Are you a photographer dreaming of owning a complete photo studio at your home? Stop dreaming and start creating, as we walk you through these easy steps to set up a home photo studio at the lowest cost. You can do some research by physically visiting other home photographer studios. By doing this, you will figure out the best arrangement for your essential studio equipment.
Which is better, a portable or a fixed location studio?
Depending on how and where you do your photoshoot, both fixed and portable can work for you. A photographer who shoots regularly can use a clean wall and natural sunlight for simple portraits.
On the other hand, the mobile studio can suit you perfectly if you shoot product photographs weekly from different locations. Consider investing in quality studio equipment that can serve for home studio with the mobile capacity on different locations.
Home Studio Size
Setting up a home photo studio does not require much space as you can work from any room or tool shed. Working in small spaces can be challenging as it demands great flexibility and a lot of creativity.
A room measuring 100 square-foot can fit all your studio equipment. Shooting personal headshots and portraits can be easy when handling toddlers and children in few square meters. If you take group photographs in a small room, then consider the number of people that can use the studio at once.
When working from big photography studios, you can control the artificial light easily compared to small studios, which depend on natural light.
How can you manage a small photography studios space?
Shooting in small studios can be a daunting task, especially when dealing with headshots or group photoshoots. The best way to manage a small studio space is to have many power sockets within the room. You may need to invest more in lenses with shorter focal lengths for the best quality shots.
When working on large portraits, consider lenses with longer focal lengths ranging from 80 to 100mm. Add fans in your photo studio for portrait effect and cooling the room. Plugin gears when shooting, such as chargers, lights, and laptops during shoot tethered.
What is the essential gear setup for a small studio?
Begin with simple studio equipment, then gradually improve to more advanced and quality tools. The following are is the basic equipment that you require to set up a fully functioning photo studio from the comfort of your home.
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Lights
You need to have one light and a reflector to start, but if you require more flexibility, go for three lights. You can use the three lights as manual speed lights. The cheap and best ones include Yongnou 560 IV or Godox strobes.
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Lighting modifiers
Consider cheap octaboxes, softboxes, and umbrellas that can fold easily for storage.
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Background
Go for Impact and other cheap brands on an excellent background compared to Lastoline collapsible backdrops if you are on a budget. It is necessary to possess the best background for quality results, and collapsible background is a good way to start.
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Flash triggers
For a home photo studio to work correctly, you need to have a flash trigger to change the camera flash remotely. You need an adjustable flash that matches the camera strobes; otherwise, the flush cannot work remotely.
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Light stands
It is mandatory to possess a single stand for each light, and you need to follow the simple rule of thumb when buying the stand. The heavier the light, the study the stand, go for stands that extend over 2.4 meters. Avoid weak, cheap stands as they make the lights wobbly and unstable above the model. Short stands can be vital as they help in hiding your background rim behind the model.
What are the other equipment options?
Apart from photography gear, you need other accessories for the everyday shooting process. The gears you need to complete your home studio include:
- Stepladders: They mainly help in changing the model point of view. Also, the ladder enables you to shift the light settings quickly.
- Furniture: Chairs and high stools are a must-have if you will focus on portraits more than headshots. The furniture makes the studio look attractive. Power strip and extensions: If you work your shoots using studio lights other than portable lights, then invest in power strips and extensions.
- Fans: For added comfort in the studio, you need fans to introduce a motion to your portraits. The studio lights, strobes, and modeling lights produce a fair amount of heat, and cooling fans bring the comfort required in the studio.
Setting up a portrait home photo studio
You need natural light and big windows for the best shot and results in the portrait style. Flash photographer works best from the basement and empty wine cellar on the portrait mode.
Which is the best lighting equipment for a home studio?
Do not let the shopping fever get over your budget. Start with a single light and a stand for the flash unit. Grow your studio with time to three lights and stands for duo flexibility, but you can produce a quality portrait using a single Speedlight.
Speedlights
Pros
- Small in size and lightweight.
- Inexpensive, especially manual units.
- It fits perfectly in mini studios for portable setups.
Cons
- Poor power.
- Long recycle time for full power making it challenging to shoot in burst.
- Lack of modeling light that blocks flash beam and autofocus fine-tuning.
Photostudio flashes
Pros
- Comprise an AC plug for battery-less operations
- Flashes have a powerful light.
- Contain an in-built modeling light.
Cons
- Bulky and heavy.
- Require study light stands.
- Inexpensive units stop working after overheating.
Light modifiers you will need
- Umbrellas: This is the cheapest light modifier that softens the light from a flash. Controlling the light in small studios is a challenge as they spill light everywhere.
- Reflectors: Reflectors mainly bounce light back to the shooting scene. 5-in-1 reflectors provide different reflective surfaces where you find silver, black, white, gold, and translucent in a single package.
- Flags: They block stray light from bouncing at the set; all-black surfaces can act as flags. Five-in-one reflectors can act as flags due to the available black surface.
- Gels: These can be any cheap semitransparent sheets that arrive in unique shapes and colors. Such sheets alter the color when reflected with background light as they introduce light effects in the portrait.
- Octaboxes/softboxes: Generally, they produce a softer glow but are more expensive than umbrellas. They enable you to take control over the light.
How to choose the best background
Collapsible portrait background
Pros
- Pocket-friendly
- Portable with a foldable design
- Black for low key portraiture and white for high-key photographs
Cons
- Small in size fitting one person and headshots
- Challenging folding technique
- The tissue contains creases
Professional Portrait background
Pros
- Quality material either paper, tissue, or vinyl
- Available in different sizes
Cons
- Heavy and not compact
- Inexpensive models do not support heavy backgrounds
How do you clear ambient light?
Try covering studio windows with curtains and flags to avoid ambient light from bouncing at the set. Set your camera to shot without using the flash and ensure the picture is black. Then use a trial-and-error procedure or flash meter to set the power of light to your exposure target.
How do you start a home photography business?
Search for a better location to set up your small studio. Set up the best lighting system and start with your friends to produce professional portraits. After friends move to outside clients, then expand your business to companies. Start with simple equipment and grow your business to top-quality devices.
Conclusion
Starting a home photo studio cannot cost you much, as it requires simple equipment and little space. As long as you have a passion for a photo studio, you can grow faster than you can imagine.