got a studio ... now what? pics of my space

[doziergraphic]

so i've got the space (basically no cost, above a friend's business) - what would YOU do with it on a very small budget to shoot portraits. I have a good pipeline to young mother's through work and friends of friends, don't need to make a living, but for single portraits up to small families, what would U do with this space (12' x 30')

I understand my limitations, won't expect to oversell or overpromote what I'm capable of producing, and am considering the old 'free 8x10' with hopes they purchase more. Frankly, if i can get people in to experiment and figure out my lighting, etc I'm not too concerned about profiting. Obviously, if that work increases, then rates will go up accordingly, etc.

Another advantage, this space is above a beauty shop on Main Street in a suburb of Indianapolis, mega traffic, and he's happy to let me put up a sign, which I'm not doing til I get comfortable with the friends and word of mouth work.

What can I do for under $500, or under a grand?

I can get an 8' wide backdrop on that back wall with teh window (giving me about 25' to back up if needed) but with the cathedral ceiling, I can only get the 8' width up about 7 feet from floor. Obviously a 5' wide backdrop I can put well above the 8' mark.

two photos - one looking left to right, the other right to left, broken up by that staircase coming from the ground floor (separate entrace) I have two other 15 x 15 rooms there as well that I can set up for still shots, work desk, tv of course, etc. - I'm jazzed!.

 

[doziergraphic]

a guy locally has this for sale:

Strobelite Three Light Kit | Westcott Pro Photography and Video Lighting

he's asking 650, which is too much as it lists for 799, but opinions about this particular setup?

 

[KmH]

I'm sorry, but you don't have 12x30 feet of shooting space there.

Subjects need to be 4 to 8 feet from a backdrop depending on how many people, and if the shot is just the head or full body.

The further from the backdrop the subject(s) are the wider the backdrop needs to be. Only 8 feet wide will be limiting.

Another issue will be being able to get lights up high enough with that slanted ceiling.

In addition, the camera lens needs to a bit lower than the subjects head hight so shooting with those low walls between you and the subject will be problematic.

Will they let you paint? You'll be getting color casts from the walls and the ceiling.

It would be very handy for lighting if that window were to face North.

 

[doziergraphic]

at this point I don't have a problem turning down a 5+ family type shoot. I should be good enough space-wise for individual, or perhaps a mom and two small kids... 5' may be my limit on backdrops.

 

[MohaimenK]

I think that ceiling's gonna be a problem IMO

 

[doziergraphic]

a few more feet before the ceiling started going down would've been great, but again, no cost so I think I can make do - understanding I'm gonna have some limitations.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

What's in the rooms?

 

[gsgary]

Paint it all black wall and ceiling mounted flash heads, a friend of mine has a space similar and gets fantastic results but he's a pro with Profoto lights

 

[Derrel]

Boy, that angled wall and the low walls where the stairs lead up to the loft...ouch!
Well, making the best of a cramped situation, I would say that you could shoot 1 and 2-person photos there. I would say you will need to go with smaller than normal lights; the best choice would be a matched-output pair of flashes with 16- or 20-inch parabolic reflectors with mylar diffusers over the front, on heavy-bottomed steel stands with roller bases. Background light needs to be something versatile, with a flood/spot type of light head (Speedotron or Photogenic make these) that has a 7 inch reflector option, as well as bare-tube option. Three canvas backdrops: white, dark Old Master type gray, and solid black fabric, plus some gels.

With the shooting area so confined, lighting the backgrounds will be tough, and that is why I suggest a flood/spot type of background light...and why you will want mostly DARK background,and fabric ones as well; lighting the backdrops AND keeping the subjects far enough in front of the backgrounds is going to be a PITA on lighter-colored paper, and fabric shows less glare when lighted from the side than paper. You will need a set of grids for the background light: 10 degree, 20, and 30 degree ones.

I would suggest that the wall behind the subjects be painted GRAY, not that ochre color. With a GRAY wall, you *could* light it up to produce a nice,pure white wall, or leave it un-lighted to drop to gray, and you could also use some gels on the gray to make colored backdrops easily. The window needs to be blocked off. Make a board and foam blocker for it.

The thing is...when you shoot in tight quarters, light control becomes paramount; you will want honeycomb grids, and barn doors on parabolic reflectors, to keep the light going where you want it to go; if you get a softbox, you will definitely want two things : 1) a recessed faced model and 2) an egg-crate grid for it. THis kind of a camera room CAN be made to work, but you cannot use sloppy light control or big, sloppy light modifiers like shoot-through umbrellas. You will want ENCLOSED umbrellas, like the Lastolite Umbrella Box, that is IF you want to use any umbrellas at all.

This is the kind of camera room where grids, and eggcrates, and barn doors, and flags, will all be needed, and where shallow modifiers (like shallow soft boxes and thin-profile reflectors) and a wide-beam-capable backlight light unit will be extremely helpful. Lower watt-second units than otherwise will also be useful; with two 16-inch to 20-inch parabolic reflectors with diffusers on their front, and rolling light stands, you will be able to light smaller groups of 4-5 if they are posed seated/standing, using old-school posing methods. But that dang angled ceiling...ugh...that will really be a PITA at times.

 

[ghache]

its going to be good for head shots for sure! get a background that fits in there a coupe strobes and your good!

 

[doziergraphic]

Thanks to all for taking the time to comment -and mega thanks to Derrel! I've got a lot of googling to do based on your response - - i'm ready to buy, but scared to waste money on the wrong items...

i have about $600 for lighting at the moment - i was considering those monolights you posted from Adarama, but since i have more to play with (need to work my backdrops off that too) trying to make sure I don't underspend since I have a couple bucks to spend.

also derrel, I searched here and found some previous posts where you gave links to the speedotron items - very helpful

thanks!

 

[Derrel]

Speedotron Products Accessories
16" Mylar Clip-on Diffuser - 25528
20" Mylar Clip-on Diffuser - 25529
20" / 16" Lightsox Diffuser - 24512

Speedotron Products Accessories
35° Grid for 11.5" Reflector - 14603
20° Grid for 16" Reflector - 14621

Speedotron Products Accessories
Anodized Aluminum Background Reflector - 14258
20 inch 50° Grid Reflector, Black - 14235

Here's a setup that has two M11 lights, which use ALL of the above accessories, and one happens to be a 16 inch parabolic reflector of the exact type needed for portrait lighting using the snap-on diffusers.
Speedotron Brown Line 1204 Pack with 2 lights & more - eBay (item 140474012550 end time Nov-08-10 13:34:24 PST)

here is a $299 Buy it now deal from a vendor I have personally bought from MANY times, and a VERY fair price:
Speedotron D402 w/M90 and MW3U Heads - eBay (item 220682572865 end time Nov-12-10 07:44:02 PST)

 

[doziergraphic]

thanks! very informative.