As for the backdrops, I actually just used two flexible binders that I found around the house. I would really love to just find a large black piece of cloth that I can use for my backdrops.
No, the shadow on the apple is not edited. This photo was actually a 15 second exposure doubled to 30 technically because I have in camera noise reduction on, which takes an additional 15 seconds. So, I took this photo in the kitchen (surprisingly) and kept all of the lights off. I used a technique called light painting (you've probably seen this in some of my other photos if you've been looking at them for a bit) where I shone a mini strobe light on one side of the apple for about 7-9 seconds, and then for the final 7-8 seconds I let the camera capture extra available light that I shone from above with the strobe light again.
It's really fun to do, especially once you understand the techniques of doing it. Let me know if any of what I said didn't make sense and I'll be happy to explain it for you. Ask any other questions if you have them since I enjoy helping others with their photos/photo understanding while I continue to improve mine as well.
