How to Start a Home Photography Studio

A home photography studio is useful for both hobbyist and professional purposes. Creating a home photography studio requires a mix of building, buying equipment and business considerations. In this article, you will learn how to prepare and equip a home photography studio.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Space to create studio
• Budget for studio equipment
• Proper business paperwork filed

Starting a Home Photography Studio

1. Decide on what your home photography studio will be used for. Will it be used for personal use or for profit? If you plan to make money with your home photography studio, you may need to apply for a business license with the city in which you live. You may also need to meet additional state and federal requirements to operate your studio.

2. Find adequate room to create your studio. More is better in regards to studio space. A fair amount of equipment and a few people will be occupying the space at any given time. Think garage--not bedroom; and although small spaces can be made to work, they will severely limit your options and add undue technical difficulties.

3. Paint the walls of your studio. White or a neutral color is a good choice as it will not add color to your images if light is reflected from the walls. This also allows you to use a wall as a backdrop if necessary.

4. Add a backdrop support. Every photo you take in your studio will use some form of backdrop. A sturdy backdrop stand that allows for easily changing backdrops is essential. The stand can be used to hold fabric, patterned backdrops or rolls of seamless paper.

5. Select your lighting gear. You will need lighting gear for lighting your subjects as well as background. The standard route is studio lighting gear which is based around lights that are powered from your household electrical system. However, if you plan to do any location-based shooting you can also use lighting that is driven by battery packs, these will serve double duty in your studio and in the field. You will also need an assortment of modifiers for your studio lights, accessories such as umbrellas, soft boxes, reflectors and flags will allow you to control the light as you see fit.

6. Choose a camera system for your studio. The major camera manufacturers offer a variety of camera bodies and lenses to choose from. Spend time testing out combinations of bodies and lenses to find what suits your needs. In particular, spend time looking at lenses suitable for portrait work, as this will be the bulk of what your studio is used for. If you will be in business it is wise to have a spare camera body available. The same logic of spare equipment is true for all of your critical equipment.

7. Ensure that you have adequate computer hardware and software to process the images for your studio. Your hardware requirements will be based upon what software you will be using for the post processing of your images. If you will be using film instead of a digital camera system you will also need a scanner to scan film negatives. Look into hardware to color calibrate your computer's monitor.