Pallet Photo Backdrop – DIY

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Our very first Christmas together Jamie built me a pallet headboard. It was pretty much the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. However, I am obsessed with anything that Jamie makes or that is made out of pallets. I immediately put it up and swore I was never going to use another headboard again. Well then I got married. And like they say there will be a lot of things you don’t agree on…pallets was one of those things in our marriage. 🙂

If you are a blogger or have children, finding the perfect photo backdrop is something that is always on your mind…and it’s kinda a big deal… having the perfect backdrop does wonders for your photos (and repins!). So Jamie was thrilled when I told him that these pallet headboards weren’t going anywhere…and…we were making more! Another great use for pallet headboards…photo backdrops!

We recently had my cousin come over to take pictures for the branding refresh of our website and our construction2style apparel. I wanted a backdrop that had a carpentry feel/wood theme and our headboards were great for backdrops for our shoot.

Today we are sharing with you how to build your own DIY pallet photo backdrop and/or a pallet headboard.

1. Find Pallets

A ton of businesses carry pallets, Home Depot, Menards, furniture stores, grocery stores, etc. You can call around to local businesses or just linger around the dumpsters. Some businesses even pay you to take their pallets believe it or not. Say what….?! Did you say pay me?!

2. Unassembled Pallets

Once you have found your pallets, the next step is to get the pallets apart, which can be extremely difficult at times. I had no idea how difficult it was to get a pallet apart without breaking it. Very carefully, we used a crowbar to disassemble the pallets. Some were so stuck together that we ended up just cutting it apart with a circular saw.

3. Lay Out Plan

Next step is to determine the look you want to achieve with your pallets. There are a lot of fun designs out there. We have went pretty simple and easy with both of the headboards we made and kept the pallets aligned vertically. For the darker headboard shown, Jamie added two pallet pieces to the top and then nailed on a ledge to the top of the headboard.

4. Build

You will need two longer pieces of wood for support and to attach the pallets to. These can be long pallet pieces or scarps, however, you just need to ensure that the pieces are long enough for your finished project.

For these shots of Greyson, we propped the backdrop up against the wall and then set a pallet down for the floor. You can also just leave the backdrop down on the ground and get some great shots of your subject on the pallet headboards.

5. Sand & Stain

The last step is to sand and if you decide to paint or stain and poly. Jamie stained the one he made for me with a dark walnut stain and finished it with poly. And for the one with G, we just left it raw, gives it more of a rustic feel.