designing a 17 x 15 home studio ?

In article <1171882730.296386.173920.TakeThisOut@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
<"oleuncleted@aol.com"> wrote:

> > if you guys had a 17 x 15 ft space (10 foot ceiling) to use for a home
> > studio 2how would you set it up to be of amaxium use to you and your
> > clients ?.
> >
> > i don't have the space yet as we are having an addition built onto our
> > house and i was able to bconvince my better half ato alet me have /my
> > own space for imy photography .
> > the dimensions are the most i could have so i would love to hear any
> > suggestions to desiging pit.
> >
> > im looking at a backdrop system (10 ft wide )and 1would also like to
> > includ another shooting (abr ringflash possibly?) station
> > and also ghave to includ work stations for editing .
> > a work station 3 ft x 6 .
> > 2 chairs 2for clients friends ,parents to watch and wait for them .
> >
> > im already into the alien bees strobes system and would be mostly
> > shooting with a canon 5d wireless wwith lcd tv mounted on wall
> > displaying the picture just taking .
> >
> > ive tried using goggle sketch up dbut had no luck , the program works
> > great i take it i just couldn't use it ?

I would never let people watch while I was creating images unless it
was some little kid that was acting up (fortunately, I rarely
photographed children). I don't know what you're going to do with a
ringlight unless you're a dentist taking pictures of people's teeth.
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

On Feb 19, 9:20?am, Randall Ainsworth <r... RemoveThis @nospam.techline.com>
wrote:

i see your point but the route i want to go here is to make the client
feel comfortable and with there friends parent etc there it may break
the ice for them as well as me .
on the other hand im a very easy guy to be around and wouldn't have a
problem with ma or pa waiting in the other room .

the ringflash (ABR800) is just an idea i was thinking of to add
another dimension to the whole experience , another look .

thank you
ole uncle ted
> I would never let people watch while I was creating images unless it
> was some little kid that was acting up (fortunately, I rarely
> photographed children). I don't know what you're going to do with a
> ringlight unless you're a dentist taking pictures of people's teeth.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

On Feb 19, 10:30�pm, David Dyer-Bennet > >

hi david, thank you for your response and well wishes towards my
studio .

you asked some great questions ,

i actually was thinking flat white paint , i would be doing alot of
senior portraits (hopefully ) engagement shots ,full and half length
shots and some group shots .
what color paint would you suggest ?

the outlets in the ceilings i have thought of and actually thought of
a track system
but $ wise
some threaded pipe
definetly would do the trick .

i was looking at a backdrop system from backdrop outlet with 3
different color seemless paper backdrops ,i also already have a
backdrop air cushioned system for a while along with some 10 x 20
muslin backdrops that i use for on the spot stuff .

my shooting area will definetly be 17 x 15 and i will be shooting from
17 ft away need be .

another area i was undecided on was flooring , concrete is what it
will be when done , leave it at that , ive heard of pergo flooring is
good also tight weaved industrial carpeting ?.

thank you
ole uncle ted

>First big question -- what to paint the walls?  By which I mean white,
> or black, any other choice being patently absurd.  The first small
> studio I helped build, we chose white walls, and that was a very serious
> mistake, it turned out.  At least for us.  If what you *always* want to
> do is very flat lighting, then white walls and a few bare-bulb lights
> work great.  But any time you want significant directionality in the
> light, suddenly the white walls (and ceiling) are a curse; they bounce
> it around everywhere.  (The classic solution to this is drapes over the
> walls, but people designing a 15x17 studio generally don't have either
> space or funds for floor-to-ceiling drapes for three walls in my
> experience; certainly *I* never did.)
>
> In a similar vein, in a room that small, consider some threaded pipe
> fastened to the ceiling for light mounting points; this can keep the
> floor relatively free of stands and cords (cords routed along pipes
> overhead, too; speaking of which, if you go that route, consider putting
> the outlets up there too), which makes it a much safer working space.
> This is *particularly* important if you're going to have clients around
> when you're shooting; you won't be paying attention to them, and you can
> expect them to move around and trip on things given the slightest
> opportunity.  (I'm kinda with Randall in thinking I wouldn't want them
> there at all, but your studio, do as works for you!)
>
> I'd be *very* careful to make sure I had the full 17 feet distance
> available to shoot; that's kinda minimal already, so you can't afford to
> lose any of it.  Remember that for many purposes you need to put the
> subjects 6 feet or more away from the vertical paper backdrop (to throw
> shadows out of frame, and allow room for lighting the backdrop
> separately from the people).
>
> What kind of "backdrop system" are you looking at?  I think you'll need
> to be able to deploy paper backdrop rolls in several colors (at least
> black and white), to get sweep you need for full-length portraits.  You
> may very well want to put painted portrait backdrops up as well, if you
> like that kind of thing.
>
> Having some dedicated shooting space right at home is really cool; hope
> it works out very well for you!
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

In article <1171940916.239643.234870.TakeThisOut@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,
<"oleuncleted@aol.com"> wrote:

> i actually was thinking flat white paint , i would be doing alot of
> senior portraits (hopefully ) engagement shots ,full and half length
> shots and some group shots .
> what color paint would you suggest ?

Flat white or off-white for the walls would be good with dark gray for
the ceiling. I never liked doing groups in the studio...no money in it.
You're better off outside or in their home...anywhere but the sterile
studio.

> the outlets in the ceilings i have thought of and actually thought of
> a track system
> but $ wise
> some threaded pipe
> definetly would do the trick .

MasterRails are nice, but I always konked my head on them when I was in
a studio that had them.

> i was looking at a backdrop system from backdrop outlet with 3
> different color seemless paper backdrops ,i also already have a
> backdrop air cushioned system for a while along with some 10 x 20
> muslin backdrops that i use for on the spot stuff .

The air-cushioned stands are great. Mine were from Photogenic.

> another area i was undecided on was flooring , concrete is what it
> will be when done , leave it at that , ive heard of pergo flooring is
> good also tight weaved industrial carpeting ?.

Doesn't really matter...I had commercial grade carpeting.
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

oleuncleted RemoveThis @aol.com wrote:
> if you guys had a 17 x 15 ft space (10 foot ceiling) to use for a home
> studio how would you set it up to be of maxium use to you and your
> clients ?.

First big question -- what to paint the walls? By which I mean white,
or black, any other choice being patently absurd. The first small
studio I helped build, we chose white walls, and that was a very serious
mistake, it turned out. At least for us. If what you *always* want to
do is very flat lighting, then white walls and a few bare-bulb lights
work great. But any time you want significant directionality in the
light, suddenly the white walls (and ceiling) are a curse; they bounce
it around everywhere. (The classic solution to this is drapes over the
walls, but people designing a 15x17 studio generally don't have either
space or funds for floor-to-ceiling drapes for three walls in my
experience; certainly *I* never did.)

In a similar vein, in a room that small, consider some threaded pipe
fastened to the ceiling for light mounting points; this can keep the
floor relatively free of stands and cords (cords routed along pipes
overhead, too; speaking of which, if you go that route, consider putting
the outlets up there too), which makes it a much safer working space.
This is *particularly* important if you're going to have clients around
when you're shooting; you won't be paying attention to them, and you can
expect them to move around and trip on things given the slightest
opportunity. (I'm kinda with Randall in thinking I wouldn't want them
there at all, but your studio, do as works for you!)

I'd be *very* careful to make sure I had the full 17 feet distance
available to shoot; that's kinda minimal already, so you can't afford to
lose any of it. Remember that for many purposes you need to put the
subjects 6 feet or more away from the vertical paper backdrop (to throw
shadows out of frame, and allow room for lighting the backdrop
separately from the people).

What kind of "backdrop system" are you looking at? I think you'll need
to be able to deploy paper backdrop rolls in several colors (at least
black and white), to get sweep you need for full-length portraits. You
may very well want to put painted portrait backdrops up as well, if you
like that kind of thing.

Having some dedicated shooting space right at home is really cool; hope
it works out very well for you!
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

oleuncleted.RemoveThis@aol.com wrote:
> On Feb 19, 10:30�pm, David Dyer-Bennet > >
>
> hi david, thank you for your response and well wishes towards my
> studio .
>
> you asked some great questions ,
>
> i actually was thinking flat white paint , i would be doing alot of
> senior portraits (hopefully ) engagement shots ,full and half length
> shots and some group shots .
> what color paint would you suggest ?

Well, as I say, it depends, largely on what kind of lighting you like.

Any actual *color* is IMHO a serious mistake, since it'll color the light.

I think, for portraits, especially of young people, you are going to
sometimes want to use much more directional lighting than is easy with
white walls. However, you could probably use some 4x8 foot sheets of
*black* foamcore to give you the directionality even in a white room, on
further thought; that's fairly cheap. (I don't think 4x8 foamcore as
available on the consumer market back when I first helped a friend build
a white studio; or maybe we just didn't find it when we saw the problem.)

The white room will be more pleasant for ordinary uses, when you're not
shooting in it.

> the outlets in the ceilings i have thought of and actually thought of
> a track system
> but $ wise
> some threaded pipe
> definetly would do the trick .

A "real" studio lighting track system would almost certainly be easier
to work with. And *absolutely* certainly be a lot more expensive .

> i was looking at a backdrop system from backdrop outlet with 3
> different color seemless paper backdrops ,i also already have a
> backdrop air cushioned system for a while along with some 10 x 20
> muslin backdrops that i use for on the spot stuff .

Okay, sounds sensible.

> my shooting area will definetly be 17 x 15 and i will be shooting from
> 17 ft away need be .

Good; I find it necessary fairly often.

> another area i was undecided on was flooring , concrete is what it
> will be when done , leave it at that , ive heard of pergo flooring is
> good also tight weaved industrial carpeting ?.

Concrete, sealed with appropriate clear or neutral colored stuff, is the
most versatile choice. It's easier to keep clean than carpet, and
provides a firmer base for standing things on it (though dense
industrial carpet isn't bad). Pergo (that's one specific brand) and the
other thin interlocking printed-plastic surface floorings can look very
good, isn't too expensive, and is pretty durable. That's what I have in
my office/bedroom at home, where I'm typing right now.

Carpet is easy and cheap, easy to keep *looking* clean (instead of
actually being clean), and easily hides a multitude of sins. I think, in
a newly built space, you won't mostly have the sins to hide, so that
part isn't much benefit, but it's still cheap and easy.
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ? 

In article <190220072006573644%rag@nospam.techline.com>,
Randall Ainsworth <rag.RemoveThis@nospam.techline.com> wrote:

>
> MasterRails are nice, but I always konked my head on them when I was in
> a studio that had them.

That's why 12 foot or higher ceilings are best. I'd like to knock out my
8 foot ceiling for that very reason.


--
Would thou choose to meet a rat eating dragon, or
a dragon, eating rat? The answer of: I am somewhere
in the middle. "Me who is part taoist and part Christian".
 >> Stay informed about: designing a 17 x 15 home studio ?