3 Easy Home Studio Setups
Not every maker can afford to invest in a professional photography studio, especially when they’re just starting out. So I thought I would share with you some tips on how to construct a perfectly workable space within your home using only natural light.
When picking a space in your home to set up a studio space there are a few important things to consider:
Light
The first thing you need to consider is light. You will need ample light for clear, non-blury photos. So when you are picking a room in your home to set up photo space, pick the brightest room in your house. Ideally a room with a large window you can set up next to.
Diffusion
Light can have a soft quality (diffused shadows with soft edges) or a hard quality (dark, crisp shadows with cut edges). If you’d like your light to be soft you may need to diffuse your light. Basically difusing means placing a filter between the light source and your products which will soften the light. You can use materials that you find around the house to do this, such as: a thin white sheet or curtain to help to soften light that is streaming through your window, or a photo frame lined with baking paper.
Colour Tints
Its important to pick a room which has white walls. If you pick a room that has a big red feature wall. You are going to find that the light bounces off that wall and picks up a pinkish tint, that it will then rain down on your product - making them appear slightly off-colour in the images.
If you have an unavoidable coloured wall in your home studio space, you can try covering it over with white paper during a photoshoot to reduce any tint problems. If you absolutely can’t avoid a coloured wall and you can’t cover it up - its OK we can adjust the tint of the image later in editing (however it's much easier to fix these types of issues before shooting if possible)
Photography is a visual medium so these concepts are much easier to explain visually. So below I’ve put together a little video which demonstrates three very simple sets you can construct at home using only natural light.
As an alternative to painting your own MFD boards you may want to purchase a vinyl backdrop. The advantage of a vinyl backdrop is that its eay to clean (great if you are working with food or beauty products), can be rolled up and stored and comes in a huge variety of colours and textures. If you decide to purchase a vinyl backdrop I reccommend Everyday Co. You can use my coupon code: RACHELKIMBERLEY for 20% off your purchase.
I hope you’ve found this blog inspiring. For more tips and tricks on how to DIY your product photography check out my online product photography course which designed to give you the practical advice you need to plan and execute a product photography shoot from start to finish.
If you have questions or would like to connect you can always connect with me over in the photography for makers facebook group.
Happy Snapping!
Rachel