Setting up a budget conscious home studio {4 light set up}

Wow what a great great topic we have today! Simona asked me this via email:

Q. I’m a novice, as you know, but I’m interested in setting up a home studio in a second bedroom. I’ve been looking at flickr and digital photography, to see how other people setup their studios.

I don’t know anything about lighting or the proper lights to choose or umbrellas. The whole lighting aspect sort of scares me as well. My daughter and granddaughter will be the guinea pigs for my trials and I’m concerned about heat or lights exploding. The other issue is selecting the proper backgrounds. I read that vinyl is one of the best options, for durability and because it wipes clean.

The other dilema is my ceilings are 20ft high and constructed of wood (loft living), I have a EX480II, but I can’t use it to bounce light from the ceiling because its not white.

Any suggestions on equipment for a novice just trying to setup a home studio?

A. Really excellent topic, Simona! First lighting.

{Lighting}

There are many ways to set up a studio. But I gather that you’re talking about the ‘white seamless’ look like in most of my studio work. This way of setting up consists of:

A white background lit by…

2 lights on the background and…
2 lights on the subject(s)
1 of those lights with a bounce umbrella and…
The other with a soft box or shoot-through umbrella

All of that can be done with as little as Speedlites or as grand as something I use like Bowens Gemini flash heads.

This video I found shows you exactly everything I would show you and tell you if I made the same type of video:

Studio Technique in high res photography

{Speedlites vs. Strobe Heads – My Opinion}

Personally, I would use strobe heads. Speedlites already cost a few hundred and you can get a pretty decent home studio strobe light (even with the soft box or umbrella AND stand for the same price). They’re not as expensive as you might think! I get all my gear from Warehouse Express. Strobe heads will produce a more powerful burst of light than speedlites and the more powerful you can get them (my main lights are 75owt) the more powerful you are to stop motion.

{Background}

You’re right – vinyl is great for cleaning and this is especially important if you’re photographing kids and want to let them get messy. A vinyl roll is very heavy and for that, you need a heavy duty background support system. Vinyl is also lovely an reflective and is more than just white – it’s glowing!

I hope that helps at all. I’ve included a tour of my studio set up on my DVD which is in production, due out in May!

THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION, SIMONA! AND DON’T Y’ALL FORGET TO KEEP SENDING ME YOUR QUESTIONS. LEAVE THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW, EMAIL THEM, TWEET THEM OR LEAVE THEM ON MY WALL.

Simone

Hi Elizabeth,

I just checked in today and noticed my question was picked. This is great and the video is a bonus. Thanks for both.

I can’t hear the audio while at work, but now I can’t wait to get home!

This tutorial will certainly help me with my home setup.

I’ll be the first one to sign up for your DVD when it becomes available.
kate si

Fancy lighting always seems like a magic show where I just can’t follow what’s going on. :(
elizabethhalford

@Kate: You know, I really felt the same way and in some ways, still do. My DVD is about to come out and after that, I’ll start production on my next which will be a complete novice’s guide to setting up a home studio. Fear not! Just keep up with this blog and you’ll know when that’s out :) And in the meantime, ask me anything you want to know!
http://www.imenesaid.com Imene

I am in the process of setting up a home studio for professional use and I have to say that it is making my head spin. Not two salesperson recommend the same thing. I love your post, it really helps. I wish you could give us some recommendations on what to get, brands etc.

Elizabeth Halford Photography {the blog} » pho•to•gra•phy {in real.plain.english}

Setting up a budget conscious home studio {4 light set up}

{Lighting}

{Speedlites vs. Strobe Heads – My Opinion}

{Background}

THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION, SIMONA! AND DON’T Y’ALL FORGET TO KEEP SENDING ME YOUR QUESTIONS. LEAVE THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW, EMAIL THEM, TWEET THEM OR LEAVE THEM ON MY WALL.

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