Sue:
There are a few easy ways to get the black background in your photos. You can go to an art supply store and get black rolled paper. It is black all the way through, not just covered on front and back so when you tear it there is black showing. This is important because if you cut it you don't want a white edge showing (one way though is to use a black magic marker to cover up the cut or tear). Also try Photo Supply stores - such as a place that sells a LOT of cameras and specialty films - they cater to semi-pro and pro photographers. They carry a matte black totally non-reflective paper and also a matte black fabric that is used for a drape and it too is not reflective. Also remember - if you roll the paper/material into about a 5 to 8 inch cone it will help a lot in stoping reflections and if you are photographing glassware it will help define the edges of the glassware and show off the cut glass designs if any are present. The two rolled pieces would of course be just out of the photo or cropped out later. and if you are shooting north to south the rolls would be going in the oposite direction - east and west. And just the opposite for the other way. Actually there is no other way but you get what I mean. Sometimes it does help having the rolls going in the non conventional direction - that can be found by trial and error with a particular item.

The other way to go is check with a local Junior College or College where you live and speak with someone in the photography dept. They may even give you some materials to use.

Finally if there is a large newspaper or magazine in your area. Check with them - the art/advertising or Production dept. Many do the photo shoots for their advertising clients and they too would have the proper material. When I was working we used to have tons of that stuff to photograph all kinds of items. It comes in reds and blues and blacks, yellows, greens and a rainbow of other colors.

Kodak used to be the major marketer of this type of product however there are several others doing it today. And if you are doing digital photography the material you need is the same as film photography - it's the lighting and flash that cause the nasty reflections. Oh, and for those nasty white lint marks - canned air works ever so much better than picking it off the fabric.

One final tip - if you know anyone at your local newspaper and they still use sheet film - ask them for the protective boards that are packed in the box with the film. It is great for a rigid black background. In fact I have some that is a permanent part of my scanner. The white backing on the scanner top is now black because I applied one of those boards to it. It has no reflectance also when scanning.

Hope this helped, if not let me know and I'll dig deeper into the recesses and see what product info I can come up with.

Garry