Home studio

travischance · August 6, 2010

My wife & I just welcomed our second addition last Friday & I have been (for a short while) interested in a very small home studio to photograph our children. I have very little knowledge & am requesting advice on what has been effective for others. Are strobes recommended over continuous softboxes? Budget: $300+

While I realize that you get what you pay for, I'd like something that gets the job done but doesn't break the bank at the same time. Most importantly, I'm looking for a kit that doesn't take up a lot of space. Amazon has several kits that around my budget. Thank You in advance!

Art Scott · August 6, 2010

Personally... I would be checking for a used Alien Bee or White lightning studio strobe...or maybe another 580 ex ....
study the strobist.com website on shooting cheaply......a simple backdrop (black sheet) can be hung from a tightly
stretched very small cable or cheaply made background stand made of PVC pipe....I used to hang mine using a shelf
bracket with the plant hanger end on them ......the cross bar was a wooden pole of approx 1.5" in dia...the backdrop
was attached to a 12 ft carpet tube and I made a simple roller system using 3 pieces of ply wood and 1/4 nylon rope....
the backdrop, brackets and all I had around $30 invested and used it for over 5 yrs.............

whne you get ready for a backdrop change....got to nearest theatrical supply and buy some 120 inch wide natural muslin
and paint it or dye it or just a black backdrop and add a few (2) back light and colored gels (gels can be bought at theatrical supply houses also)...

I preferred the pained (with light) colored back drops .....it was cheaper to buy new gels than new muslin backdrop.

Snowgirl · August 6, 2010

I got a deal on black fleece material at my local fabric shop. Absorbs light (a good thing) and I can throw it into my washing machine if it gets dirty.

What I DON'T know is how much space I'm going to need to set up this winter. All season we've been blessed with good weather and I've done ALL of my shoots outdoors. But, I live in Eastern Canada and winter WILL come. Since I don't want to be hunting for a place to shoot, I'm looking at our living room as an option. Furniture is all movable so I'm trying to figure out how much space I'd need for a simple set up. Any suggestions? Might help Travis too.

Thanks.

pathfinder · August 7, 2010

I would buy one studio flash with a nice softbox for it at least 24 x 36 inches, and a reflector for the opposite side, my goal being able to recreate nice soft north window light, ala Rembrantdt. But, if your kids are like mine, they will have little patience sitting around waiting for dad to shoot a picture.

For ambulatory kids, on camera flash bounced off a white wall in ETTL mode can really work pretty well too. Faster to set up, easier to move about after a moving child. Just a thought.

Studio strobes are shot in Manual Mode which is great if your subject will remain the same distance from the flash all the time, but if the child moves, your exposure changes continuously as they move to or away from your flash. ETTL type automatic flash can be quite helpful because it will automatically adjust your exposure as the child moves about and you can concentrate on composition and timing. There is no reason that studio lighting has to look better than well done off camera speed-lighting, if one understands how to do it.

With your 7D you can control a 430EXII or a 580EXII off camera easily with the built in wireless controller on your 7D. Indoors, this will work quite well. I wrote about Canon's ST-E2 wireless controller several times and found it quite useful. The 7D has its equivalent of the ST-E2 built in.

I like black fleece to control light spill, and as a background also. I found some 60 in wide flat black, non-shiny vinyl that I use for a background often, also, like here shot with my 24x36 in softbox in close with a reflector opposite.

From a previous post of mine about the ST-E2 and off camera EOS flash use ************************************************************

The discussion of an ST-E2/580ex master versus PocketWizards has been extensive here over the last couple years. We have lots of Stobists, who prefer totally manual flash, and trigger with PWs. IF you can control the flash to subject distance, they work great for this. If you are a working photographer, and can dictate where your subject will stand relative to the flash, PWs rock and are what I prefer to use also.

BUT......if you are shooting candids, as in a family gathering at Christmas, and have NO CONTROL over the flash to subject distance, you will find the ability to shoot in ETTL to be of tremendous value, and for this the ST-E2 really shines. I carry one in my backpack at all times for this reason.

For me it came down, not to either or, but I want and need both! All you need is money of course

I have a series of links about this subject here

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=49999

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=514087&postcount=5

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=76682

Some results with the ST-E2 in these threads

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=67030

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=49999

Art Scott · August 7, 2010

Room is a very personal thing ....when I first started out I lived in a modular home...of the style that looked like a mobile home.....in my front room I kept a 10x30ft black backdrop hanging behind the couch.....and a few minutes before a client showed up...I would hastily move the couch into the kitchen and spread the backdrop over the living room floor....I personally never liked the small backdrops so I have never used one .........always used a minimum of 9' wide and for me that was too narrow :-}}

Snowgirl · August 7, 2010

Art Scott wrote: »

Room is a very personal thing ....when I first started out I lived in a modular home...of the style that looked like a mobile home.....in my front room I kept a 10x30ft black backdrop hanging behind the couch.....and a few minutes before a client showed up...I would hastily move the couch into the kitchen and spread the backdrop over the living room floor....I personally never liked the small backdrops so I have never used one .........always used a minimum of 9' wide and for me that was too narrow :-}}

Funny you should say that. I just moved from my farm (sob - sad story - :cry) to a mini-home (modular). My LR is 15' wide and I have about 17' in length to work with. My existing black fleece is 9' wide and 16' long (at the moment). I went with black because I needed less separation between the subject and the background to avoid shadows. Make sense?

Now I just have to convince hubby that having hooks in the ceiling for the backdrop is a good thing....

Art Scott · August 8, 2010

If the ceiling joists are properly spaced then hooks that screw in are a great idea...they attract a lot less attention than shelf brackets with the plant hangar loop on the end....
I used the brackets because I wanted to be able to roll the backdrop up and down by way of a simple rope pulley system that was attached directly to one end of the backdrop
cross bar piece - (12 ft wooden pole) ........................

Snowgirl · August 9, 2010

Art Scott wrote: »

If the ceiling joists are properly spaced then hooks that screw in are a great idea...they attract a lot less attention than shelf brackets with the plant hangar loop on the end....
I used the brackets because I wanted to be able to roll the backdrop up and down by way of a simple rope pulley system that was attached directly to one end of the backdrop
cross bar piece - (12 ft wooden pole) ........................

True. I'm looking at some 'creative' way to hide the stuff when it's not in use - since it's our main living space.

During the summer I have the great outdoors - both at home and around the area - but winter is going to be an issue. Plus hubby works shifts so I have to book shoots around his sleeping schedule - which changes weekly: sigh.

Home studio

Comments