How to make my homemade studio?Help!

[HeatherEmilyPhotos]

Hey, im new to the fourm and live on Ontario Canada!

I have started to take my photography more seriously and have been doing some portraite and family photo shoots for people.

But to the Real question! I want to make my own little studio in my basement for myself. With the basic white back ground, light ectt.
To achive photos such as this http://www.georgwendt.com/data/pages/031909063751_1Web_Olga.jpg

Im a student and i cant afford to real stuff. So i need some advice on what i could use. White sheets on a wall and groud? and some lights that i can controll where they shine from above or beside? ANY advise would be amazing.

 

[Mustlovedragons]

You can do it on the cheap but I'd suggest at least investing in one, preferably two semi-good lights (ie. not the clip-lights from Wal Mart). You can get pretty cheap semi-passable lights off eBay for the $80 range. Check Craigslist, too. Sometimes you get lucky there.

As for the backdrops, yes, you can use a white sheet but you better A) make sure that it's clean and pretty much wrinkle-free and B) make sure you have enough room to get your model several feet in front of it (like a minimum of 3' for that sample shot).

If you only get one light, I would suggest getting or making a softbox for it. Generic softboxes can also be purchased on eBay for pretty cheap. Yes, making a passable one is cheaper but it also is a pain in the backside to do. Might be worth it in the long run to just buy a generic one. Anyway, if only one light, use a reflector and, in all honesty, if cheap is the issue, a $2 piece of white poster board will work fine.

You will need an assistant, though, unless you can afford the stands and clips for holding lights and reflective surfaces, even poster board. (kids work pretty well for this...well, for small amounts of time at a stretch, anyway, lol)

If you want help on making your own soft box on the cheap, send me a PM. When I first started, I did the same thing in my basement. Not as high quality as better lights and stuff but definitely passable.

Oh, and this is probably obvious to you but, just in case it isn't, you will also need a fan if that exact look is what you are after.

 

[Cstone]

You can get really cheap ($100-$200) lighting and backdrop kits on Amazon (Cowboy Studio sets come to mind) that will start you out for relatively cheap, but still get you pretty decent quality. They're not the best, but they're worth a try when starting out. Plus, the option of having more than one backdrop color is nice. (And you can always go to the fabric store and get another color if you need/want.)

 

[HeatherEmilyPhotos]

How can i work with lights if i buy them and they are kinda along the lines lof these Black Floor Lamp with 2 lights - City of Toronto Furniture For Sale - Kijiji City of Toronto Canada. ?

 

[tirediron]

How can i work with lights if i buy them and they are kinda along the lines lof these Black Floor Lamp with 2 lights - City of Toronto Furniture For Sale - Kijiji City of Toronto Canada. ?

You really can't. That sort of light is really unsuitable traditional portrait and studio work (you could use it for some "artsy" stuff I suppose). You're question really is rather broad. What sort of budget are you on? If you want to produce images of the sort that you've linked to, you're going to need at least two strobes, a method of triggering, backdrop and a reflector or two.

All of that can be had for probably <$350 on eBay. The quality won't be great, but it will get you going. My recommendation would be to keep an eye on Craig's List and Used Toronto and look for some better quality second-hand gear. This might be a good starter kit, 'though the lights are a little on the weak side, and if they have to call themselves "high-quality" they probably aren't.