Blank Studio! How would you set it up?

This is the front room of my home. It is has great natural light and is conveniently placed near the front door's hallway which will be great when I start my business because I won't have strangers walking through my whole house. Two bookcases are attached to the wall right now. They may eventually be taken down but for now they have to stay. I guess I could always make use of them by clamping a background to edge of a shelf.
So how would you set this up as a portrait studio? I'd like to use only natural light if I could, unless I saved up enough for a light. Saving up for more lenses/external flash is higher on my list though.

Oh, and what paint color would you suggest? I was thinking a light grey instead of white to kinda control the light better...?

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Are you planning on using lights?
Budget?

Edit: sorry, I just read that you want to use available light.
I suggest get some reflectors for now to maximixe light to your subject.

If this is your first time shooting in a studio-type of thing, I would suggest you get at least one light, one light stand, an umbrella and a cheap wireless trigger.

Never owned a Flashpoint but it is highly recommended for budget lights. So get one of this:

http://www.adorama.com​/FP320MS1.html

or this:

http://www.adorama.com​/FP320MK.html


And a pair of this and you should have more power to do some portraits than just relying on your windows for light.

WIRELESS TRIGGER

airshaq20 wrote in post #12604297
Edit: sorry, I just read that you want to use available light.
I suggest get some reflectors for now to maximixe light to your subject.

If this is your first time shooting in a studio-type of thing, I would suggest you get at least one light, one light stand, an umbrella and a cheap wireless trigger.

Thanks for the comment.
Right now I am using a $2 windshield reflector (lol can you say unemployed?) and it works surprisingly well, except I need a third hand for it.

Yes, I would like to eventually get a light or two... and a trigger would make children's shoots SO much easier. *dreams*
I'm mostly wonder where in the room I would set all of this up...

airshaq20 wrote in post #12604347
Never owned a Flashpoint but it is highly recommended for budget lights. So get one of this:

http://www.adorama.com​/FP320MS1.html

or this:

http://www.adorama.com​/FP320MK.html


And a pair of this and you should have more power to do some portraits than just relying on your windows for light.

WIRELESS TRIGGER

Those seem like nice prices for lights! Thanks for the tip.

$35 for a wireless trigger?? Is that normal? Man, I would have gotten one a long time ago if I knew I could get it at that price...I guess I assumed they were expensive and didn't even bother to look!

I would go 45 degree angle across the south/east corner throwing up a white or black sheet.
This will give you two close windows left and right to gather light from.

The thing about natural light through windows is that it's always changing throughout the day and seasons, good or bad. And you don't get any light coming in at night. You'll quickly learn when your sweet spot is for shooting if that's the only light you use.

Kechar wrote in post #12604468
The thing about natural light through windows is that it's always changing throughout the day and seasons, good or bad. And you don't get any light coming in at night. You'll quickly learn when your sweet spot is for shooting if that's the only light you use.

Right. That's going to be my handicap for a long time until I can afford lights. In the meantime, I guess I am going to be forced to get to know my window light better and make the best of it. Can't be a bad thing, right?

Set your backdrop up on the north side. that way you'll get morning light in the East window, and you can put the backdrop up for some blown out light from the north windows if you want.

time to go yard-sale-ing.... find a shower curtain rod for a backdrop holder, a couple of screw in hooks from the ceiling and some cut and bent wire hanger will secure it. $30 worth of white muslin from walmart. a bag of assorted plastic pony clamps for $8 (useful for holding that reflector you have.. and while you're at it, get this reflector: http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1308246​802&sr=1-1 )

Single 160ws strobe on the backdrop (enough to blow out the area around people in the picture, and then another strobe (speedlight if you've got it) into an umbrella as a key. You've got the reflector for fill. DIY white seamless, done.

Everything you've read above, I've done, and it worked great. You get 3/4 shots at most for white seamless, can't make the people float without some extra gear (more strobes for backdrop, some tileboard for the floor (which incidentally is pretty cheap)).

Get Cactus v5 tranceivers. $60 for a pair of them and you can add more as you add more lights.