My new studio

cowasaki

cowasaki

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Well I have a 9.5' x 17' garage which I have partitioned 4' off leaving me with 9.5'x13' and it is 7' to 8' high. The garage has electrics, phone and networking and I am turning this section into a studio.

I have 3 studio flashes on stands, 2 soft boxes, 1 snood and a gold/black brolly plus another lighting stand with 2 x 500w fixed lights and a floor stand with 1 x 150/500w lamp plus a mini studio and I am getting a lighting table for product shot/macro stuff.

I also have the SB600 and 800.

I am going to paint the floor a very dark grey colour using normal garage floor paint. The garage door is a white metal up and over and there is a 2.5'x1.5' window to one side.

Now the options/questions......

The garage is a 5 year old prefabricated concrete garage, do I clad the inside with plywood and paint this black or just paint the inside walls with the garage floor paint?

I have been looking at a couple of backdrops - white and another colour (which are most useful?)

I could make a horizontal metal pole suspended by brackets to the roof using my passable welding skills :suspect: - would this be adequate or would I really need the proper back drop stand (what would I gain by this)?

Is 9.5'x13' and 7-8' high big enough?

I am trying to do this on the cheap and spend more later, if I can get away with 2 cans of floor paint then I can do it for under £50!! If it really needs cladding and I need the backdrop stands the cost is going up to £200

What problems can you lot who use/own studios see with my setup?

What have I forgotten?

What should I do if anything to get the best results?

I thought I would ask BEFORE I spend any money, I have just finished clearing the garage..... I should stick some of the stuff from the garage up for sale too !!

Once it is up and running I will let a few local TP users make use of it too so I can bounce some ideas off them. All my photography so far has been on my own and it would be nice to share the experience :help:
 
I am thinking of doing something very similar, although the garage is currently full of stuff. Keep us posted on your progress.

Screwfix do huge dust sheets, on a beige cotton twill - about £5. 2 or 3 of these can make a good background and floor cover.

You could potentially use plywood backgrounds. Maybe covered with brick wallpaper one side, maybe white with graffiti the other side?
 
If you use the white background, you can add a gel to your studio flash head used on the backdrop. that "should" colour the background nicely.

Have you got heat in there?

and where is Bamber Bridge......I neeeeeeeeed some studio time :D
 
digitalfailure said:
If you use the white background, you can add a gel to your studio flash head used on the backdrop. that "should" colour the background nicely.

Have you got heat in there?

and where is Bamber Bridge......I neeeeeeeeed some studio time :D
Click to expand...

Its near Preston. I have one of those portable gas heater things that you put the gas canister into!
 
i am in a very similar position to you, i am just waiting for a mate to turn up and take some stuff out of the garage, then the office/studio build is on!!

I am not lucky enough to have 13' wide though, its a standard single at about 8ft wide, and approx 15ft long.

I am going to have to batton, and clad the walls, thinking of leaving the garage door, putting a polythene membrane up behind it to keep the wind and rain out, and then having a stud wall against the garage door, so it is an easy change for when we sell the house.

Main use will be an editing/viewing suite, and also to double up as a studio which i can easily use for small shoots, or various other bits and bobs.

Would love to see any photos of anyones conversions!
 
cowasaki said:
Its near Preston. I have one of those portable gas heater things that you put the gas canister into!
Click to expand...

Please please please do not use the calor gas heater in such a small area.
They are not good heaters at the best of times and to use one in such a small confined space is bad.

They dont have a flu so the fumes i.e. carbon monoxide, has nowhere to go.

To be safe use an electric convector heater. one of the little white ones you can pick up from B&Q and the likes
 
If you use the white background, you can add a gel to your studio flash head used on the backdrop. that "should" colour the background nicely.
Click to expand...

Grey is much better because, in a small space, white will not allow you to obtain rich, saturated colours
 
DOH My memory is rubbish, the garage width is only 9.5 feet not 13 but the length is 12-13 feet (it depends where I put the partition!).

I paid extra for the extra width and remembered the length, I just guessed the wrong width but it is now right!
 
Paulmack said:
Please please please do not use the calor gas heater in such a small area.
They are not good heaters at the best of times and to use one in such a small confined space is bad.

They dont have a flu so the fumes i.e. carbon monoxide, has nowhere to go.

To be safe use an electric convector heater. one of the little white ones you can pick up from B&Q and the likes
Click to expand...

Have to agree with this, although the biggest problem with calor is the ammount of condensation it gives off! You will be wet through (and all your gear) in under an hour! get a space heater, they have a fan to circulate the heat and air.
 
I have had a thought.....................

i am putting up a false celing attached to the roof joists in the garage and also i am studworking the walls, would it be possible for me to incorporate a form of lighting, which would be bright enough to light the backdrop. I am thinking high powered 6ft strip light type thing, one each side, and one overhead, all pointing towards the wall which will be the backdrop. Also lending itself to the option of using some form of gel filter, over a built in system over the lights, thus offering limitless coloured backgrounds.

Just thinking as im so limited on space, would there be anything bright enough to over expose the backdrop against the main light.

All of this being built into the studwork wall facing at 45' towards the backdrop........

hhhmmmmmm :)
 
would it be possible for me to incorporate a form of lighting, which would be bright enough to light the backdrop. I am thinking high powered 6ft strip light type thing, one each side, and one overhead, all pointing towards the wall which will be the backdrop
Click to expand...

Not unless you nail your sitters to the floor to keep them still during a VERY long exposure...
 
I wouldnt think that fluorescent would be bright enough really....and if the gap is tight I cant really see many options open to you that would fit the bill.

Also if you did put fluoro's in and then put filters over them the light would be even less so really need to think about another lighting source.
 
thats the problem i was seeing, was the lack of power from a tube light. When normally you are putting anywhere up to 800w of flash to bleach a background, to have a hot light putting out that sort of power, would need to be pretty special.

im not finished thinking yet, there will be some sort of way to do it.

Worst case scenario, i can manufacture a long thin bracket on each side wall to act as a light stand, and be adjustable height wise.
 
David Holden said:
Screwfix do huge dust sheets, on a beige cotton twill - about £5. 2 or 3 of these can make a good background and floor cover.
Click to expand...

digitalfailure said:
If you use the white background, you can add a gel to your studio flash head used on the backdrop. that "should" colour the background nicely.
Click to expand...

Garry Edwards said:
Grey is much better because, in a small space, white will not allow you to obtain rich, saturated colours
Click to expand...

I might go an have a look at those, the bonus will be if I try white then ask my wife to wash them i'll get grey as well.;)


It might be worth adding insulation if you're going to clad the inside, you can buy huge sheets of polystyrene about 1" thick but they're not cheap, any left over bits make good reflectors as they're very light.

If you don't insulate it you'll never heat it with a portable gas heater and with lights it'll be boiling in the summer.
 
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