Basic garage studio - how would you do it?
Discussion
Guys,
Been a while since I posted in here!
As my garage will probably never be used to store or build a car I've been thinking of alternative uses.
One I hit on was a basic portrait studio as we're a bit tight on space in the house, plus the wife likes to have studio photo's of the kids once a year, and quite frankly the prices people are charging for prints is getting ridiculous.
The only pre-requisit is that it still have to be accessible for my work bench, tools and storeage units etc.The garage is a single garage approx 2650w x 4500d x 2600h.
If I knock off 600 for storage along one side and 1000 off the back for my bench that gives me a working area of approx 2000w x 3500d - will this be enough?
As this will be on a budget I'll be using free standing lighting/flash along the line of THESE which a mate at work uses and seems to get pretty good results.
Current lighting in the garage is 2 x 58w fluorescent tubes - which are warm white, so will need to change those to a whiter light.
Should I overboard the walls and ceiling and paint them white?
For a backdrop I was going to use a continuous roll off a suspended pole.
What do yuo guys think?
I appreciate that this will be small scale, but should be OK for kids & portraits.
Am I missing anything (apart from more space!!)
Thanks
Chris
Been a while since I posted in here!
As my garage will probably never be used to store or build a car I've been thinking of alternative uses.
One I hit on was a basic portrait studio as we're a bit tight on space in the house, plus the wife likes to have studio photo's of the kids once a year, and quite frankly the prices people are charging for prints is getting ridiculous.
The only pre-requisit is that it still have to be accessible for my work bench, tools and storeage units etc.The garage is a single garage approx 2650w x 4500d x 2600h.
If I knock off 600 for storage along one side and 1000 off the back for my bench that gives me a working area of approx 2000w x 3500d - will this be enough?
As this will be on a budget I'll be using free standing lighting/flash along the line of THESE which a mate at work uses and seems to get pretty good results.
Current lighting in the garage is 2 x 58w fluorescent tubes - which are warm white, so will need to change those to a whiter light.
Should I overboard the walls and ceiling and paint them white?
For a backdrop I was going to use a continuous roll off a suspended pole.
What do yuo guys think?
I appreciate that this will be small scale, but should be OK for kids & portraits.
Am I missing anything (apart from more space!!)
Thanks
Chris
Should be enough I would say. You probably don't need to change the lighting in there either; use low-ISO and the fastest flash-sync shutter you can and the ambient light won't even play a part in your exposure (or use the modelling lamps on the flash heads you posted a link to). I've heard there are legal complications with regards running a business from home although never looked too much into it. Might be worth looking into if you fancy doing it as a part-time venture.
You can have a garage with a bit of paper hanging up in it, or you can have a studio with a bench and storage area. If the walls are bare brick I'd have them rendered and painted white, also the ceiling. Fill in the corners and edges to avoid lines - then you don't need a bit of paper and have much more room to work with. Not only that but you can bounce lights off the white surfaces for a softer look/fill light.
You don't need to do the whole garage of course, just one end and about half the length.
Light the room with the fluorescents if you want but turn them off when shooting and use modelling lights. They are just wrong in every way.
You don't need to do the whole garage of course, just one end and about half the length.
Light the room with the fluorescents if you want but turn them off when shooting and use modelling lights. They are just wrong in every way.
Woody said:
It won't be used for business - just a hobby.
True, but don't cut corners because of it. Otherwise you will look at the results and think 'That photo would be better if I'd...' or 'I could have done it much more easily if...'No money is at stake but personal satisfaction is, so try to pitch your scheme a little above what you think you currently need - even hobbies need growing room
All you really need is a backdrop (I would suggest getting a stand with a background on a roll (paper) as they scuff easy and you'll probably need to bin the bit everyone's been standing on afterwards, 2 flashes with soft boxes (or umbrellas if prefer?) and then a third flash to mount to the roof above the backdrop to illuminate it. The 3rd flash is pretty much essential to get a white background white without shadows or blowing out your subjects.
As for built in lighting in the room, it doesnt really matter as whilst shooting, you will probably be best to turn them off and just rely on the modelling lamps in the lights.. but as said, you will probably be able to get away with an external light source being on without much hassle if you adjust the camera and flashes to suit.
As for built in lighting in the room, it doesnt really matter as whilst shooting, you will probably be best to turn them off and just rely on the modelling lamps in the lights.. but as said, you will probably be able to get away with an external light source being on without much hassle if you adjust the camera and flashes to suit.
MysteryLemon said:
but as said, you will probably be able to get away with an external light source being on without much hassle if you adjust the camera and flashes to suit.
You may get extra shadows and reflections. Best just to turn then off when ready to shoot; they can contribute nothing and can only detract IMHO.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff