There’s a fact that many Australian photographers come to learn with experience—independence can be a breath of fresh air for their art. Working in a crowded photography studio where people come and go, bark orders at you, and disrupt your train of thought doesn’t always lead to good results. If you want to create good art, you have to have some breathing room.
It’s why so many artists in Sydney have turned to their homes, where they make studios out of spare rooms or corners. It’s a great idea if you know how to set it up. To help you on this journey, we’ve come up with a few tips that might come in handy for creating a home photography studio.
Choose a dedicated space for photography
Before you can get into the details of which camera and accessories to acquire, you have to know one thing—where to put your photography studio. As any photography enthusiast will tell you, it’s not a simple process.
For starters, you have to figure out where you would have room for a studio. If you’re aiming for something bigger, you might have to dedicate an entire room. It’s not an absolute necessity if you don’t have the space. A smaller studio is also a viable choice, as you can play around with angles and lighting.
Speaking of lighting, the shape and height of the room are crucial factors to consider. If you want to mount lights on the ceiling, you might need it to be higher than the average room. A uniform square shape might go well for certain photography styles, but some artists prefer unusual nooks and crannies that can make for unique settings. Before you choose a space, you’ll have to take all of these factors into consideration.
Make sure it’s a cozy photography studio
Speaking of the photography studio room, you can’t just look at it from your perspective. If you intend to take photos of other people, you have to consider how they feel in the room. If it’s too big, they might feel intimidated or unwelcome in the space, causing hesitation. Keeping it too small can make it cramped and uncomfortable for people entering your home for the first time.
Aim to make your photography studio a bit cozier and more welcoming. Add comfortable seating options for clients to let them rest in-between sessions. The more thoughtful you are, the better. Something as simple as a coffee table or charging port for phones can signal that you’ve created a welcoming atmosphere. It will help you improve relations with clients and make you look even more professional.
Introduce adequate lighting in the photography studio
As you already know, lighting can make or break your photography session. It goes without saying that you need to have absolute control over all the light in the room, whether it’s natural or artificial. One of the most common issues for Australian photographers that have just started working from home is that they choose the wrong room. Too many windows with not enough covering can make for bad photography. Depending on the time of day, ambient lighting from outside can ruin your session and cause delays.
If your room has windows, you have to be able to cover them as the situation demands. What if you only want a tiny bit of light to get in, or just have it go through your curtains? Obviously, you’ll want to have multiple layers of protection to make sure you can balance it correctly. Thick blinds and curtains are definitely a must. They’ll allow you to switch from cozy afternoon light to pitch-black darkness whenever you need to make a change.
Take mirrors into account as well. They might be useful for makeup and details, but they’ll disperse light rather effectively. Make sure you keep mirrors at a distance so that they don’t interfere with your photos.
Have a vision for your career
There are no exact rules when it comes to art like photography. Depending on your circumstances, the shape of your rooms, and the colour of your walls, you’ll have to adapt your photography style. It’s part of how new styles develop, so this shouldn’t be a problem. However, you need to take all of these different factors into consideration when you think about your art style in the studio.
Choosing your rooms based on shape and available lighting is one thing, but what if the ideal choice clashes with your style. It’s worth considering different rooms to see if you can get something particularly artsy out of them, even if it might not be readily apparent. Stick to your vision when making all of these choices, and you’ll be more satisfied with the results of your home studio.
Your studio colour is everything
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the room’s walls when it comes to creating a photography studio. With this in mind, there’s a surprising number of Australian amateur photographers that disregard the colour of their room’s walls when taking shots. There’s seemingly a way around this, after all. If you’re using a custom background, what difference does it make what the walls are like? Well, they can still affect your lighting and any custom shots you make without a custom background.
When setting up your photography studio in a city like Sydney or Brisbane, people are going to want professional shots, so you have to take everything into account. Patchy, uneven, or strangely coloured walls will not only affect your lighting, but they’ll also make your studio look unprofessional. A paint job is essential for rejuvenating your room, while also making it more apt for proper photography.
The great thing about renovating in a big city is that you can get it done pretty quickly. Finding house painters in Sydney isn’t too difficult of a task, and they can offer you various paint types and colours to customize your studio. Give it an air of professionalism while also keeping in mind the fact that you might need a specific design for your vision. Think about different colours and how they can affect your studio’s feel, for better or for worse.
Get good photo editing software
As good of a photographer as you might be, you can’t do your job without at least some editing. Many amateur and aspiring photographers make the mistake of honing their photography skills without also working on editing. Different clients will have different needs, and you never know when you might want to take your skills to the next level. Photography retouching is especially important for model photography, so keep that in mind.
Start by getting some good photo editing software. It’s going to help you compensate for any issues with your studio’s design while also giving you more tools to work with. You can use your skills to branch out into new areas in which editing might be more essential. In essence, you shouldn’t limit your photography education, even if you don’t plan on doing any heavy editing at the start.
Conclusion
There are a lot of factors that you have to consider when creating your photography studio. Everything from the lighting to the paint on the walls needs to fit in with your vision. If you know what to pay attention to, you’ll be able to more effectively design your studio and start working in optimal conditions. We hope that the aforementioned tips will help you get a good idea of where to start.