Setting up a Photographic Studio

What do you need

• Studio lighting, studio flash or continuous lighting
• Background or backdrop
• Background support
• Camera Tripod

Studio Lighting Equipment

Studio Flash Lighting

Two of the most difficult questions to answer are 'how many lights do I need?'
and 'what power do I use?' there are so many different set ups you could use
and its often based on the users preference and the space you have
available. You can use anything from just one studio flash head and a
reflector to a three headed studio flash kit. In my opinion I would have to say
that having three lights in your studio flash equipment armoury gives you
greater flexibility but probably the best compromise is to have least a two
headed studio flash set-up.

Knowing what power flash lighting to buy is often tricky, I would always say
the more power the better but there are other things to take into account. For
instance if you are taking full body portraits or small groups then a 150w,
160w or 180w studio flash kit would work very well as its light and flexible in
tight spaces and of course easy to move about which is always an important
feature to consider.

There are various configurations in flash lighting kits, umbrellas are probably
the most popular. A white umbrella will give a softer result than a silver
umbrella which reflects the maximum amount of light. A gold umbrella is
popular in portrait photography and is used to give warmer colour to flesh
tones.

Softboxes have become popular as they give a very soft light with no light spill
and depending on their size and shape can give attractive highlights in the
eyes.

It can be confusing having to decide what studio accessories you need and
which ones don't actually make that much difference. There are certain flash
accessories you should consider; a snoot is a must for narrowing and
precisely directing the light. It can be used for things such as highlighting hair.

A barn door and gel filters, which can be used to direct coloured light onto
your subject or background, are handy to have around as it gives you more
versatility in your studio set up. A wireless trigger gives you the ability to
trigger the flash heads without wires attached to your camera so lets you
concentrate on taking your photos rather than tripping over countless wires.

Continuous Lighting

Continuous lighting is popular because it allows you to see the quality of light
falling on your subject before you take the shot. It is easier to set up than a
flash kit but the problems with many continuous light systems is that you can't
easily make adjustments to power levels the way you can with studio flash.

Use Micansu balanced  daylight compact fluorescent bulbs 5400-5600k as
they run cool. You can use these set-ups for static subjects and some kits for
portraits and video work. Although there is plenty of light for the modern
camcorder for still photography there isn't as much flexibility with your
exposures as with a flash. Using 2 single 105w compact fluorescent lights you
would need to shoot with your camera set to 400 asa to give you maximum
flexibility for your exposure.

Background Supports and backdrops

If your taking portraits then you will need some sort of background, these are
generally called a backdrop and come in various colours and don't forget to
also include a background support to hang it on.

Generally most people start of with plain coloured backdrops usually either
white muslin or black muslin. If using the white cotton muslin then different
effects can be achieved by using the gels filters on the barn door to light the
background with a colour and create different atmospheres for your
photographs.

More advanced techniques can be achieved by using chroma key colours
such as chroma key green or chroma key blue, these chroma key colours
allow you to change the background when editing the shots to digitally to any
background that you want. So again this gives you more flexibility with your
shots.

It's probably a good idea at this stage to invest in a good quality editing facility
and learn how to use it properly so that you can make the most of your
photographs. This is invaluable to any digital photograph enhancement and
makes the extra equipment you've invested in work for you.