Best place to set up a home studio?

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Broric

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I'd like to set up a small/basic home studio but the options of where to set it up are a bit limited so I was looking for some advice.

They're basically:

1) In the garage. It's currently quite dark/dusty and would need some renovation. There's also no natural light unless the door is open.

2) In the corner of the spare bedroom. Any equipment would probably need to be packed away after use every time.

3) In the conservatory. We have quite a large conservatory and could easily use one side of it. The issues are LOTS of natural light (not sure how important being able to black out the room would be but it wouldn't be possible). It also gets VERY hot in the summer. When working in there the door/fan solve that but would leaving equipment in the heat when not in use cause any issues?


Thoughts?
 
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If it was me, I would prefer to keep the studio seperate from the house, so I would convert the garage.

If it's a seperate garage from the house and a prefab garage you could introduce some ceiling light by replacing corrugated roof sheets with clear sheets, if aplicable, or a Velux roof light for a flat roof or tiled. If attached to the house and same material (eg brick) you could look to knock through and introduce light by installing a window and lintel. In general a garage conversion doesn't cost a huge amount of money for a basic conversion. Get some quotes from local builders.

Even if the studio doesn't work out, you would possibly add some value to the house with a converted garage.
 
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The garage would seem to be the best option. The ceiling height will probably limit the range of things you can do, but at least you can leave your gear set up and, most importantly, you won't have any natural light in there and you will be able to paint the ceiling black and the walls grey.

The presence of natural light makes studio photography MUCH more difficult
 
Yeah, no natural light isn't actually a bad thing, you'd only end up having to put curtains or blinds on the windows at some point! If you convert the garage you can then at least open the door and shoot from outside with a longer lens. "The corner of a spare room" sound like you wouldn't have much room. Grab a friend or significant other, stick a 50mm lens on (Not idea put passable for portraiture) and see how far back from them you have to move to get a full-length shot. That should help with your decision making!
 
Broric said:
I'd like to set up a small/basic home studio but the options of where to set it up are a bit limited so I was looking for some advice.

They're basically:

1) In the garage. It's currently quite dark/dusty and would need some renovation. There's also no natural light unless the door is open.

2) In the corner of the spare bedroom. Any equipment would probably need to be packed away after use every time.

3) In the conservatory. We have quite a large conservatory and could easily use one side of it. The issues are LOTS of natural light (not sure how important being able to black out the room would be but it wouldn't be possible). It also gets VERY hot in the summer. When working in there the door/fan solve that but would leaving equipment in the heat when not in use cause any issues?


Thoughts?
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This is my garage set up, I hope it gives you a few ideas :)


Headshot/Portrait Studio Set Up by JennyGW-Photography, on Flickr
 
I've done shots on the corner of my bedroom (ok for headshots) and in the kitchen (better for 3/4 length or full body shots)

Whilst I can get shots in those locations I'd rather have a space all set up and ready to go!

Corner of the bedroom:

View attachment 15053

S
 
Sir SR said:
I've done shots on the corner of my bedroom (ok for headshots) and in the kitchen (better for 3/4 length or full body shots)

Whilst I can get shots in those locations I'd rather have a space all set up and ready to go!

Corner of the bedroom:

View attachment 15053

S
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Cheers, thats more what I was thinking at first.

There's no bed in the spare room (yet) so apart from a bit of clutter there's quite a bit of space.

I understand the comments about the garage and agree that's the best option but it's also probably the one that would actually need the most work so is a bit more of a long-term investment.
 
I suppose it depends on the kind of shots you want.

The bedroom ones are fine for grey backgrounds, white is tricky because of the lack of space (I have a hilite now though) and black is also tricky. There are a few work arounds that work for me though.

That said I'd much rather have it all set up in a bigger space (garage).
 
Broric said:
I understand the comments about the garage and agree that's the best option but it's also probably the one that would actually need the most work so is a bit more of a long-term investment.
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I think you're severely under estimating how much time gets wasted having to unpack and repack everything. Whichever option is going to cost you time, I'd consider the time spent sorting the garage a better long term investment.
 
I wondered about the time it took so I had a go tonight (needed to test some new triggers)

So went from this (5 mins set up)

View attachment 15101
View attachment 15102

To this (5 mins) after the mrs arrived

View attachment 15103

BUT I'd much rather have it all set up in a space ready to shoot as it's a bit limiting - I'd have to shoot elsewhere if I wanted to add hair/rim lighting, or if I wanted white/black backgrounds.

S
 
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I believe that if you use a garage you need to apply for a change of use from your local council too assuming your running a paying business and want insurance etc.
 
Donnie said:
I believe that if you use a garage you need to apply for a change of use from your local council too assuming your running a paying business and want insurance etc.
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And consider insurance.
 
Definately Garage
1289-933749119.jpg
 
A garage space is fine, and so is any other space - BUT you need to have an uncluttered environment, to maximise the amount of usable space, there's no point in having more equipment there than you actually need.
My own space is much larger, but all that having a larger (and empty) space means is that I can produce a much wider variety of shots, because space limitations don't apply, and it also becomes much easier because there's room for essential lighting and enough distance not to worry about light pollution, unwanted reflections etc.

But, with care, a small space doesn't affect the quality, it just affects the ease with which you can produce the limited range of work that the space can accommodate.
studio.jpg
 
Carlh said:
If you have loads of cash to spend (maybe a few hundred a month :crying: you could rent space at one of those storage space places (y)
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But realistically, most people can't do that.
And they don't need to either, as long as the work they carry out suits the space available to them.
 
There are lots of empty shops and office spaces around.

If you have paying clients then you have to think what they're going to think too. Squeezing them into a room with another use doesn't really seem like it would create a professional impression.
 
simonbarker said:
I think you're severely under estimating how much time gets wasted having to unpack and repack everything. Whichever option is going to cost you time, I'd consider the time spent sorting the garage a better long term investment.
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Could not agree more and the reason I went this way. It's lovely being able to go in there anytime and just play (I mean learn)!
 
General point on this.

I worried for a good while about doing lit white backdrops. The "how" is easy, but having enough space is essential.

However, no one wants it. Everyone I have had through the studio in the past couple of months has opted for mid-key. I use a softbox on the background for a soft gradient and no one has even questioned it or asked for an alternative.

I've done a bit of low key for my own benefit. Not going to even think about high key again unless I find more space.
 
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