Help me make a cheap newborn/toddler portable studio...

[Zora]

Hi everyone! I'm new here. My wife is trying to advance her photography hobby and get some experience shooting newborns and toddlers. She recently got a Nikon D90 and has three lenses. I can get the specifics on those but I know one is pretty good for indoor low light shooting. She is getting a Nikon SB 700 speedlight as well. There isn't much left to invest in lighting, backdrops, floordrops, etc. So, I am going to make the rest. I do have a few limitations other than cost...space. We have some morning and evening light available depending on the time of day (Bay window to the west, deck door to the east). The rest is up to my creativity, woodworking know-how, and very limited knowledge of photography.

Here is the plan. I want to find low dollar ways to maximize lighting and give her some different options for backdrops and floor drops that look good. I will build the backrop out of wood with a rod for hanging seamless paper. I also plan on using some textured paintable wallpaper on melamine board. I can do each side a different color, but the sheets are 4' x 8' and I have a bunch of em. I am thinking 4' high may be fine for newborns and toddlers and I can make two expensive looking backdrops for around $30. Am I wrong on the height? Also, I plan on using peel and stick vinyl laminate flooring tile or sheet vinylon the 4 x 8 melamine as a floor drop. You can by this stuff dirt cheap and I think it is pretty much the same as vinyl floordrops that are 4x the cost.

To handle the issue of only having one speedflash, would it be helpful to put a sheet of white melamine on either (or both) sides creating a partial cube, and she can bounce the flash off our 8ft ceiling?

I have done the math and this is a significant saving vs. buying photographer specific materials. I am a little unsure of the 4 foot of height and depth and the value of the white side panels. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NikonME]

It's pretty easy to make some nice muslins. You can get white muslin pretty cheap at almost any fabric store and then just pick up some RIT dye. You can put a couple screws or photo mounts on the wall, use a couple spring clips on the diy muslin and hang the clips on the screws or photo mounts. If you use 6x9' muslin, you can do babies, toddlers, kids, adults and small families with the same backdrop. When doing children, you can hang the muslin 4' high and have plenty of room to cover the floor with the rest.

 

[AmazingGrace0385]

Vinyl backdrops run a lot cheaper than your standard muslin... and you can get any design printed. (see link in my siggy for more info)

Another inexpensive option is fleece from your local fabric store. They don't wrinkle as bad and you can just throw them in the dryer to iron them out.

 

[g-fi]

Before you make the stands out of wood, consider using PVC (get the sturdy stuff for holding seamless), it's definitely easier to transport and easily paintable for a cleaner, more professional look. I often use lock together laminate flooring that you can get on close out at a hardware store or bargain buy out store for a box or two, a piece of molding as baseboard and fabric from JoAnns or Michael's or a similar store on clearance as the back "wall". You can make some really nice backdrops for super super cheap. I prefer finding home furnishing fabrics on clearance, they're a much heavier weight and will stretch taut and not wrinkle as easily. You can also get some nice wallpaper and cover a sheet of plywood to use as a backdrop as well for an actual "wall" look. This works better in a studio than as a portable option, but with wall paper the sky is the limit on what effect you can achieve. I even have a "brick" backdrop using that fake brick that is like beadboard that you just glue/nail onto your subsurface.

I am definitely NOT a huge fan of peel and stick tile, you can get hardwood flooring for just about the same price per sq ft. if you are persistent about stalking your local Big Lots/Lowe's/Home Depot/whatever. You don't need a huge amount of it, and you can cut it down to smaller sizes for small sets for newborns, etc. Vinyl can be alright if you get the right stuff.

Hope that helps!

 

[g-fi]

Check this flikr group out for some pictures and ideas on portable set ups, you can see what I was referring to about the fabric/paper/molding/flooring set up that is pretty popular. Also some priceless tips there on how to position lights for the best effects. It's an awesome group.

Flickr: The baby session setup Pool

 

[KmH]

Go to http://neilvn.com/tangents/. On the left scroll down to 'flash photography techniques' and start reading articles.

Then do an Internet search using the search tem "DIY photography tools" and variations thereof.