What is the minimum you need to open a photography studio?
- Thread starter episodic
- Start date
yhelothar
Lifer
- Dec 11, 2002
- 18,409
- 39
- 91
If you already have the room, the equipment can be had for $2000 or so.
Search ebay for amvona. They sell a lot of photo studio equipment for cheap. Muslims for $10. Professional lighting for $150.
35mm SLR should only cost $200, medium format for ~$800 if you're more serious.
85mm F/1.8 for $300
Carbon Fiber Tripod from amvona for $150
Search ebay for amvona. They sell a lot of photo studio equipment for cheap. Muslims for $10. Professional lighting for $150.
35mm SLR should only cost $200, medium format for ~$800 if you're more serious.
85mm F/1.8 for $300
Carbon Fiber Tripod from amvona for $150
DainBramaged
Lifer
- Jun 19, 2003
- 23,454
- 41
- 91
I hope that you mean muslins, as in backdrops.
Although I guess if Muslims know how to set up lights...
- Feb 7, 2004
- 11,088
- 2
- 81
This is encouraging. I was thinking about 1200 myself . . .
I've got the DSLR - I have a cheaper tripod, but it is fine - that lens would be nice - I've got a 50mm f1.4 now that I thought would be fine - what would the 85 mm do for me the 50mm will not?
THe lighting I thought was more - I knew the backdrop wasn't too high. . .
Depends on how creative you want to be able to be. A simple lighting setup isn't expensive. But if you want to do stuff with hair lighting, color gels, softboxes, etc. etc. it does get expensive. My suggestion is to get some cheaper stuff and play around until you get more familiar with everything.
I do photography. I don't have a studio (yet) as I kinda do this on the side. For lighting I have a nice setup that is portable. I use 3 Canon 580EX flashes and a 420EX. I have 2 lightstands that hold the flashes and an umbrella (mine reverse from bounce to shoot-through lighting). I can setup the two umbrellas with 580EX's, a 420EX for a hairlight with a short manfrotto stand, and either a wireless transmitter (ST-E2) on my camera or another 580EX for fill flash depending on the situation. This works great for outdoor shots and indoor shots. It's not as flexible as some other solutions and doesn't get as good of light as I could with softboxes and such but it's good enough for my current needs. This setup wouldn't cost you too much, it's wireless, and is portable. May not be what you are looking for though.
If you have a Digital Rebel it's a good enough camera for most stuff but I wouldn't use it for much more than 8x12 shots. But usually portraits don't require anything larger than this.
Reflectors are great. I have a large oval one that I could use with a single flash and get good results on even decent sized groups of people (around 8).
Also...look into some shoot-through material...you can build your own softbox of sorts with some PVC and some good material that will soften light, then you just need one light with some barn doors...pretty cheap and if you make it about 6 feet by 4 feet it will provide all the light you need and be quite flexible.
I do photography. I don't have a studio (yet) as I kinda do this on the side. For lighting I have a nice setup that is portable. I use 3 Canon 580EX flashes and a 420EX. I have 2 lightstands that hold the flashes and an umbrella (mine reverse from bounce to shoot-through lighting). I can setup the two umbrellas with 580EX's, a 420EX for a hairlight with a short manfrotto stand, and either a wireless transmitter (ST-E2) on my camera or another 580EX for fill flash depending on the situation. This works great for outdoor shots and indoor shots. It's not as flexible as some other solutions and doesn't get as good of light as I could with softboxes and such but it's good enough for my current needs. This setup wouldn't cost you too much, it's wireless, and is portable. May not be what you are looking for though.
If you have a Digital Rebel it's a good enough camera for most stuff but I wouldn't use it for much more than 8x12 shots. But usually portraits don't require anything larger than this.
Reflectors are great. I have a large oval one that I could use with a single flash and get good results on even decent sized groups of people (around 8).
Also...look into some shoot-through material...you can build your own softbox of sorts with some PVC and some good material that will soften light, then you just need one light with some barn doors...pretty cheap and if you make it about 6 feet by 4 feet it will provide all the light you need and be quite flexible.
yhelothar
Lifer
- Dec 11, 2002
- 18,409
- 39
- 91
You'll have to get really lucky though
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMVONA-MUSLIN-PHOTO...categoryZ30079QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
Muslins start at $0.25 with no reserve
http://stores.ebay.com/amvona-com
Here's the link to the amvona ebay store.
Screw the muslin and choose a natural background anyways. Natural lighting/sceneries are the best
If you need to ask what different lenses are, and have no clue about lighting.
And I mean it seems like you have ZERO clue. Not a mention of even a flash head.
A studio for portrait and product shots is probaly not for you.
Just coz you went out and bouth a Digital rebel at best buy doesn't mean your a pro now.
And I mean it seems like you have ZERO clue. Not a mention of even a flash head.
A studio for portrait and product shots is probaly not for you.
Just coz you went out and bouth a Digital rebel at best buy doesn't mean your a pro now.
Studio photography is damn expensive -- I can tell you first-hand. The best "cheap" studio strobes you should get is probably Alien Bees. Decent, try, White Lightning. They are both from the same company, so their accessories are interchangable. If you want best, then try Elinchrome, or Speedotron. Then theres the choice of getting a power pack module or using monolights. You will probably want at least 5 strobe heads if you want to do serious lighting. But for the most part, it's creativity and understanding of photography and lighting in itself.
After you decide on the light you want, you'll need light stands, sandbags, gobos, flags, softboxes, umbrellas, grids, honeycomb grids, light meter, gels, seamless background, muslin (not muslim), wireless trigger (pocketwizard), etc.
Of course a camera also. So as you can imagine, it will be pretty damn expensive.. If you're shooting digital, it may be fine for certain things, but you may run into a client that wants film.. Will you be shooting Medium Format films? Large Format? How about a scanner? Or paying to have the slide/negative drum scanned (expensive!)?
So I would say in a general sense, if you buy cheap strobes, you can probably get three strobes heads and a few accessories for about $2,000.
I personally use Speedotron equipment and for location, I use white lightning and alien bees. They work fine.. Just be sure you pay extra for UV tubes, otherwise you end up with a strange color cast caused by UV fabric whiteners.
If you know very little about photography, spend some time learning it first before opening up a studio, otherwise you will end up confining yourself to a sub-par Walmart turnkey system.
http://www.burntlands.org/a/thumbnails.php?album=3
After you decide on the light you want, you'll need light stands, sandbags, gobos, flags, softboxes, umbrellas, grids, honeycomb grids, light meter, gels, seamless background, muslin (not muslim), wireless trigger (pocketwizard), etc.
Of course a camera also. So as you can imagine, it will be pretty damn expensive.. If you're shooting digital, it may be fine for certain things, but you may run into a client that wants film.. Will you be shooting Medium Format films? Large Format? How about a scanner? Or paying to have the slide/negative drum scanned (expensive!)?
So I would say in a general sense, if you buy cheap strobes, you can probably get three strobes heads and a few accessories for about $2,000.
I personally use Speedotron equipment and for location, I use white lightning and alien bees. They work fine.. Just be sure you pay extra for UV tubes, otherwise you end up with a strange color cast caused by UV fabric whiteners.
If you know very little about photography, spend some time learning it first before opening up a studio, otherwise you will end up confining yourself to a sub-par Walmart turnkey system.
http://www.burntlands.org/a/thumbnails.php?album=3
(this information only works for 35mm and digital cameras, not medium or large format) 85mm is a slight telephoto lens. Between 80 and 90 is usually suggested for portraiture due to the particular distortion that it applies as well as the ability to have a frame-filling image of a face at several feet. 85mm, though, in medium format is roughly equivalent to a 50-60mm for 35/digital, and in large format is an architectural wide-angle.
eta: However, I would not suggest opening a studio on a part time basis. The studio is not the expensive part. Imagine the cost of a dye-sub printer that can handle 11x14 or up, or, if you get into actual film, a color darkroom. It also requires a massive investment of time.
Seriously though while opening a studio is cool if your going to charge people money to come in you really need to know all this stuff. If you still want to do it i would suggest getting all the things then spending a few months experimenting and making sure u know exactly what your doing before you start to charge.
Good luck
Ai3x
Good luck
Ai3x
- Feb 7, 2004
- 11,088
- 2
- 81
I'm not.
I wanted to entry level photography first - and I was going to institute a 'pay' if you like it type plan.
I'm wanting to specialize in different photoshop effects such as porcelein pictures, corrective photography (like removing some wrinkles and moles, etc), and outdoor photography.
I've done alot for friends and family. This guy is right, I don't know it all. Some things still confuse me. I'm much more of a photoshop head than I am a camera head. . . I'm learning though. I do know I take pics at least better than the local chain supercenter camera shops. . .
yhelothar
Lifer
- Dec 11, 2002
- 18,409
- 39
- 91
Here's something to think about...
If you get into the photography industry. Don't undersell yourself. If you start offering "pay-if-you-like-it" services. It will degrade the perception of the industry. One day a customer will come to me and say.. "Well, why do you charge a sitting fee when joe schmoe down the street doesnt?". Well, you get what you pay for. So if you start giving away your services, then customers will start expecting it from every other photographer they go to. At the end of the day, you make less money, and you ruin the pricing structure stability. How much is your time worth?
A lot of professional studio photographers knows what their time is worth and charges for it accordingly. They are the artist and gives a certain expected result. I wish they would change the name "Sitting fee" to "Creation fee". This gives the customer a better idea that the sitting fee is the fee for the labor and creativity. As for customers, they know jack. Thats why they pay us as the photographer to make it "nice" for them. Its a shame that a lot of wannabe photographers are setting up shop, selling to unsuspecting customers. Do crappy shooting, fix it up like crazy in photoshop, and then inkjet printing it. It's quite a shame, but I bet half of the consumers on this forum that gets their portraits done do not know how their photo is finished. Inkjet? RA4? Silver B&W? Fiber? RC?
There IS a reason why there is a premium on certain things. Its priced according to quality
If you get into the photography industry. Don't undersell yourself. If you start offering "pay-if-you-like-it" services. It will degrade the perception of the industry. One day a customer will come to me and say.. "Well, why do you charge a sitting fee when joe schmoe down the street doesnt?". Well, you get what you pay for. So if you start giving away your services, then customers will start expecting it from every other photographer they go to. At the end of the day, you make less money, and you ruin the pricing structure stability. How much is your time worth?
A lot of professional studio photographers knows what their time is worth and charges for it accordingly. They are the artist and gives a certain expected result. I wish they would change the name "Sitting fee" to "Creation fee". This gives the customer a better idea that the sitting fee is the fee for the labor and creativity. As for customers, they know jack. Thats why they pay us as the photographer to make it "nice" for them. Its a shame that a lot of wannabe photographers are setting up shop, selling to unsuspecting customers. Do crappy shooting, fix it up like crazy in photoshop, and then inkjet printing it. It's quite a shame, but I bet half of the consumers on this forum that gets their portraits done do not know how their photo is finished. Inkjet? RA4? Silver B&W? Fiber? RC?
There IS a reason why there is a premium on certain things. Its priced according to quality
maybe you should work part time at a photography studio and learn the ropes. you'll know what the required equipment is and gain those invaluable skills in no time. don't tell the guy you're looking to open your own in time, but eventually, if you so desire, you should go that path. then again, you might like what you're doing at a studio (e.g. maybe the photographer is more than just a portrait photographer -- maybe he photographs weddings -- wouldn't you like to consider that?) as a second-hand man. in a few years, it probably isn't that unusual to open your own doors as competition, and you'll not only have the experience, but i'm sure you'll have a plethora of networking contacts that you met while working for the last guy.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 20K
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter