How to Construct Your Own High-Quality V-Flats for Studio Photography

Who's ready to go to Home Depot and undertake an easy weekend DIY project to improve your studio work? This helpful video will show you how to construct your own v-flats, a highly useful and versatile (and cheap) tool every studio photographer should have.

Coming to you from Felix Kunze, this helpful video will show you the step-by-step process for constructing your own v-flats. If you haven't seen them before, v-flats are just black and white pieces of foamcore taped together so they bend to form a "V" shape (they're aptly named for sure). They're highly useful in studio work, as the black side can be used to flag light or add contrast to a subject, while the white side can be used as a bounce. They can also serve as backdrops quite effectively. They're also light and highly maneuverable. The only reason they stay in the studio is because they blow over easily (when I was in a dance theater, they would often fall over if I simply ran by them too quickly). Nonetheless, if you have a dedicated studio space, having two or three of these around is tremendously helpful. Just a note: the 48" x 96" pieces of foamcore are a good size to use. Give it a try!

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

Log in or register to post comments
12 Comments

Take 2 sheets of 4'x'8 foamcore and lay them flat on the floor to make a 8'x8' square, run a single 2" gaf strip down the entire center seam. Pick up and fold together and lay a single strip of gaf tape down the length of the spine. It takes 1 minute and doesn't fall apart until you destroy it. I've never needed to use spray mount to get gaf tape to stick...

I will have to try this. I've never thought of folding it the other way. I've always put it taught thinking there would be less sheering force on the gaffers.

Really? There is a video tutorial on how to make a V-Flat? What’s next? How to fold a sheet of paper? Some of these how-to’s are really stretching...

There's no need to be condescending. Some people aren't as handy as others or may not realize how easy it is to do instead of spending money at a specialty supply.

I understand not everyone is a handy man. I was merely questioning the merit of creating a video to assemble such an elementary product as two pieces of foam core held together by a piece of tape. I would only think that any photographer who has graduated to the point of studio shooting on a regular basis would accrue enough experience to know this. Remember, we live in an age of content overload. Not every article (or video) warrants exposure. Just my 2 cents.

true, was about to spend some money to get a v-flat (new to portraits) until I bumped into this video. now I know how to make my very own version of v-flat

Where can you get boards that are black on one side and white on the other? I have done a couple of searches and seem to find boards that are either black or white.

I've found them at different art supply stores, and also here in Seattle our local camera shop has them in the lighting section (granted it's a good sized place with a considerable inventory of rental gear).

Alternatively, if you absolutely cannot find them, I've had luck using either regular white foam core or the cheap insulation boards from Home Depot and just taping black paper to one side and leaving the other side white. I figured it was worth some of a roll of black seamless.

*edited to add: if you use the thicker insulation boards from the hardware store, you can just paint one side black if cutting & taping paper is too much of a pain in the butt. I highly do not recommend painting foam core or thin insulation board though, it will warp every time.

Thanks for the info.

So this might sound ridiculous but you can make a pretty huge Vflat for under $5. Instead of foam core, use thermocol sheets (I hope they are not the same things in your region). Where I live, these sheets (2x4ft) cost about ₹25. So you can basically get 3 sheets for $1. All you need to make a good Vflat is 6 of these sheets ($2). Get some colour paper (chart paper). Where I live you can get about 10-12 sheets of this really good thick paper for about $1. These are almost the same size as the thermocol sheets. Get 8-10 of these of black colour. Get some pins that can be used to bind the thermocol together. Some glue (diluted). Some more pins. Now, use glue to stick these sheets of thermocol together n then use pins to close the gaps. Now, cut these pins using a cutter (pretty easy actually) n use tape (transparent one) to finish the binding after the glue dries. Tape gives you the flexibility to bend the Vflat. Now, your base is ready. A white wall of thermocol than can bend. Remember those chart papers we talked about? Well, they are available in all types of colours. Even textured ones are available. Get as many colours and textures you like. Just make sure you buy enough sheets of one colour or texture to cover the surface of your wall. Now, using board pins or any simple pins, you can push these sheets into the Vflat and change it's colour anytime you like. To change the colour again, simply remove the pins and the sheets will come off. Now stick another colour or texture sheets. This is so cheap and yet so damn good.
Pro tip: if you want your vflat to become more sturdy, just use more sheets but this time, stick them to each other via their surface facing each other. So basically a 1/2cm sheet now turns into a 1cm sheet because you used 2 of them. You can use as many as you like to increase the thickness n durability. The main benefit of this type of Vflat is the easy with which you can change the colours on it. This is also very useful if you by chance spill something on your vflat during say a product shoot splashing liquid on it. You can easily just change the paper by removing the pins. Since thermocol is water resistant, it doesn't get any damages. The benefits and the cost is so tempting! I have 3 of these of about 8x12ft each. I use one as my backdrop with whatever texture or Colors I want. N I use others as my reflectors or flags. I made them thick by using extra layers of sheets. All 3 of these (including all the glue, pins, 5 different colour papers, 3 different texture papers, and transparent tape) cost me about ₹1000. That's about $15.