Mistakes to avoid when building a studio

scottduffy

scottduffy

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Hi folks,

I'm having a garage converted soon into a studio so I can have somewhere to shoot that doesn't involve moving furniture etc every time I fancy it.

I have a garage outside which is one of the kits you buy. It was here before I bought the house and is something like 18 x 8.5 x 7 feet.

I have checked with the council and I'm allowed to raise this to 4 metres without permission and although I'm not sure I need this full height I thought I'd ask. This will be mainly for shooting portraits and babies not large groups. I was wondering what are essentials of a small space like this. I was thinking a small changing area that could maybe double as a storage area for props.

I'm having free standing lights, paper backgrounds on rollers at the rear.

Electricity obviously but I thought I'd leave plumbing out and use a small electric heater instead of radiators.

Is there anything anyone has regretted not including when creating a small space? I just don't want to convert it then make a mess of it.
 
I'm still trying to finish my studio in my large shed (20'x10')

Ventilation is something I never thought of and although I've insulated it well it gets hot in the winter even with 2 studio lights running.
They chuck out a fair amount of heat.

Height is something I'm missing but it sounds as though you've got it covered. (Envious!)

Width may be an issue as the legs on a studio light stand and softboxes mean that they will be at least a foot or two from the walls.

That's what I'm finding anyway.

I wish you all the luck Scott as it's a great use of space and highly addictive.

Terry.
 
Ventilation is something I've not considered at all terry so thanks very much for that. I suppose I could stick a couple of velux windows somewhere but I was hoping to minimise natural light so I could control the studio lights better. I'll have a think about this.
 
You can get snap in blinds for Velux - they work well, and as the blind runs in a frame, there are no 'edges' once pulled closed, so give full blackout.

http://www.velux.co.uk/products/blinds-and-shutters/blackout-blinds

Not the cheapest, by any means, but would give you the option for ventilation.

(We had a loft conversion done at home, if you've had a late night, the last thing you need is the bedroom being flooded with light from a velux at dawn :))
 
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8.5ft wide is your main problem by a long way even for children, there's no room for your subjects to move and even sat on a stool they'll feel cramped; that and the bounce back from the walls & ceilings will significantly reduce your lighting control unless you make it miserable by hanging black material everywhere

You're going to be disappointed by your lack of options I'm afraid

Dave
 
I know a couple of people with similar sized spaces - they use ceiling track systems to keep what little floor space there is clear and get lights closer to the walls.
I'm sure there's lots of creative stuff you could do in that space but 8.5 feet is really quite narrow. If you wanted to do Rembrandt lighting with a large softbox there really wouldn't be much room left.

For shooting naked babies.. I'd guess hand washing facilities would be extremely useful.
 
Everyone who says that the width will be a limitation is right BUT as long as you limit yourself to subjects that don't need more width (and more ceiling height) you'll be fine.

In other words, a smaller space limits the RANGE of work you can do, and can also make lighting control more challenging, but with care it won't affect the quality of the finished result.

As for an overhead track system, the minimum height needed is 14'
 
You've already realised that your limited space is your issue and half the battle is understanding that and understanding the limitations.

You've got what you've got, yes it would be better if it was bigger but it is what it is, understand the limitations and do what you can with what you have,

A permanent set up will be way better than any temporary arrangement, I'm very jealous.
 
Thanks very much guys. My father in law has actually told me is 10 feet wide so little wider. I was planning a changing area but not sure how difficult it will be to add plumbing. I'll check that out. The subjects will range from still life to babies and portraits so I guess I'll just research lighting in a small space.

I actually have a mate who owns a blind company so I'll speak to him about them if I decide to go with the roof windows. I'm thinking that maybe a window nearer the door at the opposite end to where I'll be shooting might help limit the natural light impacting the images.
 
The problem with a small studio area is, obviously enough, not having enough room to fit everything in and softboxes and booms etc can be very greedy with space, but also the unwanted influence that nearby walls and ceiling have when they bounce/reflect spilled light back to the subject in an uncontrolled way - particularly with low-key lighting and stronger shadow effects. But actually, if you know the limitations and work within them and around them, you can do a heck of a lot :thumbs:

Control spill with flags and screens, cut it out with grids (though they can also change the lighting effect). Painting the walls matt black is very effective but creates a very gloomy cave-like working environment, but a very good alternative is white walls with black drapes you can pull across as necessary. You can also use nearby white walls as giant softboxes by simply firing the light at them - I do that a lot with ceilings.

You can also enlarge the effective working area by a handy foot or more by using umbrellas or reverse-firing softboxes, as you can push them right up against the wall/ceiling.

Don't forget the floor, and make it a neutral (grey) colour. A patterned floor with big squares makes a handy reference grid for positioning lights and tripod, or make your own grid with masking tape :)
 
Thanks Richard this is all great information. I was wondering about the flooring and actually i thought about a product i sell in my part time job which is grey vinyl click flooring. It's expensive but waterproof etc and hardwearing. The walls i've read many times should be dark and my worry was how that would seem to subjects as it could end up like a teenagers bedroom !! I might go for the white walls and drapes or black foam boards that i could position to suit.
 
scottduffy said:
Thanks Richard this is all great information. I was wondering about the flooring and actually i thought about a product i sell in my part time job which is grey vinyl click flooring. It's expensive but waterproof etc and hardwearing. The walls i've read many times should be dark and my worry was how that would seem to subjects as it could end up like a teenagers bedroom !! I might go for the white walls and drapes or black foam boards that i could position to suit.
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:thumbs:

White foam insulation boards, painted black one side, is a very good option. They're full wall-to-ceiling height and easy to cut to size, cheap, light, and you can just flip them around as necessary. I'm thinking about a garage-studio myself, and foam boards is looking like the favourite option. Should be relatively easy to rig up some brackets and batons to run them under the ceiling too.
 
My father in law has advised me that he could create a sliding door to cover one or two velux windows at the shooting end of the studio if i wanted to shoot babies in natural light. I have googled this many times but is there anything you guys would worry about when shooting babies with studio lights? Should i aim to shoot mostly with natural light and take him up on his offer?
 
scottduffy said:
I found the insulation boards and they are silver on the sides and don't look like they could be painted but then i found a general purpose polystyrene board 8x4 for £7.99. Looks like they could be a winner. Should be easy to paint.
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-25mm-General-Purpose-Polystyrene-1200-x-2400mm/p/210823
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My only concern with using polystyrene boards is that the edges may have a nasty tendency to shed small polystyrene 'blobs' if knocked, and (from experience when my daughters decided to break up some polystyrene packaging) these blobs are a right pain to try and clear up!
The insulation boards are more a 'solid foam' material, so if knocked just give a sort of powder, which is much simpler to clear up.

You could try covering either option with wallpaper lining paper first, then painting that - would remove any issues with paint adhering to the surface, and might make them a bit more resistant to damage.
 
Could you not get someone to make you a cover for the polystyrene boards, with material?
 
scottduffy said:
I found the insulation boards and they are silver on the sides and don't look like they could be painted but then i found a general purpose polystyrene board 8x4 for £7.99. Looks like they could be a winner. Should be easy to paint.
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-25mm-General-Purpose-Polystyrene-1200-x-2400mm/p/210823
Click to expand...

They're the ones - cheap to buy, expensive to deliver! Except, I think they're made from recycled materials or something and have grey speckles all over them. If you can get pure white it'll save some paint. They're also available 50mm thick and those are much more rigid - the 25mm ones will bow out if just free standing. Cut to size with a bread knife ;)

Paint with matt emulsion, generously around the edges and that will seal them. I tried gaffa tape but it just won't stick. Spray paints, even those that say they can be used on plastics, the propellant will eat into the surface. Choose white paint carefully - they're not all neutral white, test with a MatchPot sample first.
 
scottduffy said:
I have checked with the council and I'm allowed to raise this to 4 metres without permission
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While raising the roof might not need permission, using a garage for another use, especially commercial probably does so check with your local council. If there are any problems in the future and the building doesn't have the correct permissions, you might find that your insurance is null and void. It's a royal PITA but always best to dot the Ts and cross the Is.
 
Might be getting built quicker than I expected as came out yesterday to my neighbour across the road having a go at my wife for parking in our drive !!!! Couldn't believe what I was hearing. Apparently he wants her to park at the front of our house to make parking easier for him at the rear. Got my so angry I told him where to go then jumped in her car to drive off and it was in reverse so garage door is now completely off the runners at one side so might as well start now. Luckily no damage at all to her car.
 
scottduffy said:
jumped in her car to drive off and it was in reverse
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Whoops sounds like something I would do "even without the argy bargy" :-)

To say I am clumsy would be an understatement !!!

Re the small space.

Sounds really great go for it. I am just a hobby faffer myself but we have one of those wood cabin kits. We bought and built it to house our Daughters drum kit, after 4 years of them being set up in the Dinning room.
Course everything as it's day and she gave up and sold them.
So I started to use it for the odd photo works out just fine for portraits,Kids,babies, pets, eg dog portraits. Yes small but the results are good enough.
Mostly I use a speedlight + softbox and reflector. Keeping it simple I guess, but hey my brain won't do complex :-)

Shed size is 5m x 3m that would be outside measurement.



Gaz
 
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