I finally got the chance to try out the Lastolite Urban Background and wow what a piece of kit it is. I have been using seamless paper but not a fan of the whole set-up – it took too long and took up way too much space – not good for clients on both counts. I recently did a shoot in a forest and needed a portrait with the seamless… it was like a sail, the wind blew everything, not very practical and not professional in front of the client. Let me tell you, I wish I had gone to the ‘Pop-Up’ version years ago – ditch your seamless and you will thank me forever – hello ‘Pop Up’.

Takes minutes to set-up, actually no, ten seconds and five of those is taking it out the bag. It pops open like a reflector then just lean it against a wall and thats it! You can buy a magnetic arm that goes on a light stand to hold it up to, but a wall is good. Place your lights, and your good to go. The realism is amazing, it really looks like a wooden fence and on the other side is brickwork. Lastolite do a whole range of different styles with two different sides. I just love that there is less shadow from lights as the material just soaks it in compared to seamless which gives horrendous unwanted shadows. Great for indoor and outdoor and very compact for travelling. I really recommend the Lastolite Urban Backgrounds but you might want to practice collapsing it a few times before on a client shoot, that could be embarrassing as it can be a little tricky.