in making a variety of photography backgrounds that would look great with blog photography. You can also find a lot of options for contact paper (including marble — pretty!) on amazon here.

Works great for: just about anyone! You can find vinyl and contact paper backgrounds to suit just about any style.

What are your go-to backgrounds for blog photos? Will you be adding any of these to your blog photography arsenal? 

And don’t forget to grab your free Instagram workbook below. 😉