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05/18/2010 02:05:49 PM · #1 |
OK so I'm going to bite the bullet and rent/lease space to put my studio in. I can't do it full time due to Health insurance issues with my son, but back to my question while I'm looking at commercial property to lease/rent in my area. How much space do you have? How much space do you wish you had? How much can you realistically get away with? thanks
Matt |
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05/18/2010 07:04:14 PM · #2 |
Bump? Maybe those with Studio space might be online now. I'm going looking tomorrow evening.
Matt |
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05/18/2010 07:14:55 PM · #3 |
From my past experience, the only time you have "too much space" is when it comes to paying for it.
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05/18/2010 07:22:18 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
From my past experience, the only time you have "too much space" is when it comes to paying for it. |
+1
I don't have a studio per se, but I do own a shop.....
Couldn't have said it any better!
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05/18/2010 07:28:53 PM · #5 |
Disclaimer -- I have absolutely *nothing* to do with this website, and only know of it because of a blog link I came across several months ago. I signed up for an account there to see what was available in my area (there wasn't much), and haven't had any contacts or use of it since then...
If you're looking for anyone to potentially share studio space with, you might check out Studio Share and see if there is anyone else in your area in a similar situation.
Again, I've never "used" the site aside from looking at what was available in my area, but it seems like an interesting idea at least. |
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05/18/2010 07:45:47 PM · #6 |
A lot depends on how you plan to use it, and the type(s) of photography you might want to do there.
If you plan to also use it as your office space and for editing work, you will likely want a separate, if small, room that you can secure when people are in the studio itself. You may want a small space with mirror, lighting, and such for people to change clothes and "primp".
I don't have a studio (yet... someday!). I have used different types, though. The least expensive option may be a smallish space in an industrial park. This can be cheaper, and you can build some "free-standing" frame "walls" to create a dressing room, etc. It may or may not be in a location or have the look/feel you want for customers though. Some share access to restroom facilities, while some have private facilities. This sort of space is fairly flexible, but not as attractive as you may want.
I have also used spaces that are in older buildings: one was effectively a large, long basement sort of room--worked well, but studio lights are the only lights. No windows. It had downtown street access, though, so seemed more businesslike. Another place was an edge of downtown place, near the railroad tracks (noisy) but it was an upstairs room with huge north facing windows, white walls, dark wood floors, and exposed brick areas. It was a VERY flexible space.
One thing to consider is parking and easy access for you & your gear, location security concerns, and easy parking/access for your clients. The two downtownish places I use have troublesome parking, and hauling gear in and out is a major pain. Since it will be your studio, you may opt to leave gear there, but then some security considerations come into play (lockdown area for the pricey stuff, alarm system, insurance factors). The industrial park sites usually have convenient parking, often have a large garage door for access, too.
You'll more than likely just "know it when you see it" (at least until you see the rent figures).
Another thing to consider is making it available for rental use by other photographers--if you think you might do that, it might affect your choice of space, location, and configuration. Would they be renting the studio with gear, or just the studio, bringing their own lighting? You would want to be able to lock up anything of yours while renters are in the place.
Keep us posted, please. I daydream frequently about doing this, myself. Congrats in advance! |
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05/18/2010 08:07:12 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
From my past experience, the only time you have "too much space" is when it comes to paying for it. |
I'd love to have 5000 square foot of wide open space to design and have what I want. Realistically funds aren't there for it and most would go to waste. I'm thinking 15x20 open area would be great. 20x30 would be amazing. I just have to look at it from how much work can I do to pay for it, while still putting coin in my pocket.
I am going to look at a couple of places tomorrow evening. Both on the smallish side that is why I was hoping I could get some input on min. size people could deal with. I've been removing everything from my living room to set it up every time and then putting everything back. It's an hour and 15 minutes each way each time I have a shoot. My back needs a break!
Matt |
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05/18/2010 08:37:19 PM · #8 |
Well, I had 3500 square feet in San Diego, about a half of which was storage, darkrooms, and administrative, and the rest a shooting space, and that was just on the happy side of adequate as far as space to move the lights around. It was an upper floor of an industrial building, and we had very high ceilings (good) and industrial elevator access (good). We built a full-scale cyclorama in there... So that's MY experience. And we weren't primarily working with people at all, we did 80% architectural work (studio was used for photographing architectural models a lot) and 20% commercial and editorial...
For whatever that's worth, which I suspect is not much.
R.
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05/18/2010 11:30:27 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by cdrice:
Disclaimer -- I have absolutely *nothing* to do with this website, and only know of it because of a blog link I came across several months ago. I signed up for an account there to see what was available in my area (there wasn't much), and haven't had any contacts or use of it since then...
If you're looking for anyone to potentially share studio space with, you might check out Studio Share and see if there is anyone else in your area in a similar situation.
Again, I've never "used" the site aside from looking at what was available in my area, but it seems like an interesting idea at least. |
what a fabulous idea ... too bad they don't have any 'free' accounts to do a basic search with ... if I knew that there were affordable options near me, I'd likely sign up ... I would think they could offer a very basic search with very few studio details for free ... oh well, I'm not willing to spend $50 to find out if there's something in my area or not ... |
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05/18/2010 11:58:34 PM · #10 |
I'm poor. My studio is in a shoebox in the middle of the road.
My family also lives in this shoebox, all seven of them.
At least my ceiling is adjustable to any height I want or
I can take it off and use natural light.
We're all happy in my shoebox. :)
Message edited by author 2010-05-18 23:59:03. |
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05/19/2010 03:31:33 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by Jac:
I'm poor. My studio is in a shoebox in the middle of the road.
My family also lives in this shoebox, all seven of them.
At least my ceiling is adjustable to any height I want or
I can take it off and use natural light.
We're all happy in my shoebox. :) |
*Mack Truck.......* |
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05/19/2010 09:16:10 AM · #12 |
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:
Originally posted by Jac:
I'm poor. My studio is in a shoebox in the middle of the road.
My family also lives in this shoebox, all seven of them.
At least my ceiling is adjustable to any height I want or
I can take it off and use natural light.
We're all happy in my shoebox. :) |
*Mack Truck.......* |
We move often, sometimes in the middle of the night as we're sleeping. |
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05/19/2010 09:46:24 AM · #13 |
realistically, 10x20 would be a minimum, just to have breathing room between shooting, setup, workspace, and storage.
equally important is location, and that depends on what type of stuff you're primarily going to be shooting.
any chance of sharing a space with someone nearby that you can get along with? |
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05/19/2010 10:47:59 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by pamelasue:
Originally posted by cdrice:
If you're looking for anyone to potentially share studio space with, you might check out Studio Share and see if there is anyone else in your area in a similar situation. |
what a fabulous idea ... too bad they don't have any 'free' accounts to do a basic search with ... if I knew that there were affordable options near me, I'd likely sign up ... I would think they could offer a very basic search with very few studio details for free ... oh well, I'm not willing to spend $50 to find out if there's something in my area or not ... |
Yikes! Well, that shows how much I use it... I didn't even know they stopped offering free memberships. Mine was free (I assume I joined in some promotional period or when they were first startup up, etc).
If anyone wants me to look in their area for them, I can see if I can get back on a run a search for them or something, and you can at least figure out if it's worth joining. Wow, $50/year is pretty steep either way. Just PM me with your zip code and what you're looking for.
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05/19/2010 11:17:52 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by cdrice:
Originally posted by pamelasue:
Originally posted by cdrice:
If you're looking for anyone to potentially share studio space with, you might check out Studio Share and see if there is anyone else in your area in a similar situation. |
what a fabulous idea ... too bad they don't have any 'free' accounts to do a basic search with ... if I knew that there were affordable options near me, I'd likely sign up ... I would think they could offer a very basic search with very few studio details for free ... oh well, I'm not willing to spend $50 to find out if there's something in my area or not ... |
Yikes! Well, that shows how much I use it... I didn't even know they stopped offering free memberships. Mine was free (I assume I joined in some promotional period or when they were first startup up, etc).
If anyone wants me to look in their area for them, I can see if I can get back on a run a search for them or something, and you can at least figure out if it's worth joining. Wow, $50/year is pretty steep either way. Just PM me with your zip code and what you're looking for. |
I used their "contact us" form to ask if there is any way to find out about their listings for my area BEFORE I pay $50. I suspect they were finding that no one joined when they could see the info for free (but they charge studios $80 to list). On the other hand, one can google "photography studio rental [your city]" and get a fair amount of info for FREE. This is easily found for Seattle |
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05/19/2010 12:31:54 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by chromeydome:
I used their "contact us" form to ask if there is any way to find out about their listings for my area BEFORE I pay $50. I suspect they were finding that no one joined when they could see the info for free (but they charge studios $80 to list). On the other hand, one can google "photography studio rental [your city]" and get a fair amount of info for FREE. This is easily found for Seattle |
Yeah, no kidding. I had kept it bookmarked since it seemed like a "neat idea," but I don't think a lot of people are signing up there (and for the prices, I don't blame them)... For the couple of folks who PMed me for searches, I only found 1 or 2 studios listed (and those were for large metro areas) -- and there are still one two listed for me, too.
Oh, well, it was a thought. Looks like google is still your best bet if you want to share something. |
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05/19/2010 12:41:39 PM · #17 |
Hi Matt,
In terms of minimum space you're looking at enough width for a 2.7m paper roll (or similar) with space each side for lights and paper roll supports, so you're looking at a realistic minimum of around 3m. Length-wise you're really going to want at least 5m but more would be better in terms of allowing you a longer lens to keep more of the paper roll in the shot for larger groups.
This is obviously just a shooting area, I have an extra room to to the side of the shooting area of around 3m x 4m as a changing room and then there it space to the front/side of the shooting area with a sofa and table for speaking to clients. Then you have bathroom and kitchen facilities to think about.
Hope that helps a little?
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05/19/2010 01:43:03 PM · #18 |
Just found (by chance) an old page from my old web site with pictures of my studio so you can see what I'm referring to
My Studio
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05/19/2010 06:51:41 PM · #19 |
Thanks everyone. I'm hoping a couple of these places will be close to the size I'm wanting without wanting too much a month for them.
Matt |
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05/21/2010 10:48:01 PM · #20 |
I found one with an office two bathrooms and the two biggest rooms are 16x18 and 16x20. As long as I can figure out a way to afford and book enough work I may just rent the space. $600 a month plus utilities. Best part is it's already accessible. Which was one of my requirements that many haven't met so far.
Matt |
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05/21/2010 11:36:53 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by MattO:
I found one with an office two bathrooms and the two biggest rooms are 16x18 and 16x20. As long as I can figure out a way to afford and book enough work I may just rent the space. $600 a month plus utilities. Best part is it's already accessible. Which was one of my requirements that many haven't met so far.
Matt |
That sounds like a pretty good deal! Depending on the market, and how fast the landlord thinks he can get it leased, he might be willing to haggle ($500/month starting now might be good compared to having it go empty another month or two). Sometimes they will paint or some other upgrade, too. You may be able to rent use of the studio to other photographers, but be a bit cautious how you do that: some leases don't allow you to lease the space in a formal way, but if someone pays you for a shoot, or pays you to use your studio for a shoot by the hour, that should be normal business operation. Insurance will be different in that case, I suspect.
Good luck!
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