If you read this, I just wanted to say thanks soooo much for posting the URL to your photos!!! I just loved them all, and what an inspiration for a photo newbie like me!!! I can't wait until my stuff arrives, so I can get started trying to do a bit of studio stuff, even if my equipment is really simple. I just ordered 2 light stands, brackets and a set of 3 umbrellas. I have 3 ordinary flashes, studio flashes will have to wait. First and foremost I am luckily going to use a real small set-up, to take pics of small dogs and cats, so hopefully this set-up will do for that.
I wanted to look at one of your example photos which you posted a link to, but it was password protected. If it is OK with you, I would appreciate it a lot if you could send me the password...
I even had to e-mail your URL to work, so that I can share your pics with my colleague tomorrow!!! She's BTW originally from Warsaw, but now lives in Norway...
Agospino wrote:
A couple of images of my tiny home (and VERY cheap) studio plus rsults:
John
With the descriptions being Spanish, it's hard to know the exact setup.
What I am wondering, by looking at the image you display you're setup, are you simply using 2 softbox setups? What types and what type of flash lights are you using?
With the descriptions being Spanish, it's hard to know the exact setup.
What I am wondering, by looking at the image you display you're setup, are you simply using 2 softbox setups? What types and what type of flash lights are you using?
I am a real photo newbie, just got a DSLR this summer. One thing I really want to do, is to take pet photos. Since my budget is very limited, I have bought some things to get me started, little by little. I decided against studio strobes because it is too pricey for me right now. I ended out deciding against using hot lights too. That only left me with the choice of flash guns, so I ended out going for that, got 3 real cheap ones on eBay, which all safely can be used on my Canon Digital Rebel (Promaster 5600, Promaster 7000M and a Quantaray 9500A - plus 2 simple slave triggers). I also got 2 light stands, umbrella/flash brackets for them and finally a pack of 3 umbrellas (2 white and one white silver lined one). That is what I will have to manage with. I also have a tiny little slave flash and a few reflectors (1 5-in-1 and one car reflector cut in 2 forming 2 circular white ones).
All I need now, I guess, is backdrops and a lot of patience to get on with it gathering experience... It seems like many of you use background paper, but that is not within my budget (real expensive here), and I would have to have stands, which I don't have.
I really can't use much on backdrops, so I wonder what you would recommend that I do. E.g. for a white seamless background, I am wondering if one can use either:
- a white (rolling) blind (don't know what you call them)
- white sheet (folded double? ironed well)
- white "waxed" table cloths (seen some not to glossy)
I would also like having some colored backgrounds. Can I use cotton fabric? I have seen that Ikea have some which are 2 meter wide (over 2 yards), which are quite thick. How would e.g. black fleece work? How about distressed velvet (real cheap and won't wrinkle).
Some recommended to me to go for such flashes, but then somebody said I would get problems, and needed studio strobes... Not easy to know what to do sometimes... I especially hope I can succeed in lighting the background pretty nicely... Doesn't it help that the set-up won't be all that large? I will especially photograph miniature dogs and cats...
Any and all ideas would really be appreciated! Thanks a lot!!!
Sorry for the italian descriptions, but the pic was originally posted on an italian forum.
BTW i have 3 strobes. In the 2 pictures I was usimg only 2 of them.
In the first one you can see a 120x80cm softbox (left) and a 60x90cm softbox (right)
In the second one there is one strobe as main light on the right with a white umbrella, and a hair ligth with honeycomb grid on the left. As fill I used a white board.
A note on backdrops...I'm currently using 11'x20' muslins (white and black are all I need) and if I had it to do over again I would spend good money on a good seamless paper system. Cloth backdrops (the white more than the black) make it a pain to deal with wrinkles in the muslin...which means more time/effort in post. When looking for backgrounds, I'd highly recommend staying with seamless paper.
My biggest problem with seamless is storing the darn things. Right now I setup a temp studio in my living room (product shooting in a small photo room) and because of working with kids and families I really have to get the 10 -12 foot wide rolls. My house isn't huge and with a kid of my own the only place to store them is propped up on the stairs (split level house) going to the basement.
I do agree though, seamless is fast from and editing point of view. Muslin is just easier to store
yeah storage is tough. My canvas rolls are under our bed but stick out about 10 - 12 inches from the base and have been known to be tripped over from time to time.
Tom Boucher wrote:
yeah storage is tough. My canvas rolls are under our bed but stick out about 10 - 12 inches from the base and have been known to be tripped over from time to time.
Yah my wife would go for that for about..oh.....2 seconds after she saw it!
You appear to have about the same amount of space as I do for shooting in your studio. What focal lengths do you find yourself using mostly? For me, with head shots I can use up to about 70 or 85 mm before I start to run out of space, mostly relying on a 50mm prime. But for anything more I have to drop back to my 24-85mm and I'm not sure I going like the results. Are these wide angles typically used in fashion and portraiture when full length shots are being done?
From what I see in your setup, you have your model around 6 feet from the backdrop, lighting positions vary of course, but how far are you from the model?
BTW, Thanks a ton for your support of this forum (and everyone else too). You all have greatly helped a natural light guy get into studio work lately...
Josh, nobody squawked when I made a PDF of the thing so I doubt that it would be a huge deal as long as the photos are still in place. I have to finish pages 80-90 now that we're at page 94.
Definitely try CafePress's products before you consider using them. Then again, they make it on demand so you don't have any up front costs. They will not be the highest quality provider by any stretch of the imagination, though.
