Studio at home..... priceless. - DPChallenge Forums

12/27/2006 09:47:04 PM · #27

Originally posted by idnic:

I never guessed 4 years ago that I'd be here today, but a little at a time and you can get what you want! This is a shot of 1/2 of my studio, the working end as it were.
Investment - untotaled
Value - Priceless

:)

Cindi, congrats for your studio, maybe one day if this hobbie get serious enough I will have one.

One question, do all the toys you have get paid by the work you've done (or do) with them??

12/27/2006 09:50:17 PM · #28

Originally posted by ivaldovi:

One question, do all the toys you have get paid by the work you've done (or do) with them??

MOST of my toys have been paid for by client work - portraits of families & kids - word-of-mouth promotion. Some of it, however, I consider an investment in my future and so have self-financed. (I still have a day-job).

12/27/2006 09:53:22 PM · #29

Erick - you're rockin' with your week-old strobes!! :)

skylercall

Canon EOS-7D

12/27/2006 10:01:50 PM · #30

Thanks to

thegrandwazoo for posting those picks. What would be perfect is the same shot taken first with the on-board flash and second with studio lights. My guess is that you don't have any of those shots laying around though.

12/27/2006 10:07:31 PM · #31

For those that don't know (in response to comments), the space used to be my garage. The floor is peel & stick vinyl that cost $110. I painted the walls white and hung $130 of padded fabric over the garage door, making a seamless bright room. I had a friend redirect the aircon/head vent from my laundry room to the studio, so its aircond' & heated (though it still gets hotter/colder than the rest of the house, so I use heaters & fans). Overall - I'd say the room make-over was ~$400, before adding equipment & backdrops, etc. The paper rolls and muslins (that I use most) are all strung on airline cable that's hooked to the walls ($10 for 2 lines). Lesser used backdrops are behind on an ebay-found BG holder ($40).

Message edited by author 2007-06-19 21:45:46.

12/27/2006 10:15:28 PM · #32

I tried to make everything in the room useful. Here's a shot using the floor....

elru21

12/27/2006 10:16:12 PM · #33

Originally posted by skylercall:

Can anyone send me a couple before and after lighting shots? They would help convince her. Especially if they are cute shots of children.

Here is the closest 'before and after' type shots I could think of. I had to go to 3 different hard drives to get these :) I think it says alot about the before and after of my PS skills and photography in general, but you can clearly see the drastic improvement in lighting as well.

For your wife (and you) - I think my earliest reason for getting the studio setup was to take studio-quality pictures of my daughter(s).

Christmas card 2004 (oh, the embarrassment! I thought this was soooo good at the time. Ack!)
This was using my 550EX flash on camera, with window light camera right.

Christmas card 2005 (Excuse the web color, this was when I was using Adobe RGB)
Two AB400s

Christmas card 2006
One AB400 and white reflector

Hope this helps,
Liza

Message edited by author 2006-12-27 22:21:05.

Telehubbie

12/27/2006 10:17:08 PM · #34

I LOVE your reflector holder, what a great idea! Everything else looks nice too, good job!

DemonLlama

Canon EOS-30D

12/27/2006 10:20:24 PM · #35

Thanks for showing us your setup - for those of us who aspire to this kind of rig but have no idea where to start, it's a great reference point. Thanks!

12/27/2006 10:22:53 PM · #36

Oh, forgot to mention -- what you dont see -- to the right of the camera is a table and 4 chairs for people waiting (parents, etc.); to the left I have taped off on the floor a checkers board for the kiddies to play with, and behind the camera is an entire wall of white peg-board with pegs holding everything from chairs to extra clamps, hats, technical equipment - everything has a place. :)

elru21

12/27/2006 10:31:27 PM · #37

Question for Cindi:

Do you primarily use the 24x24 softbox? How do you find it for getting very soft light (when desired)? I am using a Ab Giant (30x60, I think) and have been coveting the Larson 4x6. Then, I went to a workshop last month and they were using the 6x8 and I absolutely fell in love! Now, to get a bigger space...

Just wondering if you ever find the need for a larger light source (or maybe you have one that is not shown here?)

Thanks for posting your setup! I should clean mine up and take a pull back shot sometime.

Liza

12/27/2006 10:35:59 PM · #38

Originally posted by elru21:

Great question! I have often weighed the pros and cons about buying a larger softbox - but here is what works for me.... if I need say 5 feet of soft even light, I direct a strobe at my 5' reflector and use the reflector as my keylight, then fill with the softbox. I suppose if I had more space and a larger budget I would eventually buy a permenant fix, but for the time, it works for me and I'm okay. You see in the shot below, I'm using the reflector for backlight from head to toe - its like that but rotate everthing clockwise.

elru21

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

12/27/2006 11:08:27 PM · #39

Thank, Cindi! This makes perfect sense.

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

12/27/2006 11:36:55 PM · #40

Originally posted by skylercall:

Thanks to thegrandwazoo for posting those picks. What would be perfect is the same shot taken first with the on-board flash and second with studio lights. My guess is that you don't have any of those shots laying around though.

OK Man I did this fast and is a imperfect, almost out of the camera test.

With SB-600 Bounced

One mono-light bounced with silver umbrella

Added second mono-light

Message edited by author 2006-12-28 00:07:43.

amandalore

12/27/2006 11:40:35 PM · #41

Originally posted by skylercall:

Hey, let me set something up real quick... (though I see Wazz did some pics... it looks like a fun thing to try out, and also to show people in the future)

skylercall

Canon EOS-7D

12/27/2006 11:44:02 PM · #42

Thank you!

amandalore

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

12/28/2006 12:22:22 AM · #43

not to highjack this thread or anything, but

with fill flash

with two alienbee lights (which I'm sure could've been positioned better) - and imagine if I had three!

I did the EXACT same post processing to both of these (which wasn't hardly anything), but you can tell your wife these are straight from the camera

BTW: congrats on your new studio Cindi! How exciting, I'm jealous!

isonaj

Nikon D200

12/28/2006 01:32:43 AM · #44

Hey Cindi, thanks for sharing! This is an amazing setup.

For those of us more amateurish type peoples, could you share a bit more of the journey over the 4 years? Was that when you first picked up a camera? I'm guessing this is a hobby gone wild for you, to the point that you're doing professional photography at least part time...

I have gained a new respect for the expensive lighting setups... I used to think my trusty SB600 was enough... This grasshopper has much to learn.

â��Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will travel for miles to watch you burn.â��

skylercall

Canon EOS-7D

12/28/2006 01:36:00 AM · #45

Thank you so much

amandalore! That is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the time you have taken to help.

Mick

12/28/2006 02:42:23 AM · #46

Originally posted by idnic:

I have 2 AB 400s (both on the left in that image) and one AB800 (sporting the softbox). I'm finding more and more lately that I need 2 bg lights for even coverage, so if I did it over I would buy 4 AB400s. The AB800 is too powerful for that space anyway, I never use it at full power.
Now if I were traveling on location with them, I would go for 800s so I could light ANY space, but my little studio only needs 400s.

I have four AB400s in my studio. They work just fine for the size of my studio, which looks very similar to yours. I don't have the B&W tiled floor though. That's so neat! I actually wanted to put in the exact same type of flooring when we built our place, but we never got around to it. My floor is just smooth concrete, which at this time of year stays at about -40F degrees.

How did you hang your paper? I mounted two brackets on the wall for mine. The paper rolls have lightweight pipes that sit on the brackets. The extra height comes in handy while shooting, but it's so high that I have to use a ladder to change rolls. I need to come up with an easier way to change rolls.

amandalore

12/28/2006 03:27:46 AM · #47

Originally posted by skylercall:

Thank you so much amandalore! That is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the time you have taken to help.

no prob : )

12/28/2006 09:31:28 AM · #48

Originally posted by isonaj:

Hey Anthony - First off, yes, this is a bit of a hobby gone wild for me - I do professional work every chance I get now (a bit more than part-time, but not quite full-time, yet). I got lucky when I started out, I accidently found a mentor before I bought my first serious camera. My mentor (a high-end pro in London) helped me choose a camera to get me started (Sony 717), and started me on 'lessons'. It was hard and I worked my butt off to get even the most modest compliement from him (much like trying to get a '7' here).
I realized early on that I liked photographing people best - so bought my first 2 Alien Bees about 6 months after I bought the Sony and started learning to use them. I had a bit of space in our basement that was low and dark and cramped, but that's where I worked.
2 years into my photography journey, I bought a new house - this time shopping for a home with enough space for a "real" studio.
In the last 2 years, I moved up to SLRs, started a serious lens collection, added a third AB to the group and made upgrades to the studio as I could afford to. And here I am! Cindi Penrod, Professional Photographer - Superhero! :)

12/28/2006 09:34:31 AM · #49

Originally posted by Mick:

How did you hang your paper? I mounted two brackets on the wall for mine. The paper rolls have lightweight pipes that sit on the brackets. The extra height comes in handy while shooting, but it's so high that I have to use a ladder to change rolls. I need to come up with an easier way to change rolls.

Mick, I use airline cable to hang my paper rolls. Its strung between hooks on the walls. When I want to change a roll, I unhook one end of the cable, pull the cable out of the roll and feed it into another roll - fairly quick & easy (but easier still with someone around to help).

SDW