What would I need in a photography studio?
What sort of equipment would you suggest I invest in for a photography studio, name as many big or small items as possible please.
What will you be taking photographs of.
Different equipment is required to shoot cars than small still lifes or people etc.
Basics obviously are cameras, lights, stands, reflectors, backgrounds, props.
From there it is upto you.
hmmmm…. a camera!
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Office equipment
Make up and dressing room
Waiting room
Conference room
Studio area (large enough for a cyclorama and at least two other painted backgrounds
One set of studio flash units (three to four 450 w/second or better heads with power supplies, Pocked Wizards, soft-boxes, umbrellas and light shaping accessories)
One set of incandescent lamps for shooting products
Sturdy tripod
Full complement of cameras and lenses
Post production computer with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop programs
Location notebook computer with Lightroom and Photoshop programs
Small portable, remote lighting kit.
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Fashion and glamour photographer
Somehow I don`t think you are ready to invest in a studio
A studio can cover many aspects of photography & normally one acquires items to suit ones needs as the occasion arises
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if you are talking of having a studio, then that almost certainly means portrait photography
so you will need a good quality camera.. effectivley that means a digital SLR, it doesn’t mean that you should buy Canon or Nikon.. any of the Digital SLR’s from a reputable make will suffice.
you need a suitbale lens/ lenses, depends on what you are trying to photograph and at what distance. traditioanlly a lens in the focal range of 50..150 was regarded as sutiable for most portraits. you may decide to have more than one lens in which case more than one camera may be appropriate
you need a flash and or lighting system, the lighting system may include white "umbrellas" to bounce the light back onto the person beign photographed so the light is diffused
you may need fancier gear such as slaved flash, or photo floods all with appropriate cables and power supplies.. you may need lots of sockets on the wall to supply the power.
if you are photographing children then you may need some empathy with children to get the best out of them.
with modern digital imager you will need a post photo processing program and suitable spec’d computer.. photoshop is the leader.
if you saty in the film generation you will need to either find a good film processor near you or develop your own darkroom with suitable containers, chemicals and so on.
you may need to subscribe to various journals and magazines to build your skills up
but most of all you will need some vestige of skill and an appreciation of what makes a good image. if you don’t have the artistic flair to capture ‘the’ image then its something that cannot be compensated for elsewhere. knowing the camera inside out is no substitute for knowing what makes an image work
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What will you be taking photographs of.
Different equipment is required to shoot cars than small still lifes or people etc.
Basics obviously are cameras, lights, stands, reflectors, backgrounds, props.
From there it is upto you.
References :
a camera, a background some lighting and a PC… everything else is spurious.
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38yrs learning, 18yrs teaching
What nobody has mentioned yet is backups. Accidents happens, and what if you drop a camera or a light, you gotta finish the shoot you’re being paid for so backups or contingencies should be considered even if not the perfect solution.
Along the line of mishaps some insurance wouldn’t go amiss, though it’s not technically something that goes into the studio.
Other things that would worthwhile considering is the studio itself, things like what natural lighting it can provide and floorspace and arrangement.
Also in addition to makeup and dressing rooms, I think a mini kitchen with tea making facilities and a bathroom would be handy. I’m just thinking logically here, what level of service would you want if you were the client or a model.
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