I am always looking to improve the range and quality of photography products I can offer to clients. In the pursuit of this I invested in a collapsible photography background (view on bhphotovideo.com) that measures 5'x7' is neutral to dark gray and folds up like a car sunshade into a circle when not in use. Such a background allows one to setup a small studio space virtually anywhere, including your own living room.
The collapsible background does not require any special holder or stand. I simply took a canvas print off the wall and rested the background up against it. It took a little fiddling and flipping it over to get it to stay in the space I wanted it too, but all-in-all a pretty easy setup. The background is easily big enough for two people, and maybe three or more depending on how they are posed.
If you like to make portraits and do not have the space to maintain a dedicated photo studio in your home, then my photography tip is to invest in a collapsible background that can be used in any room in the house and easily taken over to the homes of friends and family too.