Home Studio

[beblessed]

I need some advice on putting together some lighting for a home studio. Room size is 10 x 12. I have mostly done pictures in natural light and have no idea what I am looking for or understand anything about lights or how to set them up. I do want to have something that is portable as well. I would love some tips from what to buy and how to set it up. Most of my pictures will be of children...and small families. Keep it simple, trying to read up on lighting is like reading a foreign language. My budgit is around 500. My camera is the Rebel XT. I have the 430ex flash right now. And have the Canon 70-200mm, which is not going to work in that size of a room..so am looking at getting a new lens. Can't wait to hear from everone...Blessings~:)

[Ray Marrero]

what is your budget?

[Titus213]

Here's a great starting point for you - http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138912

I assume your $500 does not include the lens.

[beblessed]

my 500 budget is for the lighting...no, the lens will have it's own budget. :)

[Ray Marrero]

try three of these lights (http://www.adorama.com/FPBF160.html)
and three of these stands (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=335283&is=REG) and this background stand (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=437786&is=REG).

[jgettis]

You might try this setup from calumet
http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CF0502K1/
I have the 400 kit and I am happy with it although at the moment in my crowded living room it sometimes has too much power hope this helps John

[SkipD]

I need some advice on putting together some lighting for a home studio. Room size is 10 x 12. I have mostly done pictures in natural light and have no idea what I am looking for or understand anything about lights or how to set them up. I do want to have something that is portable as well. I would love some tips from what to buy and how to set it up. Most of my pictures will be of children...and small families. Keep it simple, trying to read up on lighting is like reading a foreign language. My budgit is around 500. My camera is the Rebel XT. I have the 430ex flash right now. And have the Canon 70-200mm, which is not going to work in that size of a room..so am looking at getting a new lens. Can't wait to hear from everone...Blessings~:)First off, a 10x12 foot room will not be large enough to do what you envision. Here are some things to think about when defining the space you need:

You will need space for your background support system. If you have a typical background support using lighting stands, you'll need three feet or so of room length for that.

You should have at least six feet between the subject and the background so that you can light the background properly and, if you want, keep the background a bit out of focus.

You should have at least eight feet or so between the camera and the subject(s) so that the perspective (size relationships between objects at different distances from the camera such as noses and ears) is pleasing in the portraits.

You will need at least about three feet behind the camera for you to operate it, especially if you're using a tripod.

You will need a background that is at least a couple of feet wider on each side than the subject. Thus, a group that stands five feet wide would need a background at least nine feet wide. A typical background muslin is ten feet wide.

You will want at least about three feet more width on each side of the background itself for your background stands, lighting equipment stands, etc.

You will want to get at least some of your lighting above the height of the subject(s). Typically, for portraits, this calls for a 9 to 10-foot ceiling.

My absolute minimum specification for a functional portrait studio space would be 20 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 9 feet high. A higher ceiling would be my first improvement on that.

You can get away with less space if you limit your subject(s) to a single seated person or for tabletop photography.

Once you really define what you can do with the space you have available, then you can start working on required lighting, etc., for the task.

[bbvdm]

+1 ^^^^

[SoaringUSAEagle]

Skip nailed this on the head. It is extremely tough to do great studio work if you're limited by space. But if you're up for a challenge and want to try it out, go for it... but more room would really help you out in this situation.

[TMR Design]

Despite all the people that seem so confident that an 8 foot ceiling won't allow for full length work I can tell you without question that I do full length work all the time and even though I might not be able to get my strobes or modifiers another foot off the ground it's not making a difference in my ability to do quality work or to shoot subjects that are standing.

The 9 or 10 foot requirement stated so often is not a hard and fast rule.

There are ways to make things work without just telling people they can't work or the room needs to be bigger.

I can't knock down walls or do anything to make my space bigger. It's 14' x 17' x 8' and my space stays pretty busy with no complaints or problems.

[Tigerkn]

Thanks SkipD for broke this out in details!

[Starbucker]

I'm currently in the process of finishing a small in-garage studio. I attempted to do my work in a spare bedroom and other areas of the house and found it difficult for a number of reasons:

1) Most frustrating was the distance to subject, kept backing up into walls, even with a FF camera.
2) Really hated setting things up and tearing them down all the time.
3) Ceiling height became an issue at 8 ft.
4) Finally, as others have mentioned ,keeping you subject to background distance at 6 or so feet really improves the ease.

OK, so my new finished space will be 10ft high, 21 feet long, and 12 feet wide. I'm already stressing about how to handle dressing / client mirrors, etc sitting areas. In order to maximize the space I'm going to get things set up with light stands to determine placement, then I'm going to either a) purchase wall or ceiling booms or b) manufacture brackets myself. My goal is to keep everything off the floor. That should by me a little more working room all around. As everyone has said, I'm keeping my goals small- primarily 3/4 length shots and groups of 4 or less. I anticipate that as soon as I move it, I will already be wishing for more space. In any event, I won't miss using ANY part of the existing house.

[TMR Design]

I'm currently in the process of finishing a small in-garage studio. I attempted to do my work in a spare bedroom and other areas of the house and found it difficult for a number of reasons:

1) Most frustrating was the distance to subject, kept backing up into walls, even with a FF camera.
2) Really hated setting things up and tearing them down all the time.
3) Ceiling height became an issue at 8 ft.
4) Finally, as others have mentioned ,keeping you subject to background distance at 6 or so feet really improves the ease.

OK, so my new finished space will be 10ft high, 21 feet long, and 12 feet wide. I'm already stressing about how to handle dressing / client mirrors, etc sitting areas. In order to maximize the space I'm going to get things set up with light stands to determine placement, then I'm going to either a) purchase wall or ceiling booms or b) manufacture brackets myself. My goal is to keep everything off the floor. That should by me a little more working room all around. As everyone has said, I'm keeping my goals small- primarily 3/4 length shots and groups of 4 or less. I anticipate that as soon as I move it, I will already be wishing for more space. In any event, I won't miss using ANY part of the existing house.

I never had a problem working around an 8 foot ceiling but now that you've got a 10 foot ceiling you should be set. :D

[bobbyz]

If it is going to be dedicated space, you can install wall mounts for your bg. if using seemless roll. That will save some space with not going with bg stands etc. And cheaper than autopoles. Or paint the two walls in different colors, like white and gray or black.

As you don't have much space for typical high key steup, shoot with subjects closer to your back ground or white wall. You can easily do kids in that space.

[Ray Marrero]

Whatever the space.... try it. don't let the lack of space stop you.