Randy Poe wrote:
Anybody fully set up and tear down all lights, paper sweep etc each shoot?

I recently moved and had to let go my work space where I was spoiled and always had my stage set and ready including basic lights in place.There is a room here in the park where I now live I can rent for a small fee that is actually pretty nice deal.
Trouble is my ol man but is killing himself trying to get it all together for this in and out setup life.
I did a shoot Monday that we went long "don't they all" I had to really hustle to be out of the room before the next event arrived- Made with about 5 minuets to spare- Whew!

Its been two days and I swear I can barely move. Good thing editing is a lot of sitting around. If I had to do this on a daily basis I would not be up for it.

Just did the full set-up/tear-down of the portable backdrop, light-stands, etc. in two locations (dining room and in the ivy behind the garage) last Thursday again. Nowhere near as taxing as the repeated crouching, crawling, cramping into the corner to get the angles in a window-blind-shadows shoot plus keeping the ivy in the mirror out back. And my old knees were (almost) recovered enough to let me reprise some of the gymnastics to get low for a bunch of great specimens at today's car show. But...I DO look forward to being spoiled with a dedicated space someday. Just a few years until retirement, though, puts me at the mercy of the community room schedulers at the park. So, we'll see.

All that to say this: I (and my knees) feel ya. G'd-on-ya for keeping up the efforts, though!

Yours,
Bill

Randy Poe wrote:
Anybody fully set up and tear down all lights, paper sweep etc each shoot?

Unless I have a similar shoot on consecutive days, striking the set is part of the job. There are numerous reasons that properly packing and storing gear and background surfaces maximizes the working life.

Even storing seamless set paper rolled up horizontally can damage the surface. They should be taken down and stored vertically. Keep in unrolled for days can ruin it.

I have one extra large soft box that I try to limit building/striking to a minimum to reduce wear and tear on the fabric, so I will keep it assembled during multi-day shoots, but not between shoots. All of my other soft boxes are usually struck/disassembled even between shots to save space.

Dan Howell wrote:

Randy Poe wrote:
I have one extra large soft box that I try to limit building/striking to a minimum to reduce wear and tear on the fabric, so I will keep it assembled during multi-day shoots, but not between shoots. All of my other soft boxes are usually struck/disassembled even between shots to save space.

Good point. While I have plenty of lightstands with which to replace it, the wear-and-tear of relatively constant use (and constant set-up and tear-down in my home studios) recently took its toll on the set-screw knob of one of them. But compared to the expense of maintaining studio space when my photography is still the "side-hustle," and I shoot more than half of my sessions on location elsewhere...small price to pay. Thanks for prompting me to review the economics of my decisions on this, and to be more careful with the light modifiers I use, too. (I nearly left a translucent umbrella propped against the corner of a garage last week.)

fotopfw wrote:
I shoot in my apartment nowadays, a lot less work than to schlepp everything along to hotels.

I was going to say, I shoot primarily in my apartment these days and photographers seem relieved there is not much if any set up and tear down.