My Studio Setup I need help :)

Ok here in my mansion i decided to turn one of my many wings of the castle into a photo studio.. SOO here are the specs of different locations i could put a backdrop in. If anyone can give me some insight to what would be best or if its even feasible to build a little studio in this wing of my castle or should i pick another section

The ceiling is only 94 inches high. And i know the limitations would be with shooting 85 mm for 3/4 body shots and 135mm for full on body shots for models. So maybe i will only be limited to head shots? possibly 3/4 shots with slight barrel distortion but not enough to notice. I dont think i will be able to shoot a full boy standing unless I can work the barrel distortion out. So all of the math wizzes out there help me figure out measurements and distances things need to be Im not so good with all that measuring and ome improvement stuff, I just find pretty girls that want to pay me to take pictures of them... who knew that was a job :P

SETUP 1

First off thats a sick pad you got there.

I would probably go with setup 2. Seems to give you more length for your lens.

I would say try it and see which version is easier to work with. You certainly have enough models available that you could find one willing to do a TFCD/TFP shoot testing both versions. Also, don't forget that you don't have to set up square to the walls. An angle might get a few more precious feet in any of the configurations.

Hey man. I've been checking out your posts in the glamor thread and have to say the stuff looks great. New to the post, I can't respond to the glam section yet — some sort of screening process, I suspect.

Anyways, I work in advertising and wanted to let you know that you're heading in the right direction. Keep working at it.

On the lighting situation, I'd charge the girls for studio time and rent a place on a need-to-use basis. Use your house for table top and close range stuff. That's my take.

I like #1 since it takes up less space in your shack... err.. castle, but #2 and #3 give you the option of going wider. If you find that you're stuck at 3/4 body anyway, I'd go with #1. Since I've seen your stuff, could you get a sofa in there and do full body 'left-to-right' shots? Laying on da floor or sofa shots?

PS. I'm totally copying you with the video thing. I shot one last week and I still need to edit it, but it's not quite as entertaining as yours. I need to make another one.

Bocaj,

To address your specific questions about numbers, let me give it a shot. I recently did some portraits about 10 feet from the models and at 35mm to 24mm with a 24-105mm lens on, I had to use the distortion filter in PS to get things right. Fortunately I had some walls and a fireplace mantle to go by for straightening. When zooming in 70mm to 105mm for tighter shots at 10feet, there was no issue. I would definitely recommend using the longest lens you have for the job because since you are lighting at the scene (where the models are), your camera doesn't care how far you are from your subjects. I have seen professional portraiture of businessmen where the photographers used the 70-200 lens and were about 20 feet from the subject. This clearly would prevent most distortion problems; therefore, I suggest if you can arrange for 0-30 feet of working room, you would have a pretty good setup.

Lighting: I have only used bracketed flash off camera (with a flash flip) for my portraits at this point and your lighting is more sophisticated. I am hoping that Curtis or Photosguy will chime in to help with the specific lighting details.

Pat

Can anyone tell me where these images of studio layout above were generated from?

Been looking for something similar - or is this something that Jacob has made?

Thanks...

Palendrone wrote in post #3651918
Can anyone tell me where these images of studio layout above were generated from?

Been looking for something similar - or is this something that Jacob has made?

Thanks...

Its a photoshop plugin thats available on the net mate. Will see if I can find a link if not then send me your email address and I will send you it.

Edit Better still - I have uploaded it for you. Open in Photoshop and off you go.

http://www.static-thought.com/LightingSe​tup.psd

hope it helps

Awesome - Thank you.

HI Jacob,

I know we spoke over in PCB but what I'm going to do is to take your layout and show some standard lighting configurations within the space you have. I hope you don't mind me editing your diagrams.

I'll have something posted sometime very late tonight.

Is that 57" x 22" wedge just a notch in the room or is that a window? Based on your setup #2, can I assume the covering that door on the long wall is not an issue? I would always avoid covering a door at all cost unless it was the door to satan's chambers.

Setup #3 doesn't work at all in my opinion. #2 doesn't seem as versatile as #1.

Hey Jacob,

Take a look at these diagrams. Both would work very well and if you want you can have backgrounds mounted in both locations and have 2 setups that you can go between fairly quickly.

The lights that have a light gray copy nearby are just showing alternate positions for those lights.

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Sample studio layouts can be found via Strobist.com in the DIY area. They are photoshop templates in psd format and can be edited easily.

hope i dont mind are you kidding me?? knock yourself out i would be MORE than grateful

TMR Design wrote in post #3652303
HI Jacob,

I know we spoke over in PCB but what I'm going to do is to take your layout and show some standard lighting configurations within the space you have. I hope you don't mind me editing your diagrams.

I'll have something posted sometime very late tonight.

Is that 57" x 22" wedge just a notch in the room or is that a window? Based on your setup #2, can I assume the covering that door on the long wall is not an issue? I would always avoid covering a door at all cost unless it was the door to satan's chambers.

Setup #3 doesn't work at all in my opinion. #2 doesn't seem as versatile as #1.