A (very) small studio

[davidedric]

Hi everyone.

Having seen some of the "table top" type of pictures here, especially those from Mike Buckley, I am thinking of a project to have a go myself. Probably be something for the winter months. We have a small room that I could use, the advantage being that I wouldn't have to commandeer the dining room for example. However, the biggest flat working area I could manage would be about six feet by four feet. First question: is this at all practical?

Another advantage (I think!) of the room is that the previous owner had it set up as a dark room, so there is very little natural light and I could control light as I needed.

Second question. If this is at all feasible, can you suggest any reading material that would help me get my head around what's involved.

Thanks for any help,

Dave

[Shadowman]

You'll find lots of resources online. Just look for DIY listings. I found quite a few books at my public library. I have a 24 cubic inch light tent that meets most of my needs, currently I only have a workbench lamp and two speedlights.

[IzzieK]

When I started with my studio I had the smallest room in the house...it did not matter at the time. I have one of those foldable picnic table and some shelves to rest some accessories like lens cover and cleaning accesories. To art with I have some building lights which I kept stealing from my husband's garage, two did for a while until he bought one of my own with adjustable height. I have not used it even once. Then you have to think of backdrop. Look for those expandable clothes hanger racks system which is easily detachable to bring home and put together.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...+rack&tbm=shop

(I have a proper backdrop holder that is very inconvenient for a small area.) Anyway, get some of those clips (I use magnetic clips that came from events advertisers.) to hold your fabric backdrops on each side and still be able to push it aside for another colour (Black or white, orange or pink?!). Paper backdrops are OK but it is more cheaper to use end of roll fabrics from a discount fabric store near you...they are more flexible than paper backdrops which you can not push aside like fabric does.

I am running out of the mistakes I did and some with success in setting up. Let the others have a go at their system...I am sure you will get a lot of advise till your head roll around getting more confused, but pick and choose wisely...or use your dining room, it is cheaper, it is there and it has the lights you need...

[Loose Canon]

However, the biggest flat working area I could manage would be about six feet by four feet. First question: is this at all practical?

Hi Dave,

I think what you are proposing is doable. Its going to have some caveats which I’m sure you’re already aware of. Smaller subjects, limited room for light/grip placement, wide glass/close shooting distance (have to be very aware of possible lens distortion), close BG placement to name a couple.

Another advantage (I think!) of the room is that the previous owner had it set up as a dark room, so there is very little natural light and I could control light as I needed.

A definite advantage. Especially if you are planning on using continuous lighting. Careful of the color of your walls. Could pick up some color cast at close quarters.

Second question. If this is at all feasible, can you suggest any reading material that would help me get my head around what's involved.

For lighting- Light: Science and Magic. Excellent for establishing a basic solid lighting foundation. It doesn’t cover every possible scenario of course, but it does provide a basis as you move away from the examples in the book.

Lots of effective ways to bring DIY equipment to bear and with darn good results. And there is a lot of info out there regarding such.

Have fun Dave! Be looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[Mike Buckley]

Not to demean anybody's past or future posts, but pay special attention to Terry's post. He's got LOTS of experience with this stuff, probably far more than anyone regularly posting here, and his ideas are great.

However, the biggest flat working area I could manage would be about six feet by four feet.

To put that into perspective, my tabletop is 2 feet x 2 feet and I have used it I think for all but one or two of my photos. I have never modified it to be larger but I could easily do that. I am contemplating some images for which I might use a tabletop that is just barely large enough to hold a drinking glass.

Definitely purchase Light: Science and Magic as Terry mentioned if you haven't already done that. (I seem to remember you participating in the thread discussing the fifth edition very recently released.) The book doesn't provide every possible setup (probably no single resource does), but its strength is that it will provide you the basics of the physics of light that can be transferred to whatever setup you decide to use.

Have fun! Looking forward to your photos!

[Manfred M]

Dave, another way of looking at this is to work backwards.

At a high level, you need around 30" of space around your work table to set up the shot; more is always better and less means more risk of knocking into your setup. This space is certainly important on the sides, but you might get away with a bit less at the end, unless you are setting up a light at the back (you can get some very interesting shots if you have lights behind the subject for certain types of shots. If you are setting up lights, or stands to hold flags or gobos, you don't want to be knocking them out of position. You'll want a bit more space at the shooting end; your tripod and body are going to need space to move around.

You haven't mentioned ceiling height. This is where I tend to run into problems. I have nothing higher than 8ft to work with, which is fine for products, but more problematic for people.

As Terry has pointed out, a small room will have the disadvantage of acting as a "light source", which can help, but more likely hinder the lighting. Darkrooms (at least B&W ones) tend to be painted white in order to reflect the dim light from the safelights, whereas studios are commonly matt black to minimize any light reflection. So if this former darkroom is similar to the one I had, you are going to be fighting the light coloured walls.

I quite agree with Mike and Terry's suggestion of Light: Science and Magic; it's an absolutely excellent reference book. You might also want to look at Allison Earnest's Lighting for Product Photography for a slightly different take on the subject.

I expect I will continue to shoot from a temporary "studio", but with my wife heading off to Japan for three weeks in a few days, at least I won't have to take things down so that she can see the TV....

I look forward to seeing your work; although winter is still some time away (at least for you; it was snowing again here today).

[Mike Buckley]

your tripod and body are going to need space to move around.

To clarify that, Manfred might be referring to your own body, not the camera body. As an example, my extremely small shooting space is so limited that I invariably have to make a choice between making room for my own body or making room at the opposite end for both a light stand and room to open the door to exit the room. I almost always opt for making room for my own body, knowing that I can temporarily move the light stand when I need to exit the room.

Allison Earnest's Lighting for Product Photography

I also agree with Manfred about this source. It's my #2 go-to resource behind my #1 go-to resource, which is Light: Science and Magic. The primary difference for me between the two books is that my #2 resource explains setups that work well without explaining why they work well, whereas my #1 resource explains why they work well. It's that "why" part of the explanation that becomes transferable to devising other setups, including the setups recommended by my #2 resource.

Having said that, one primary advantage of the Allison Earnest book is that she explains all of the tools that you might want to consider stocking your studio with. That doesn't happen in the fourth edition of Light: Science and Magic and I haven't gotten through my newly received copy of the fifth edition to know if it does that.

[rpcrowe]

I had a friend who shot in a very small space. One way he worked around the cramped area was to suspend his lights from the ceiling on scissor mounts...

[mknittle]

Hi everyone.

Having seen some of the "table top" type of pictures here, especially those from Mike Buckley, I am thinking of a project to have a go myself. Probably be something for the winter months. We have a small room that I could use, the advantage being that I wouldn't have to commandeer the dining room for example. However, the biggest flat working area I could manage would be about six feet by four feet. First question: is this at all practical?

Another advantage (I think!) of the room is that the previous owner had it set up as a dark room, so there is very little natural light and I could control light as I needed.

Second question. If this is at all feasible, can you suggest any reading material that would help me get my head around what's involved.
I am just now reading Light, Science and Magic. I isn't just a how to but also why it also doesn't go into great detail on things that aren't relevant to the topic.

Thanks for any help,

Dave

Very good Dave I too am planning to get a small studio going for the winter months.

[chauncey]

FWIW...my indoor studio set-up encompasses an area of about six foot square.
Everything is foldable and storable.