When you want to start capturing beautiful pictures, or even creating your own photography books, then having a good lighting source is one of the most important things. Lighting gives shape to your images, it can create moods, and you can use it in many ways- for example, as natural light, artificial light, or flash.
Having your own studio space comes with its own set of challenges, like where to put all of your lights! Luckily, there are several easy ways to get yourself a little bit of white (or neutral) background area to place your lights. These backgrounds can be made out of paper, cloth, or plastic.
This article will go over some helpful tips and tricks for setting up your indoor studio using these backgrounds.
Find a good lighting setup
The setting you choose for your indoor photography will make a difference in how professional your pictures look. There are two main settings where people start when they want to take their own photos.
Under-the-table photoshoots and backdrops is one, where you use natural light or artificial light to create the picture. A common way to do this is using a white wall as a background, with lights shining behind the object of the photo.
The other option is creating something that creates a shape like a square or circle. For example, taking a picture of a person next to a window with bright sunlight outside is a way to achieve this!
Both of these types of backgrounds can be done indoors, and there are many ways to find ones that match your style.
Purchase good quality equipment
While you do not need a professional studio to take great pictures, it is helpful to have one so that your images are of higher quality.
The first thing needed in any indoor photography space is good lighting. Luckily, this can be done several ways!
Using natural sunlight is by far the best way to light your subject, but this usually does not work unless there is a large window or someone outside who will help expose for photoshoots.
A common solution is using LED lights with gel diffusion sheets. These work by mixing the colors together and then letting the light mix as it travels through the sheet.
This helps create warmer shades of white which look better than just having bright whites.
Set up your studio
The next step in taking beautiful indoor photography is to determine where you want to set up your light source. Your light source can be natural or artificial, but it must be controllable!
You will need to find a place that has good electrical power so that you are able to use external lighting equipment such as fluorescent lights, LED bulbs, or computerized fluorescence units.
These types of lights are very powerful and do not require much energy to work properly, making this step easy to achieve. Make sure your electricity is steady and reliable before buying any lamps!
Once you have found a location that works well for you, you will then need to consider what kind of illumination you would like to use. This could be ambient (natural) sunlight, tungsten light (warm white light), or photogenic (artificial) light.
Ambient light comes from the outside world and does not require anything extra- just make sure there are no windows nearby that could potentially cast unwanted shadows. Tungsten light is similar to candlelight, but instead uses warm white light. Photogenic light is completely manmade and cannot naturally occur anywhere other than in controlled environments.
Photogenic light typically uses either florescent tubes or arrays of individual light sources called strobe flashes. Both produce extremely bright light that is very important when taking pictures within confined spaces.
Practice taking photos in your studio
While most professional photographers have their own lighting equipment and studios, that is not always the case for amateur shooters.
Many aspiring photographers start by buying all-in-one light sources or camera batteries and then learn how to edit images on a computer. But they fail to hone their photography skills due to lack of experience shooting with proper light setups.
Creating our own light source or setting up a photoshoot can be expensive unless you are rich!
Luckily, you do not need very much space to create your own indoor photo studio. All you need is some white paper, a table top, and natural light!
Lighting is one of the most important parts of good picture taking so why not use it to your advantage? By creating your own studio, you will know exactly what settings work best in your pictures and which ones to avoid.
This article will talk about easy ways to design your own photographic studio and give you tips and tricks for taking beautiful pictures within its walls.
Learn to use your lighting equipment
The second key element in taking good indoor photos is knowing how to use your light sources. Your lights can be divided into two categories; natural light or artificial light.
Using natural sunlight as a source of illumination is very common when photographing landscapes, people and still life pictures. By using a large window or other natural light sources, you can create beautiful images.
Artificial light is another way to achieve great photographs. These types of lights are typically created by putting lamps next to each other or adding a separate lamp overhead. Using these settings, photographers are able to illuminate certain parts of the picture more than others.
By mixing both types of light, your photograph will look much richer.
Create a beautiful studio environment
A growing number of professional photographers have their own space where they work out of. This is usually a room or area in their home that they use exclusively for photography.
It can be any size, but most are around half a meter per side (a little less than one foot wide) and a couple meters high. This gives you enough room to move about and position yourself, while still having some sense of intimacy with your audience.
Many find it helpful to separate working hours into time spent editing photos and taking pictures and time spent sharing these creations with the world.
Editing photographs is a very creative process that requires careful consideration and organization. These settings help give you this separation. You can also use special lighting equipment like photofloods to achieve more dramatic results.
Taking pictures is something we all do every day, so using natural light is the best way to capture beautiful images. Many professionals have several lights already, which makes this easy to do.
Use your creativity
As mentioned earlier, creating your own photography studio is totally up to you! You can start by buying or making some of these equipment pieces and then using it in different ways to create your perfect space.
The lighting system is one of the most important parts of having a successful photo session. There are many light source types to choose from, so do not feel that because you do not have this tool yet that you will not be able to take good pictures.
Lighting systems come in all shapes and sizes and can sometimes cost quite a bit as well. Luckily, there are plenty of resources online and through photoshop tutorials where you can learn how to use various ones to create your ideal setup.
Another integral part of having a successful indoor studio setting is a comfortable place to sit down. If possible, try to find a wall or area of a room that does not have too much activity going on next to it. This way you can easily set something down and still have some movement around it.
Plan out your photo sessions
While some people start by buying or creating new equipment, that is not necessary for every photographer. What most professional photographers have in abundance are nice lighting, good acoustics, comfortable posing sets, and of course, a space to do their work.
Having these things will take you very close to having your own photography studio!
Landing a paying client is almost always about offering your services and then proving you’re capable of taking quality photographs. By having all the above mentioned items, you can begin building your portfolio.
And while it may sound expensive initialy, these resources can be picked up second hand (or even free) which makes them more affordable.
A lot of sellers will downgrade the item due to no use they had planned on putting it towards, so check out different sources and see what works for you.