Please help me plan my "Home Studio"

We are currently in the process of designing / selecting a new home.

Now that we are nearly empty-nesters this will be our "downsizing" home !!

Mrs CH has authorised the garage to be designed as a dual-purpose garage / photography studio !!

Below is an image of how I have designed it......So far.

The left-hand side of the image is (almost) directly north, that is, the garage doors open due west.

The "Studio" floor area is 6000mm * 8110mm // Dressing area is 1720mm * 2596mm.

The ceiling height could be 3600mm, we are waiting for the engineers report for that.

For our northern friends............

"Studio" is 26' 7" * 19' 8" // Dressing area is 5' 8" * 8' 6" with a ceiling height of 11' 10".

The fluro green line at the rear would be a beam across the area allowing me to hang the backdrop.

I would put (around) three double power-points along each wall......How high from the floor level should they be ?

Do I definitely want the area painted white ?

One of the builders we are in "final negotiations" with supplies the (concrete slab) garage floors polished and sealed.

Would this be suitable ?

I think I've managed to talk myself out of a ceiling rail kit, cost isn't really an issue here, I can get a kit for $1,000 with four hangers, yet for the same sort of $$'s I could get four quality rolling stands which (I think ?? ) would actually give me more flexibility .............

I'm also thinking that there would actually have to be a fair bit of power-cord up there to allow for the maximum travel of the tracks, I could see that being annoying at it moves around ?

http://imagemelbourne.​com.au …a5c56a821c6c7ca​f8bbf11737

All input is gratefully accepted !!!!

Many thanks,

CH

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Well you deff have plenty of room. I would shoot just like you planned, giving yourself more room to work between you, the model and the backdrop.

If the Misses doesn't mind, I would paint the walls black (I know... not the best idea to get by), but it will help you control light. But in a space that large, it may not be 100% necessary. If they are just grey cinder blocks, I would leave them like that. No real advantage of painting them white unless your 100% sure you want to use them as a bounce source.

I envy your space

m.shalaby wrote in post #13270306
.....If the Misses doesn't mind, I would paint the walls black ......

Ummm........From what I have read on many forums / threads (and since it was on the Interweb it must be true ) it seems like you guys are almost evenly divided on the appropriate colour for studio walls, black // white // grey !!!

m.shalaby wrote in post #13270306
.....If they are just grey cinder blocks.........

They will just be standard Gyprock (sheet-rock ??) lined, so I can have them painted any colour.......

m.shalaby wrote in post #13270306
.....I envy your space

Thanks, But for the record I envy your camera and skill .......Wanna swap ??

m.shalaby wrote in post #13236262

<ThumbsUp Emoticon>


CH

Well in a space that big, I doubt what color the walls are will matter.

Thanks... glad you enjoy my shots. I shoot in a very small studio. All the shots taken above were taken in an 8ft x 10ft space. My "studio", for now at least:

check it out here: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1102920

like I said - I envy your space!

Have a look HERE CH for epoxy garage floor coatings, it is the ducks guts! This mob is up my way, but you would have somebody down in crow eating country that does it, most paint stores sell something similar. It is a lot better tan bare concrete and adds a nice finishing touch.

^ Yeah, I would have something very flat/smooth if you plan on using seemless paper (which I recommend).

White walls and ceiling will reflect more light than your realize. Black paint might be overkill but you should at least try to find a nice flat medium grey.

You can never have too many electrical outlets. It wouldn't hurt to have one every four feet (1200mm) along each wall. Fewer extension cords to trip over. Pulling wires, installing boxes and breakers is cheap if you do it BEFORE the insulation and drywall is up. Your electrician will know the local codes regarding height off the floor.

Think about the room lighting. Can lights in the ceiling will stay out of the way of your umbrellas & softboxes, but you'll need a lot of them. Fluorescent tubes screwed to the ceiling might be another feasible choice.

I don't see a walk-in door on the exterior. You'll want one. You will want to avoid having clients go through your house.

What about heat and air conditioning?

Good luck!

Thanks guys .....

m.shalaby wrote in post #13271023
^ Yeah, I would have something very flat/smooth if you plan on using seemless paper (which I recommend).

Yes, I'd hang the seamless on the (lime green) support beam at the rear of the "studio"..........

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
White walls and ceiling will reflect more light than your realize. Black paint might be overkill but you should at least try to find a nice flat medium grey......

Hmmm....And I so wanted white !!

I guess I could live with a grey, if it had to be grey, would it be (better then nothing) if it was on the "lighter" side of a medium grey ??

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
......You can never have too many electrical outlets. It wouldn't hurt to have one every four feet (1200mm) along each wall. ......Your electrician will know the local codes regarding height off the floor.....

1200mm sounds pretty reasonable to me, I'm not sure if there is a code for minimum heights, at our existing house they are about 200mm (8 in) from the floor, I thought that the lower they were the less chance of the cords
getting in the way (no cords running down the wall or diagonally from the mid-height wall to the floor) or being in the shot .....

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
......Think about the room lighting. Can lights in the ceiling will stay out of the way of your umbrellas & softboxes, but you'll need a lot of them. Fluorescent tubes screwed to the ceiling might be another feasible choice.....

I was thinking of recessed fluorescent lighting (with daylight tubes), remembering this will be doing double-duty as the garage ??

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
....I don't see a walk-in door on the exterior. You'll want one. You will want to avoid having clients go through your house.....

Ah cr@p !!!

Spent a lot of effort designing the store / powder-room so that they can be locked so that there is no need / chance for people to access the house through the studio if the connecting doors are locked, thinking that THEY could access the studio through the garage doors.

Of course, when I'm setting up, particularly in winter, I'm going to want the doors closed !!

Added access door on the side !!!

Thanks heaps, excellent suggestion, one that I had completely missed !!

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
....What about heat and air conditionin....

Probably put a wall-mounted split-system A/C on the wall ??

Curtis N wrote in post #13271464
....Good luck!

Thanks !!

Keep the suggestions coming guys !!

CH

Black flat paint walls, this will really help you control lighting ratios and prevent color reflecting back onto the subjects, I would normally recommend white ceilings to help trigger other strobes and such but with 11 foot ceilings that might allow too much light to reflect down onto the top of your subject.

charlieharper wrote in post #13271839
I was thinking of recessed fluorescent lighting (with daylight tubes), remembering this will be doing double-duty as the garage ??CH

be sure to get a daylight tube with some type of dimmer (if not, you may need to put cardboard up on the ceiling to cover it up when you want to darken the space... also don't forget black-out shades for your windows

cisobe wrote in post #13275054
be sure to get a daylight tube with some type of dimmer (if not, you may need to put cardboard up on the ceiling to cover it up when you want to darken the space... also don't forget black-out shades for your windows

Most of us just turn the lights out. If you're using strobes they will obliterate everything else except direct sunlight. The reason to turn off the room lights is to see the effect of your modeling lights, and some would say this helps dilate pupils and supposedly this makes for better portraits.

Tightwad that I am, I bought the cheapest fluorescent fixtures I could find for my studio. There's no such thing as a "daylight balanced" fluorescent light, regardless what it says on the box.

Curtis N wrote in post #13275259
Most of us just turn the lights out. If you're using strobes they will obliterate everything else except direct sunlight. The reason to turn off the room lights is to see the effect of your modeling lights, and some would say this helps dilate pupils and supposedly this makes for better portraits.

Tightwad that I am, I bought the cheapest fluorescent fixtures I could find for my studio. There's no such thing as a "daylight balanced" fluorescent light, regardless what it says on the box.

LoL, sorry I'm an architect, and when I saw daylight tube, I was thinking of a light tube (skylight with reflective tubing to bring daylight in from the roof). We put these in to classrooms, offices, etc to light the interior space with daylight (as opposed to using lights) to save money on lighting. the cheaper versions of these light tubes don't have any controls to block out the daylighting from the skylight so the only way to stop daylight from streaming into the room is to cover it up... the more expensive versions have built in baffles that close to control the amount of daylighting from 100% to 0%.

it didn't occur to me that he meant day light balanced flourescent lamps...lol... In that case, yes.. turn off the lights and use your modeling light... but still get the black out curtains for the windows

More ideas: You got a studio set up? Small, big? Show us how it looks like!

That looks awesome CH I've got nothing to offer seeing as how I'm cramped up in my lounge room every time I want to shoot hahah. A few low power points might be better than high ones. The cord is on the ground almost straight away then.

Had a talk with the #1 potential builder last night, he thinks our house plans are "too big" for Mrs A and I as we are supposed to be "downsizing" !!

Tend to agree with him

But I want (nay.....am going to have !) the garage / studio !!

Should I compromise on my 8000mm (26' 7") length ??

I really don't want to, and probably won't, but **IF** I do, what's the minimum I should hold out for ?

Remember, the garage HAS to be a minimum of 6000mm long ( 6 metres = 19.6850394 feet) long .........

Thanks Guys,

Austen.