 Steven Carr |
Home/business studios what to buy? Hi everyone its a pretty general question in relation to how to set up a home studio for portraiture style photography. 1. Studio lighting, how many lamps should I buy and the type of lighting required? with a rough guide to pricing. 2. What sort of results will I get from using regular muslin backdrops compared to the professional choice? Is it worth the extra expense? 3. Home printing, should I do it myself or get them done by a company, if I am to do them myself which inkjet printer do most people think is the best on the market at a reasonable price? I want to print up to A3 size and also offer canvas/board prints.
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Craig m. Zacarelli |
THERE ARE TONS AND TONS OF DIFFERENT SET UPS OUT THERE.. hAVE YOU EVER DONE ANY STUDIO WORK BEFORE? IF NOT, I SUGGEST YOU GO TRY TO GET A JOB IN ONE, nO USE BUYING ALL THIS STUFF JUST TO FIND OUT YOU DONT LIKE IT... DO A SEARCH ON THE TOPIC ON THE NET, THERE ARE WAY TO MANY THINGS AND WAYS FOR THIS.. WHAT WORKS FOR US MIGHT NOT DO YOU ANY GOOD, PLUS WHAT TYPE OF SPACE DO YOU HAVE? WILL IT BE PORTRAIT OR PRODUCT? ALSO, YOU CAN TAKE A CLASS ON STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY, THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THIS BUSINESS ALOT. GOOD LUCK!
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Steven Carr |
Thanks Craig for the reply, I have one small problem when it comes to working in a studio or taking classes re studio photography and that is my location its a sleepy little town in Northern Ireland and any such studios are approx 2hours away from where I live. Its a drag in some respects and a bonus in others as I will be tapping into a virgin market. I have always had the affliction of wanting to run before I can walk. So I guess I am going to have to slow down and keep shooting away.
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Mark Feldstein |
Speaking of the business of photography, don't forget two pieces of equipment you sound like you may really need: First, a business plan, which has a budget including one for marketing, one for estimated income taxes, one for fees, licenses, business equipment taxes. Second, insurance for liability and equipment. Mark
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Steven Carr |
Yeah it does seem to be a quagmire full of obstacles that could quite easily land me in a whole heap of unwanted trouble if I was to run on into this blindfolded. The reason I have resorted to asking people online is that we have very few shops specialising in photography equipment round these neck of the woods,and most of my buying will be done via the "inter-web" and this being the best site with the most knowledgable users, who better to turn to for a little bit of unbiased assistance. So many thanks for the heads up from Mark regards the legalities and financial aspects I will bear that all in mind when making my next tentative steps.
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Pete H |
Hello Steven; I'll answer your question in the most basic sense. 1) A minimum of 2 strobes...800ws or better. 2) One umbrella ..and finally (5), an understanding of studio lighting techniques. To echo Mark's advice, w/o a business plan and a understaning of sales, failure is almost a guarantee. I've seen poor work technically, yet they succeeded financially. Conversely, I've seen excellent work technically, and a total failure to thrive financially. All the best, Pete
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Steven Carr |
Thanks Pete, reckon I have got some work to do before I go much further into this. I had already looked at a lighting complete kit and the wattage would have been way to low compared to what you suggest in item 1.
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Estella Aguilar |
hello steve, I just got on line and registered. I recently got my home studio I bought a canon rebelxt350,2-smith-victor 600-wattquartz,a epson 1800 for printing, and a couple of backgrounds from ebay. all this worked wel a bit costy but a great start.i worked on a budget.its really easy to get your state licence and your city licence.no big problem,honestly.both range from 30-40 dollars. your best bet now would be. you take donations then one you got buisiness, go file for your licence other wise it gets messy. if you have any ??? w/bgood luck. I hope I can be of help.estella tucson az.
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Steven Carr |
Thanks Estella thats exactly what I have been doing looking through Ebay for equipment. How is the Epson 1800 working out would you recommend it because I was trying to find reviewers comparisons between it and the 2400. Luckily enough Estella here in Northern Ireland there are'nt the licenses required for setting up a business the same as in the USA the only thing we have to worry about are the insurances. However we do have to inform our council ( not sure of US equivalent) about a small business being run from home and they usually increase the taxes for the premises. So once again thanks for letting me know you had set up your business exactly the way I was contemplating.
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Craig m. Zacarelli |
Hey Steven.. Hopefully all will go well with this. Portrait Photography is something I think i'd like to try, but I have no space what s ever to use as a studio..lol wish I did but my house is to small and I cant afford to rent a space. I was toying with the idea of applying at the local Wal-mart to work in the Portrait studio but I work 5, 10HR. days as it is at my real job... dont thinnk theyed let me come in from 6 to 9 to work....boooo! I need to find a local place who will maybe let me hang around on weekends to learn, maybe make a deal where I can help out for free so I can learn the business..who knows? I know the guy who ownes the web design shop two doors down from where I work has studio set up for product shooting, migh be I can go there to learn. Well, good luck in this and keep us posted, it would really be cool to be able to follow you from start up to completion.. sorta like doing a show on photography!
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Steven Carr |
Ha Ha now that sounds like good fun keeping people informed on progress. Seems like you have plenty of opportunities to tap into extensive knowledge, between wal-mart and the guy with the web design shop. So in the meantime I will keep people posted on my progress and also try out some shots using natural lighting and display them here and see what sort of feedback I get with tips to make them better.
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