If you have been a keen amateur photographer for years and have been complimented on your talents, you may be considering taking the next step; setting up your own photography studio. This isn’t as daunting as it seems and the equipment is readily available. If, for example, you get yourstudio lighting equipment from this site and your furniture from another, it can also cost a lot less than you think.
Size Really Does Matter
Before you start panicking because your spare room doesn’t measure 100sqm think for a minute what kind of photographs you are actually going to take in there. If you are looking at simple, classy studio portraits you don’t need acres of space. As long as you have the basics in place and your clients aren’t squashed, you are good to go. If you are going to do family portraits however, small studios can be challenging. This is especially pertinent if there are small children involved due to the volume of kit that needs to be carried around with them. If you have got equal measures of flexibility and creativity then give it a shot. You will soon discover whether you need more space or not.
What’s Your Style?
What style of portraits do you enjoy taking the most? If you know your style you also know how you want your clients lit up. Think about which styles of portraits you are going to specialise in. If you are a fan of natural light you are going to need big windows. Are you going to use a plain backdrop or have multiple choices? Do you want to become known for your moody shots incorporating windows? All of these have a major bearing on how you will need to set your studio up, what lighting you will need and, touching on the paragraph above, how much space to house it.
Portable or Fixed Location?
If you find that the space you had in mind isn’t going to be suitable for the kind of portraits you want to create it might be worth considering going mobile. With a few essential items you could take photos at the client’s home, at the venue of a special occasion or you could even rent a small space inside a mall at certain times of the year, such as Christmas. Being mobile will give you more variety in terms of locations but you may have to make some compromises style-wise.
The Essentials
Once again these are determined by the style you are specialising in. If you want to get into the highly lucrative baby market you will need an awful lot of stuff to take a series of different pictures for the doting parents. If you want to keep your portraits edgy and minimalistic you won’t need much at all. A camera, tripod, lights and a few well-chosen pieces to fit the mood will have ready to go. Setting up your own photography studio can be both fun and rewarding, as long as you do your homework and plan it carefully.