How can I get the wrinkles out of my gigantic muslin backdrops?

They are all terribly wrinkles. Throwing them in the dryer didn't help. Any suggesitons? Also, doesn't photographing the subject FARTHER from the backdrop help blend the background better? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!How can I get the wrinkles out of my gigantic muslin backdrops?
Perki88 is right. When I was at Brooks Institute of Photography, I got screamed at because I returned a bunch of Muslin backdrops folded neatly in the bags to the Equipment department :)





I think the ';A'; clamps are key to bringing the wrinkles to manageable levels. Moving further from the background can help depending on your depth-of-field. The more important issue is your lighting. Don't place undiffused light where it will ';skim'; the background. This will greatly emphasize the wrinkles.How can I get the wrinkles out of my gigantic muslin backdrops?
If they were the 10 x 24 foot backgrounds, I would think you could hang it on your background stand in your bathroom and then run a hot shower until the room is nicely steamed up ... but you have gigantic ones.





They do make those handheld steaming devices that may be just what you need.





http://www.tobisteamer.com/intro.html





And yes, throwing the background out of focus by shooting the model at least four feet in front of the background will help when shooting tight head shots, but shooting full figure shots will be problematic
Our Muslins get wrinkled too... well, the inexpensive ones anyway. They seem to be on a lower quality, stiffer muslin. The more expensive ones always seem to come on softer muslin.





I wouldn't suggest washing it because color may fade or bleed. The best way would be to lay it out on the floor and iron it from the back (on the wrong side) on the proper setting or use a steamer. It will take some time, but the wrinkles will come out!





Good Luck!
I love the wrinkles and keep my muslin's in stuff bags to encourage them. On the scenic I will stretch them tightly with clips on the background support poles. I get large clips from Home Depot and use about 6. Hand held steamers are my last resort.