Why do we need a studio?

 

Whether you are a professional photographer or shoot for pleasure, at some point in your development you feel the need to control the light and create comfortable conditions where you can create your photographs. Studio photography gives you complete freedom of expression and requires you to know what you want and to have an idea of how to achieve it.

Do you want soft, even lighting or an emphasis on relief and detail, do you want depth in the photo and an interesting background, do you always want expected and measured results, do you have many ideas and are looking for a way to implement them: the solution is studio photography. Studio photography is a big step in your development as a photographer, it requires solid theoretical preparation, and to master the techniques of studio shooting you need to work seriously and gain experience.

To rent or to buy?

The good thing about renting a studio is that no investment is required, most studios available for rent have a good set of lighting and accessories, and most also offer professional assistance in using the studio. In addition, rental prices for studios in Bulgaria are relatively low.
Another issue is that there are extremely few studios in Bulgaria whose main function is to be provided to photographers for a fee, which means that these services cannot always be relied upon. Also, when going to a studio, you must be fully aware of what you want, have organized models, make-up artists, arrangers, etc., and in practice, this is not easy to achieve. Studio rental makes the photographic product more expensive, especially if repeated rental is necessary. Even with the help of the studio assistant, it is difficult to optimally consider and use the available equipment in an unfamiliar studio. Still, I recommend that before you decide whether to buy, you rent a studio for a few hours, if nothing else, you will get many ideas on how to make your own studio.

On the other hand, buying studio equipment is associated with solving the following two main issues:

•  premises - especially for an amateur, it is impossible to set aside, buy or pay rent for a premise in which to place studio lighting. But here you should not neglect the option of using a temporary premise or installing and removing the equipment every time - it takes about 15 to 30 minutes in the general case
•  the investment for purchasing equipment - this is not such a complicated issue lately, because even an amateur could afford a starter lighting kit for under BGN 1000 (the price of a mid-range lens), and with such a budget you can buy 2-3 monoblocks, stands, softboxes or umbrellas and radio control.

Naturally, a serious studio requires a larger investment, but this can be done gradually and supplemented with what becomes necessary.

How to organize the space?

First, you need to determine the necessary space for a studio and the required height. For studios aimed at product photography, the requirements are the smallest - you can clear a corner of the office or living room and arrange the lighting around the object, but this significantly limits the functions of the studio. For a relatively normal operation, the minimum for a studio is about 20 sq. m., and it is much easier to shoot in 40-50 sq. m., while a good professional studio is even larger, including a changing room, a make-up area, and a workspace. After all, if they bring you to shoot the new Mercedes S-Class, you should be able to fit and light it. Height is also an important factor, directly related to freedom of expression - the higher it is, the more freedom you have to shoot, but it also requires more equipment; still, it should not be lower than the standard 2.60 m so that you can still comfortably shoot full-length people in it, with the recommended height being something between 3.60 and 4.0 m, like in old Sofia apartments. If you put a rail system in it, the minimum height is 3.50 m.

It is good for your studio to have a large entrance and easy access to it. This will greatly facilitate you when shooting furniture, large appliances, and why not cars, and you will not have to transport your equipment to the client.

Industrial-type premises are suitable for housing a studio. They have a lot of space, are quite high, are usually outside the city center and the high-rent area, and have a large and convenient entrance.

Depending on the size, whether you are renting, using it temporarily, or it's a dedicated studio space, you will orient yourself on how to organize it. For an amateur studio without a permanent location, it is better to opt for mobile equipment - light stands, mobile or easily portable lighting, the same applies to accessories and a mobile background system. If you have a permanent, suitable space, think about how to make it as convenient and versatile as possible for shooting. I strongly recommend buying a rail system with pantographs. It is installed on the ceiling, does not take up space, and gives you invaluable freedom to move the lighting where needed without obstructing you. You have all your lighting, which is always neatly stored, you don't trip over cables or stands, and you optimize the studio space. If you are renting, first consult with the landlord whether they agree to you drilling into the ceiling, and you also need to be sure how long you will be able to use that space. In Bulgaria, rail systems can be found at very good prices (from about 600 to 1000 BGN), and if you are not inclined to do it yourself, set aside another 50-100 BGN for professional installation.

If the rail system is not suitable in your case, then when choosing stands, make sure they are stable. Nowadays, all lighting stands come with an air-cushioned system to protect the lighting in case of an accidental drop, or at least a spring that softens the impact. I highly recommend buying at least one of the so-called boom arms - this is a stand with a long arm. At one end of the arm, the lighting is attached, and at the other end, a counterweight is placed for balance. A boom arm gives you an invaluable advantage - you can light the object you are shooting from above.

As a practical and convenient solution, the so-called autopoles can be used. This is a metal tube that is secured between the floor and the ceiling by tightening it with a simple movement of a handle, and numerous accessories can be attached to it. The advantage is that it takes up very little space and has great functionality, but it is inconvenient if you have a suspended ceiling, as it is unlikely to withstand the pressure of the autopole.

 

Lighting

First, you need to determine what you will be shooting and with what camera. For example, if you are shooting relatively small objects with a digital camera, even the lowest power flash lighting will suffice, but if you are shooting a composition of people with a large format camera, you will need at least 2000-3000 WS total lighting power. The most common type of studio lighting is classic studio flash monoblocks, and other options include constant warm lighting, constant fluorescent lighting, or flash heads with a generator.

Available natural light

If you have windows in the studio, you can use them as part of the lighting composition. However, this significantly complicates the composition:
 - you will have to figure out how to control sunlight in your desired way, as there are no ready-made solutions on the market
 - sunlight has a very diverse color temperature from below 3000 K to over 9000 K, and passing through glass further changes it. This means you also need to think about how to balance it with studio lighting, which is often not easy. Therefore, my advice is to opt for a studio without windows or find a way to isolate them (e.g., with black blinds). Rooms without windows are also considerably cheaper.

 

Flash Lighting

This is the classic and most widespread type of lighting for a photo studio. Here I will not talk about adapting camera flashes or screw-in flashes, because this is unserious and unreliable lighting that I do not recommend. In general, there are two main schemes - studio monoblocks or a generator with several heads

 

Both do essentially the same job, with the idea of the generator being to centralize the power supply of the entire studio lighting kit and send a pulse to the individual heads via high-voltage cables, and all heads can also be controlled from one location. This has both advantages and disadvantages, with its biggest disadvantage being the price, which is several times higher than that of monoblocks. Monoblocks are self-contained studio flashes that have their own power supply, independent control, modeling light, a mechanism similar to a tripod head, and a photocell. Their price starts from around 235 BGN (for Dynaphos YJC 200 - 200WS) and goes up to 3-4000 BGN for flashes over 1200 WS from brands such as Broncolor, Multiblitz, Bowens, or Elinchrome.

When choosing monoblocks, you should be guided not only by their price, but also by whether they are part of a system for which accessories can be easily found in Bulgaria, and whether there is an official importer who not only provides technical support but also offers additions to the kit from the same system.

As a reasonable starter kit, you can settle for about 3 monoblocks, while a large professional studio might have 7-10 monoblocks. A total lighting power of about 1000-1200 WS will generally work well for product photography, people, and small interiors. So, for a start, an amount between 1000 and 1500 BGN will be enough for the monoblocks (without accessories).

As I already mentioned, studio flash lighting has a modeling light, most often in the range of 150-250W, which serves to illustrate the effect of the lighting and determine the balance between the individual monoblocks. Therefore, it is good for the power of your modeling lamps to be proportional to the individual monoblocks. This way, you will get a realistic picture of the lighting composition.

 

 

Higher-end studio monoblocks (e.g., the C-D series from Dynaphos) have an LCD display and power adjustment in a range of 5 f-stops with an accuracy of up to 1/10 of an f-stop. This greatly simplifies shooting, because when we measure with a flash meter, for example, 8 and 3/10 f-stops, we can easily be absolutely accurate in exposure by reducing the flash power by 3/10 f-stops. In cheaper models, the adjustment range is 4 f-stops and is smooth.

 

Light Control

Whatever lighting you choose, make sure you can buy accessories for it, because without being able to control the light coming from it, you lose a large part of its functionality. In general, there are accessories that make the light sharp, soft, or create effects with it.
 
Soft light is created by a relatively large light source placed close to the illuminated object. Soft light is even and creates subtle, barely perceptible shadows.

Harsh light is created by a relatively small light source or one that is at a great distance, it creates sharp shadows.
 
 

Remember that the distance from the light source to the object is extremely important. For example, the sun is huge, but it is a source of harsh light due to its distance. Therefore, no matter how large a softbox you buy, if you place it at a great distance from the object, it will give harsh light.

Another important point regarding light is whether it is diffuse or directed. Diffuse light contains rays from many different angles, while directed light is organized into parallel rays. Directed light does not spread throughout the studio, filling shadows and reducing contrast or blurring into the background.

Umbrellas are often used as a source of soft lighting, and the different variants - white translucent, silver reflective, and white reflective - soften the light in different ways and to varying degrees. When using an umbrella, on average half of the light is lost (one f-stop loss).

The modern solution is the softbox - an outer fabric in the shape of a reflector and white translucent surfaces in the path of the light. Better softboxes have two diffusion surfaces, allowing you to remove the outer one for softened harsh light, or remove the outer one for slightly harsher soft light with less loss. Since softboxes enclose the flash lamp, light losses are much smaller than with umbrellas, and it can be said that the presence of softboxes in a modern studio is mandatory.

Softbox sizes range from about 45x45 cm to 150x90 cm for a single light fixture, and most companies also offer softboxes for multiple light fixtures, which also incorporate a stand for the fixtures. There are also interesting octagonal softboxes that not only soften the light but also create a specific effect. Their prices vary widely; for example, a Dynaphos softbox costs from about 70 to 200 BGN, while some brands may ask for 700-1000 BGN for a decent-sized softbox.

Spotlights are designed to direct light into a thin, concentrated beam. They are generally of two types: non-optical and optical. Non-optical ones are like a tube placed on the monoblock, and a honeycomb can be attached to the front to direct the light. They are primarily used as backlighting, for example, for a model's hair. Optical ones are much more interesting and much more expensive; they not only direct light through their optics but can also be used with a wide variety of filters.

For example, Dynaphos' optical spot allows you not only to use the various filters included in the kit but also to create a wide variety of your own filters, even printing a full-color image to project onto the background, for example. You can imitate light passing through blinds or stars, dots, anything you can think of. The prices of optical spots range from about 170 BGN for Dynaphos' optical spot to over 1200 BGN for Visatec's optical spot, for example.

Barn doors are black-painted aluminum flaps that are attached to the standard reflector in front of the light fixture. They are combined with a honeycomb to direct the light. Barn doors are a Hollywood invention from the 1920s. Their function is to control the light beam while directing it through the honeycomb. They can be used in combination with color filters and are an excellent solution for background lighting or backlighting.

Studio reflectors are not exactly studio equipment, but they play an important role and can save money on additional lighting fixtures.

 

There is a wide variety of options available, and you can easily put together different solutions yourself. Generally, there are reflectors specifically for the studio that are placed on a light stand, and there are also portable handheld diffusers for which an arm can be purchased to attach them to a stand. Their role is to reflect light from the light source back onto the subject, reducing contrast in the shot and filling in shadows. They can be white, silver, gold, or a combination, and they serve an important function in a studio.

Gobo is a word of extreme importance in controlling light in the studio. Gobo is a kind of abbreviation for go between and is used for anything you place in the path of the light stream between the source and the object you are shooting, with the aim of casting a shadow, diffusing the light, or whatever else you can think of.

 

Equipment for Product Photography

The most common accessories for product photography are the shooting table and the light tent. If you need to photograph glass products or shiny metal, a light tent is essential. Its essence is to surround the object to be photographed with a white translucent material, with only a slit for the lens. This eliminates all glare and further softens the lighting used for the shot.

The shooting table, on the other hand, places the object on a surface, most often a matte white one, which is smoothly curved, thereby eliminating the edges between the background and the base. When buying a shooting table, look for one that can also be lit from below, which is a great advantage.

 

For this purpose, the classic method is using a cable, which in many cases is part of the studio monobloc kit. However, this method is very inconvenient and unreliable, and none of the new DSLR cameras have the standard flash cable output. That's where two types of devices come to the rescue:
 

• Infrared flash – this is a type of flash that is placed on the camera and emits in the infrared spectrum. The light is registered by the photocells of the studio flashes and they trigger. The advantage is that this type of flash is relatively inexpensive, but the disadvantage is that the range is very limited and there must be a direct line of sight to the photocell of at least one studio flash.
• Radio synchronizer – this is a much more advanced assistant in the studio. It consists of two parts: a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is placed in the flash shoe of the camera, and the receiver is connected to the sync cable input of the studio flash. When shooting, the transmitter sends a radio pulse to the receiver, and the receiver in turn triggers the flash it is connected to, which then flashes and synchronizes the other flashes. The range of these devices is at least 20 meters, and walls do not stop them, but only reduce the range. Unlike infrared flashes, radio synchronizers work outdoors in bright sunlight. The price of such a device ranges from BGN 90 from Dynaphos up to several hundred BGN from other manufacturers.

 

 

Light Measurement

 

Unless you have a specific camera model (like some Rollei or Contax models), you cannot measure the light from flash lighting with the camera's built-in light meter. For a professional photo studio, a handheld flash meter is essential. Its price is between BGN 260 and 1000 and it measures not only the light from the flash, but also the ambient light and the ratio between them.

Almost everyone uses the flash meter in incident light measurement mode. You simply put the white dome on the front, hold the flash meter in front of the subject pointing towards the camera, press the button, and the flash meter fires the lights (if you've connected it to one of the flashes with a cable beforehand). Then you see on the display what aperture you should shoot at. Here's when I should mention that in a studio, you shoot in manual mode, adjusting the exposure solely with the aperture, and the shutter speed is no shorter than the sync speed; it's advisable not to shoot at a speed shorter than 1/125 or 1/160s. This is necessary due to the long flash duration of studio monoblocs; shooting at a very high speed can lead to using only part of the light's flash, which will mess up all your measurements. Measuring incident light, rather than reflected light, is very convenient for a studio because you don't need to consider the color of the object you're shooting, or look for a middle gray and expose for it. Of course, this is the most basic scheme, while for example, if you aim for no detail in the black background or want to see the details on the model's white dress, you'll have to put in a little more effort and calculation. Also, it's good to initially measure each individual flash unit separately and then as a whole, but in practice, I haven't seen anyone do it. Even in many places in Bulgaria that call themselves studios, they don't have a flash meter, but use the trial and error method with a digital camera, but this cannot be adopted as a practice because it greatly cripples studio photography.

On the Bulgarian market, there are flash meters from Sekonic, Minolta, and Gossen. Their prices start from BGN 350 and go up to over BGN 1000 for high-end models. My advice is that a high-end flash meter will not make your photos better; it will only confuse you with its many functions that you will never use. For example, I shoot with a Polaris model, which I bought from http://www.ebay.co.uk for 70 pounds and I am very happy with it.

 

Backgrounds

Classic professional photographic backgrounds are paper ones. They are single-colored and made from seamless, matte paper. They are most often available in widths of 1.35, 2.70 (2.75) and 3.50 meters with a standard length of 11 m. 1.35 m is too restrictive and is only suitable for product photography, while 3.50 m is often unnecessarily wide and takes up a lot of space, which is why the most common size is 2.70-2.75 m. The price of such a background in Bulgaria is between BGN 120 and 200. Every studio should have at least the basic set of backgrounds - white, gray, and black.

Another type of popular backgrounds are hand-painted muslins – they are made of cotton fabric, most often 3x6 meters in size, painted in various shades and suitable for adding artistic flair to photography. They are chosen from a catalog and come in hundreds of types.

 

Their prices start from BGN 160 for 3x6 m. Recently, new materials have been introduced for backgrounds, such as specially treated cotton fabric that doesn't wrinkle and can be machine washed, but I haven't encountered such offers in Bulgaria. In the US, its price is about 50% more expensive than paper backgrounds. Also an interesting option are velour backgrounds, which have a polymer base, increasing stability and preventing creasing. The standard size is 3x6 meters and they come with a roll. In Bulgaria, they are imported by Dynaphos by order and their price is about BGN 200.

Recently, new materials have been introduced for backgrounds, such as specially treated cotton fabric that doesn't wrinkle and can be machine washed, but I haven't encountered such offers in Bulgaria. In the US, its price is about 50% more expensive than paper backgrounds. Also an interesting option are velour backgrounds, which have a polymer base, increasing stability and preventing creasing. The standard size is 3x6 meters and they come with a roll. In Bulgaria, they are imported by Dynaphos by order and their price is about BGN 200.

For hanging the background, a background system is required, with several types available:

• Mechanical 3 to 6 axis stands, where backgrounds are rolled up using plastic chains. They require a permanent location as they are fixed to a wall or ceiling, are very convenient and very inexpensive - about BGN 150 for a 3-axis stand. These stands are most suitable for paper backgrounds and rolled backgrounds in general.
• Electric - in principle, they are similar to mechanical ones, with the difference that they are automated and rolled up by pressing a button. They are more robust and more expensive, and unlike mechanical ones, they have a limitation in the width of the background.
• Using Autopole systems - this is a partially portable stand, similar to mechanical ones, but does not require drilling into the wall, instead using Autopole attachments, which is very convenient and not very expensive.
• Portable background systems - consist of two tripods, which can also be used for lighting, and one or more crossbars that are detachable into parts. They are very convenient for transport but lack the functionality of other types. The best part is that they come with a very convenient carrying bag. Prices start from around BGN 250.

author: Hristo Kabadaev

©2006 Hristo Kabadaev