The Studio Setup

The Studio Setup

by William Lulow

Note: Happy Holidays to all! Hoping that next year will be a much better one!

I have mentioned before that the “studio” is really what photographers make of it. I have always thought of it as a place where the photographer can set up the shots he or she wants to make. So, it could literally be anywhere. The requirements are only that there is light, that the light be controlled in a way consistent with creating beautiful detail and that all actions are carried out specifically for the camera to capture them. Within this framework are many possibilities. Here is a case in point. I recently moved to a new space. It’s really an apartment, but one that has ample space for me to set up my studio. It’s not an “artist’s studio” in the sense that there are easels and that all the trappings of a photographic studio. Those are all stored in a locker room and only brought out when there is something to shoot. In my old space I had ample room for a normal roll of background paper. Here I have room for that, if I needed it. But usually, I can make do with a smaller roll of paper as long as the subject will fit on it. Here’s what the set up looks like:

So, you can see some furniture and get a sense of the space. But within this space I can produce images like this:

or this:

The point is that as long as you have all the elements you need, you can create a studio just about anywhere. Most of the time, I can decide on what kind of image I want to make and that will dictate how many lights I will need and therefore, what my setup will be and how much room will be sufficient as well. As I have said often, a “studio” is really a place where light can be controlled for the purpose of making images.

If you are shooting outdoors, you need to pick a place where your background can be controlled so as to make your subjects stand out:

This image was made with an 85mm f/1.8 Canon lens at an exposure of f/5.6 @ 1/125th of a second in order to make the background soft. Here’s another example of choosing where to put the “studio” :

This image was made outdoors with three lights, two on stands and the third on the camera, shot in the subjects front yard. You can see the position of the tripod and one of the lights here.

So it really doesn’t matter where you set up your imaginary “studio,” what matters is how you control the lighting to produce the effects you want. I just think of all my images as “studio” shots. It’s like a theater’s proscenium arch that gives you a certain “view” of the happenings within the space you select.