On this last setup you can get away without a seperate hair light by actually moving the lighting closer in and having the reflector just barely out of camera views.
Very interesting thread that makes me ashamed of my messy studio. Nothing ever stays in one place in it Only big enough for portraits and small things unless I can figure out a way of knocking out the wall on the left. Hmmmm.
Well after quite a few months of serious building work shell out and fitting out my new studio is completed as of two hours ago. The room is white as you will no doubt have noticed, the floor a is a commercial bonded vinyl and should be easy to keep, also the two windows are North facing with blackout blinds so i can control the lighting.
For storage I built two stores on is a walk in store which holds my gear, props and studio bits, the other is 3m tall for backgrounds and steps stands and the like.
On the equipment side I fitted Bowens higlide system to the ceiling, this is fitted with two Bowens Esprit lights the third pantograph is for a large fill reflector. The setup allows me to shot two separated areas as the lighting traverse along and across the bays and swivel into position with rise and fall.
The backdrop is a Colorama Artic white 3m (also have a red and a green) and is movable between areas, I also have a black fabric backdrop which hangs over the same supports. To control light spill I have a 57ft black curtain that goes around the area shown in pic 1, it still being sown up by my wife so will be fitted very soon.
Shooting area #1
Looking back from area #1 and you can see the second area.
those are 500 watt photofloods with 10" reflectors & 32" shoot thru umbrellas.
the photofloods were about $5.00 each & the umbrealls were $12.00 ea. from B&H Photo.
my biggest expense was the three bar britek backdrop stand and the 4 back drops.
the stand were bought used.........mike
I can't seem to find any 500watt photofloods on BH Photo for anything close to $5. They are more like $30, was there a special when you bought them or am I looking at the wrong thing?
OK, after reading all this I went and got some lights and a few other things. I set them up yesterday in the front room, no wife in this house so I can leave them up. Tomorrow the kids ( 1 and 2 years old) will be here but I have a few questions. You can see the area I am working in, about 10' x 10' in the center. For shooting small kids using white paper rolled out on the floor what would be a good placement for the lights, both at 45 degrees and should I use the one 48" softbox I have or both umbrellas?
krieves wrote:
William - nice setup. What are the overall dimensions?
Area #1 is 5m wide x 6m long and 3m high, area #2 is 4.25m wide, 7m long and 3m high. When using area #2 I can leave the studio via the door and shoot longer if required.
lbaird wrote:
OK, after reading all this I went and got some lights and a few other things. I set them up yesterday in the front room, no wife in this house so I can leave them up. Tomorrow the kids ( 1 and 2 years old) will be here but I have a few questions. You can see the area I am working in, about 10' x 10' in the center. For shooting small kids using white paper rolled out on the floor what would be a good placement for the lights, both at 45 degrees and should I use the one 48" softbox I have or both umbrellas?
There were few makes around but I could not locate any local dealers, Calumet (basically re-branded Bowens) had a good display. The reason for Bowens Higlide was the range of accessories available the build quality it will last a lifetime.
Jorge68 wrote:
Here's a quick floorplan I made of the space i'm making in my house for my studio. Is this space enough?? lol now all I need are lights, and models!
I think 14' wide will work, but you need to be centered in that space and not pushed to the corner on that right side. I assume that is a wall between the office and your shooting space. Can you do away w/ it (you could always use a curtain for seperation)? Reason being, you have 11' 6" to start; your backdrop will take up some space and you'd like to have 8' between your model and background at times.....that's not going to leave you much room to position your lights. This isn't to say that your space won't work as is, but merely observing some ways to get the most from it.
Only big enough for portraits and small things unless I can figure out a way of knocking out the wall on the left. Hmmmm.
