Size of Studio Question

[Holly]

I have worked and cleaned out a goood portion of my basement in the hopes of putting in a nice studio... A Little worried about the size after I was through with it.. ITs wide and lenthy enough however the height doesnt seem to be high enough.. Its about 7ish feet or so.. DO you think this is good or to small?

[KevinR]

Depends on what your shooting. I think for basic portraiture it would work fine. But you could get into trouble with groups or taller people wanting full length shots. But at least you have a space.:thumbup: I convert my living room into my studio.

[bethany138]

My ceilings are around 7 ft... it drives me CRAZY! I think if I had more length it wouldn't be as much of an issue though, so you may be ok. I think my "studio" is 11' x 11' x 7'. Anyway - Just get backgrounds that can be used on the floor (seamless, long muslin, etc.) so that you don't have to shoot full height... does that make sense?

b

[Philip Weir]

You obviously can only work with what you've got. My studio is about 10' high, and all my lighting is on ceiling tracks so I don't have stands cluttering up the floor. As you can't, I imagine, raise your ceiling you WILL manage, I'm sure.

[jemmy]

Hey holly, how exciting... my gorgeous hubby is going to build me a studio out the back (hopefully starting soon!) The designing stage has been awesome and i have the picture in my mind of what I hope it looks like one day.... have lots of questions that i want to ask once the slab goes down.... goodluck... have fun x

[Philip Weir]

Congratulations to you "Jemmy" on getting your studio built. Make sure is has a high ceiling, but not too high. I so often use the ceiling for "bounce".
If you can afford it, get some ceiling tracking and pantographs to keep the studio floor clear.
www.philipweirphotography.com

[jemmy]

thanks phillip,.... yeah, just a tad excited... it is actually going to be a big shed which we will fit out with plasterboard, paint and all of the other bits and pieces to convert it into my 'studio'... might just have to throw some questions your way when it starts. The ceiling tracking sounds like a fab idea that my handy hubby should be able to do easily x The ceiling will be however high a standard titan shed is ... maybe 8ft ??? Not sure? Of course I know exactly how i want it to look on the inside - colours etc but might need some direction in the lighting department.. I was going to have normal downlights throughout that I could turn off when using my studio lights.... but also considered having a skylight (that could be closed off) and a double sliding glass door ( that could also be blocked out completely)... Not sure if it is a good idea or plain silly but i really love using natural light... perhaps once i learn more about studio lighting, i will think differently.... any ideas?????????????

[sandraregier]

Can anyone give me some specifics. I'm just in the design stage of building a studio. How high is too high for ceilings? I'm looking at a finished size of 33'x18' which has the potental for 16' ceilings. Any suggestions?

[shingfan]

please dont mind me....i'm just jealous :P

[Big Mike]

While bouncing can be very useful at times...I would think that the higher, the better (within reason, of course). 12'-16' would be great. Even that isn't too high to bounce.

The problem with a low ceiling is...well it's the height, obviously :roll: but it limits the direction that you can aim your lights. Image that you have a light on a stand or even on a track...then you want to use a large umbrella or softbox. To fit the softbox under the ceiling...the centre of the light is now down at maybe 5 to 6 feet...which is about head height for an adult. So you won't be able to have the light 'falling' on them...it will be pointed at them instead.

Like Phil said...it's all about working with what you have.

[gizmo2071]

Could alwasy place a curved piece of perspex or something to give a rounded curve from the ceiling to the wall and the this would creat a seamless background for full length shots :)