any way of making that larger or linkable?

Very nice photos John, thanks for sharing.

karst2 wrote:
I am going to break the rules and post pictures submitted by other Fred Miranda photogs from our FM Washington D.C. session in Sept.
This is our studio in Leesburg Va.
Don

Cool. I'd love to see a larger version of this.

John

John,

A quick question... what type of flooring do you have in your studio?

I'm finishing off my basement and will be setting up a small studio in a couple of months. Don't want to leave the floor cement (too cold and hard), but at the same time I don't think a fluffy carpet would work because seamless paper would crumple and crease with any weight on it. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Terry

JohnE,

Thanks for posting the photos of your setup AND the results... that really helps see how the light positions and the end results of the sessions. Great work!

What type of black curtain material are you using to isolate your backdrop and subject? Would any medium density black fabric work? Or is there a better product out there?

Terry,

I'm converting my garage and will be using a Home Depot brand of Pergo plank flooring. Used it in my living room and office, easy to put in and with the underflooring it softens the step on it (don't know if that makes sense). Anyway it comes in different styles and colors as well.

cosfrog wrote:
Terry,

I'm converting my garage and will be using a Home Depot brand of Pergo plank flooring. Used it in my living room and office, easy to put in and with the underflooring it softens the step on it (don't know if that makes sense). Anyway it comes in different styles and colors as well.


Yes, we have Pergo flooring in the studio up to the high key staging area.
Studio was once a loft for a feed store with huge trap doors to floor below.
Now we are above a jewelry store. Camera stand , light stands and camera platforms roll easily on Pergo and give a nice warm feeling to the studio.
Also very easy to clean.

Don

Terry Richmond wrote:
John,
A quick question... what type of flooring do you have in your studio?
I'm finishing off my basement and will be setting up a small studio in a couple of months. Don't want to leave the floor cement (too cold and hard), but at the same time I don't think a fluffy carpet would work because seamless paper would crumple and crease with any weight on it. Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Terry


Hi Terry,

I have a concrete floor, over which we had installed (glued down) industrial-grade (not-fluffy) tight weave, gray carpet from Carpeteria. the 22' x 30' space cost approx. $900.

Hope this answers your question.
John

JohnE wrote:

Hi Terry,

I have a concrete floor, over which we had installed (glued down) industrial-grade (not-fluffy) tight weave, gray carpet from Carpeteria. the 22' x 30' space cost approx. $900.

Hope this answers your question.
John


John,

Yes, this is the information I was looking for. Since you mentioned you glued it down, I'm assuming that there is no carpet pad underneath.

Thanks,
Terry

This really is an amazing hobby! My wife is amazed at the strange objects I purchase under the umbrella of photography. Just when you thought you were through with big purchases you have to spend $900 on carpet...because of a camera

Great, now I get an idea of what makes a good studio. Off to go buy some plexyglass and some extra difusers. Below is my useful but now not that impressive setup. I'm in the first picture.

clhurtt --

I love the cat photo (and I loved it the first time I saw it, whenever that was).

Could you tell us how you did it? (Both the lighting, and how you were prepared for the kitty to be there!)

Thanks!

JohnE wrote:
Okay, you asked for it. Here's a series of 3 studio setups using all Alien Bees and a photos from the shoot...

Hope you like them.
John

John --

You're work is great, and the illustrations are spectacular. Having hunted for books on setting up a studio, and found some of the not bad, but ancient works (like the Lighting Cookbook), you could certainly produce a best-selling book out of a collection of your "here's the setup - here's the result" pairings.

Thanks for sharing!

Terry Richmond wrote:
JohnE wrote:
Hi Terry,
I have a concrete floor, over which we had installed (glued down) industrial-grade (not-fluffy) tight weave, gray carpet from Carpeteria. the 22' x 30' space cost approx. $900.
Hope this answers your question.
John
John,

Yes, this is the information I was looking for. Since you mentioned you glued it down, I'm assuming that there is no carpet pad underneath.

Thanks,
Terry

Yep, you are correct. No carpet pad underneath and a bit hard on the knees after 4-6 hours of shooting. :-)

John

Squid Nick wrote:
What length muslin backdrops should I get? 10x12 I think is fine, but maybe I should shell out the few extra bucks to get 10x16 or so.

I'd get what you can afford. The 16' will give you enough mateial to run from ceiling to florr and then 8' or so towards you. This will allow you to keep the model a good 6' from the backdrop and will (depending on the aperture), would facilitate a blurry background.

By the way, nice setup.

Its not about the size (its nice if you have it. ), but more about what you need and what you do with it. Kortney and I shoot everything from models to products (skateboards, surfboards, individual parts, jewelry, etc.) We sacrificed a 3 car garage and permanently turned it into a studio with separate heating, air conditioning, cabinetry and recessed lighting to help us grow the business. The city has been great and we've been licensed for 5 years now.

Good luck.

John

fmilder wrote:
John --
You're work is great, and the illustrations are spectacular. Having hunted for books on setting up a studio, and found some of the not bad, but ancient works (like the Lighting Cookbook), you could certainly produce a best-selling book out of a collection of your "here's the setup - here's the result" pairings.
Thanks for sharing!


Thanks for the nice compliment and the encouragement Forrest. Kortney and I would love to produce a book someday. We have been talking about doing one on the recreated pinup works of Alberto Vargas (but that's just a dream.)

Kind regards,
John

Hi John,
I too found your before and after photos amazing. There is a site where you could put together a calendar and sell it very reasonable. http://www.cafepress.com . I know I would be one of the first in line to purchase it as I am relatively new to studio lighting and your set up photos really help me to grasp the ideas. It would be very easy to setup the before and after on the photo side of the calendar.

Chris http://www.graphic-images.net

... cafepress is not known for the high quality of their products.

Thanks for the info, I had not heard that. I will keep that in mind if I try one of their products in the future. I had heard about them on a pbase site from a photographer whos work I admire. I guess I will have to try them on a one piece item before doing big business with them.

Chris

Ok where is John Smeets setup?

wow, this is a great thread. I've always appreciated so many of you guys' pics here and it's nice to see how they are created. I used to have my little set up in my warehouse loft apartment. It was nice to have the 15 ft. ceilings but I rarely used the height as I mainly do product shots. I just started using plexiglass and frosted glass for shoots. I'll try to get some pics of my current set up in a bit but here is one from a product shot a couple of months ago. The clients were the "stylists" here setting up the product. I look forward to when I can upgrade my lighting to some alien bees as well. They look like great lights and from what I've seen of your stuff here at FM, they work great too! Keep up the good work everybody!

great images guys,,,,

now i know what my setup SHOULD look like once i get started!

keep them coming!

Chris Samples wrote:
Hi John,
I too found your before and after photos amazing. There is a site where you could put together a calendar and sell it very reasonable. http://www.cafepress.com . I know I would be one of the first in line to purchase it as I am relatively new to studio lighting and your set up photos really help me to grasp the ideas. It would be very easy to setup the before and after on the photo side of the calendar.
Chris http://www.graphic-images.net


Thanks for the tip Chris. Rolley really inspired me to shoot more of the behind the scenes stuff (man he does great work!) So now I'm pretty much shooting a setup shot for each wardrobe or lighting change on all of my shoots. If I post anything in the future, I'll be sure to include a behind the scenes shot.

Best regards,
John

Very NICE work Patrick!

John,
Love creativity of the SKYY shot. It is stuff like this which makes photos so interesting. I love looking at others unique view on things!