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Studio setup in Apartment
Greetings all, I have everything I need to set up a small studio, except an actual place to set up. I have contacted some dance studios to see about renting space for a few hours and the prices they would quote me at would be more than I would charge for a shoot. What about setting up in my apartment? This always seemed like a 'creepy' idea for me even though I require all models I work with to bring a chaperone. How do models feel about shooting in someone's apartment? How do photographers feel about this? If you wouldn't suggest this, what would you suggest in finding studio space to do an indoor shoot? Thanks. Oct 08 14 10:50 am Link There will be some models who will say they would never work in a home studio, its not professional, its dangerous, etc. But I think you will find most models won't have a problem with it, and that many photographers work from their home. I have had a makeshift studio in my basement for years, and before that worked from an empty apartment in a building a friend of mine owned and let me use. I never had any model turn me down because of this. Many of the studio shots in my portfolio are shot in one of those 2 places. Oct 08 14 10:55 am Link Home studios not a problem. Apartments? I have to admit are a little bit uncomfortable. I prefer a hotel over apartments. Not to say I haven't and wouldn't do shoots in apartments. I'm just a little more leery until I get to know the person. Oct 08 14 10:56 am Link Midnight Sky Photo wrote: Oct 08 14 11:06 am Link Caitin Bre wrote: What's the difference between a home studio and an apartment studio? Oct 08 14 11:12 am Link Before I got my live/work loft space, I had my studio in the living room of my one bedroom apartment. Nobody ever raised any objections. Oct 08 14 11:29 am Link I might add a slight twist to this. Home or apartment I would suggest you hide anything small and valuable if people have access to other parts of the place. It might not happen 99 out of 100 but don't chance some jewelry or something turning up missing. That include any prescription drugs. Oct 08 14 11:33 am Link I shoot out of my living room. It's my home studio. My living room, though, has nothing in it except a sofa that I sometimes use for shots. Most of the time I just put it up against the wall, out of the way. The space is solely dedicated for photo shoots. I send pictures of my setup to models when we are in contact. I put up 9 foot seamless paper up against the wall, set up lights and I shoot away. The first time I invited a model I was nervous and it made her nervous too even though I've shot with her before. After the first shoot I quickly realized it's no big deal. I suggest you have the space nice and clean and unencumbered with furniture, if you can do this. Take a picture with lights set up and show this to models so they have an idea of what it looks like. When writing to them say right off the bat that you shoot from a home studio. Also have a nice clean bathroom and changing area for the models. Make them feel comfortable. Oct 08 14 11:45 am Link OP: Technically speaking, any location whether home, professional studio, outdoors..etc... is your "studio". Any space where you physically create work can be dubbed a studio. The part about people calling it "creepy" to work at home often comes from those who are not experienced in working, and may/may not get unsolicited offers from GWC's that have alternate motives to get someone to come to their home. However, there is nothing wrong with setting up in your home, and some of the best out there even have "home studios". At the end of the day, it is all about creating great work, the space is simply the vehicle as to where you create that work. Just be up front about where you are shooting, and shoot great work that inspires lots of folks to want to shoot with you, and you are all set. good luck! Oct 08 14 11:54 am Link Caitin Bre wrote: That is interesting, I never thought about using a hotel room. I just don't know if there would be enough space to set up. My background paper is about 8 feet wide, and even if I was to use fabric my background support system is 9 feet. Oct 08 14 12:40 pm Link Mark C Smith wrote: Probably the big difference between 'home' and 'apartment' would be the space. Most homes have large dining rooms or spare bedrooms. I would be using my dining area which is just a cubby type of area. I would even have to move one of my couches to shoot properly. Oct 08 14 12:42 pm Link Jorge Kreimer wrote: That is good to know. Thank you! Oct 08 14 12:42 pm Link HalfMoonColorado wrote: That is an excellent point. I was planning on moving most of the 'valuable' stuff into the living room, but that does raise a very interesting point. My camera equipment, tv, and some other large items wouldn't be able to be moved, so it might make me a target. Oct 08 14 12:44 pm Link Thank you everyone for the replies and it has gotten me to think about many things that I didn't factor prior. Most of it would be the worry about privacy, comfort (of me and the model) along with potential risk of items going missing. Some models may take payment for a TFP. I think I will continue to look for temporary spaces to set up. Like a hotel room that was suggested (as long as I can fit my gear) or a place that has zumba or similar groups. Again, thank you everyone for the input! Oct 08 14 12:48 pm Link Pretty much all the photos I make are created in my home... ... I use natural light all over, ... I use studio strobes in my living room (with furniture pushed out of the room), ... I use studio strobes in my bathroom / steam room (with great care). I could be wrong, but in my experience models don't care about working in photographer's home. They care more about stuff like... ... The photographer's professional demeanor, ... The photographer's references, ... The photographer's reputation, ... The quality of the images the photographer creates, ... The quantity of the images made at that venue, and ... The model's compensation. But that might just be me. Oct 08 14 12:52 pm Link Midnight Sky Photo wrote: You can get suites fairly reasonable week day rates. I have a lot of experience at Hampton inn. What I do in the room as long as your not disturbing others has never been a issue with them. They even know I am a model and do shoots in the room at a few of them. They don't have to know, nor do they really care. Just don't shoot in others areas of the property that might intimidate other guest and you wont draw attention to yourself. Oct 08 14 01:07 pm Link I shoot in my basement studio all the time. Indeed, virtually everything in my portfolio was shot there, if not in my living room or in some low-end motels when travelling. I've only once had a model balk at shooting in my basement, never had one balk at shooting in a motel room, which, were I the model, would worry me more. After all, if I should get out of hand at home, my wife and daughter are right upstairs and the police station is literally right around the corner. And think of how much more money you will have to pay your model if you're not paying the studio's landlord. He's probably not as cute as she is either. All IMHO as always, of course. Oct 08 14 01:10 pm Link Rays Fine Art wrote: Oh but in a Hotel if I started screaming and throwing stuff around someone would be there in a hurry. Oct 08 14 01:17 pm Link Most studios i've shot in were in apartments/studios. Nothing was creepy about shooting in them. They even contained yummy foods that the photographers could offer.  Oct 08 14 01:19 pm Link I shot commercial work in a living room in my apartment for some time. You can make it work. I was never concerned about perception, it was just my frustrations with the shortcomings of the space that drove me to purchase my own studio. If you don't feel like you are limited by the space, I say go for it. You can always expand later.  Oct 08 14 01:40 pm Link I've shot in people's homes/apartments a LOT in the past 6 years. I have no issue with it. Oct 08 14 01:41 pm Link Home studio´s, apartment studio´s have never been a problem to me. Furniture often makes for great props, and so do windows (I climb in them). It helps majorly if there´s a good place to change and apply make/up. If that´s the bathroom, make sure the light works and make sure it´s tidy. Good luck! Oct 08 14 02:01 pm Link If there are no rental facilities in your area, then consider shooting in a real location. You can rent a prime hotel suite (not inexpensive of course.) Or you can rent a cabin or a party facility. There are lots of options. Oct 08 14 03:01 pm Link Midnight Sky Photo wrote: Space can be constraining, but it depends on how and what you shoot. These days, I do most of my shooting in a garage, but have shot in an apartment frequently. Oct 08 14 07:37 pm Link My apartmentstudio - about 10x15ish  Loving my new space:  Oct 08 14 07:49 pm Link P I X I E wrote: +1 Oct 10 14 01:52 pm Link Interesting thread as I've thought about setting up a home studio. For those of you who shoot in a home with 8' ceilings, especially those of you who shoot with large(r) soft boxes, do you feel that the low ceilings are restrictive in terms of vertical lighting placement? I've done a couple of clam shell lighting selfie tests with 43" umbrellas and felt my ceilings were too low for that type of lighting. Jan 12 15 07:54 pm Link Lance Davila wrote: Yes low ceilings are restrictive Jan 12 15 08:03 pm Link shoot at home a lot...but I have the space and ceilings are high so do not get that restrictive height issue...and selective who I shoot at home....rent studio space when it fits a budget and the model is reliable...guess the model would decide if comfortable in an apartment....but restrictive on the shots you are trying to do...so..if the shoot fits, (never mind the pun)..go for it... Jan 12 15 08:25 pm Link Rays Fine Art wrote: Caitin Bre wrote: Obviously, you haven't met my wife and daughter. Jan 13 15 09:25 am Link I'm currently in the process of (very slowly, since it's me) setting up a studio space in my apartment. This is mainly because I can't afford to rent someone else's space. My ceilings are almost 9 feet up, so I'm feeling O.K. about that...Plus, I like the fact that I will be able to experiment with it whenever I want, even in the middle of the night if I can't sleep. Jan 13 15 09:34 am Link I put a lot of thought into this as I decided to go with a apartment studio. First, I took the time to be sure that nothing that was not supposed to be in the image was in the frame. As I was creating my setup I went to a number of studios, make shift beds that looked like make shift beds and sofas or chairs that looked terrible. I have spent several years creating my boudior suite and models who have been to it love it. Living room now has very nice new sofa and love seat. Should work out great. Jan 13 15 09:46 am Link While you might find models hesitant, "home" studios have been used by photographers forever. What you probably haven't considered, is how much work it is, to move everything out of the way, set up, get ready, and then have the model no show on you. It is a major problem, to contend with, and you will likely tire of that, rather quickly. Jan 13 15 09:58 am Link Looknsee Photography wrote: I once saw a feature about Mario Testino's home. I don't think models would object shooting there :-p Jan 13 15 11:43 am Link Lallure Photographic wrote: I have worked with photographers that have their work space cleared and ready to shoot at all times. Jan 13 15 01:12 pm Link In 1956 Hugh Heffner gave all photographers a memorandum which read. "Models should be photographed in a natural setting, not the sterile surroundings of a studio." If it's good enough for Heff, it's good enough for me. Virtually all the photos on my site were shot in a bedroom at my house. Jan 13 15 01:29 pm Link I think it boils down to the quality of the photographer's work and the comfort level of the model. As a photographer if you don't have access or cannot afford a studio, the only option left is to use your home or garage. Half of the studio pictures in my port are from when I was using my garage as a studio. So when setting up a shoot with a model I would inform them that those pictures were taken in my "home" studio and they could contact the model for a reference. The combination of the model liking my "home" studio pictures and the fact they could get a reference from those models, usually they would not have a problem shooting with me. In some rare instances, they would insist on bringing someone with them which wasn't an issue for me. A couple of other options. Look at getting a nice, but inexpensive hotel room. You have it for many hours, you can also shoot in the different areas of the complex and usually less expensive than a studio. See if the model has a place to shoot. It doesn't have to be her place, it can be one of her friends place. I have been shooting with model who I consider a friend and she invited me to come shoot at the apartment she just moved into. It is pretty small so we had to do some furniture re-arranging at times but we were happy with the results. Most of these shots were done using just 1 or 2 lights.     Jan 13 15 01:53 pm Link I shoot out of a home studio. No problems so far. I just let the model know up front in the first contact, if they don't like it no further discussion needed. Jan 13 15 07:58 pm Link Jan 13 15 08:28 pm Link |
