Question by ABC: What tools do I need for opening a home digital photography studio?
I’d like to start a small home digital photography studio but with minimum budget (around 3000 $ ) but I feel its impossible. also What are the main equipments needed plus any recomended websites portrait snaps training?
Am shocked! spending that much? Well thank you all for help and I’ll think I keep up with an SLR ( D40 Nikon) alright?
Best answer:
Answer by Nathan Grammatico
A Digital SLR, Reflectors, Umbrella Lights, External Flashes, Plus more. There’s so much that goes into Studio photography. Just go on websites and look for those things- they’ll be expensive- but a crucial investment.
Websites for Photography training?
Those can be rather inadequate, just try ‘ portrait snaps ‘ on your own, the best way to learn something is through personal experience. Books, and websites will just give you some techniques.
Relax, you’ll learn, Just go out, and shoot.
Give your answer to this question below!
Digital Camera (about $ 500)
Portrait Lens (about $ 500)… damn… spent $ 1000 already.
Memory Cards ($ 50)
Education (home study course – ($ 900)
Studio Lighting ($ 800 used)
Backdrops ($ 300 for a few)
Photoshop Program ($ 700)
Printer ($ 500)
Laptop or desktop with high memory and storage ( $ 4000 approximate).
… damn… ran out of money.
The D40 is a good entry level DSLR. Westcott makes an entry level lighting kit that even has a floormat to tell you where to set the lights. It goes for about 500 for the 3 light set up with stands umbreallas and backdrop. Using the mat you will get what I call the “department store lighting set up” pretty traditional but its a good start and as you learn you can vary the setup. These are not top of the line lights and in a year or two you will outgrow them; but again a goot starter kit. You could do the same things with strobes and lightstands on your D40 . If you want to do location shoots go this way instead of the westcott set up which is better suited to an indoor location.
Next go for a good prime lens for portraits. On the D40 if you get a Nikor 50 mm 1.8 or better yet 1.4 you have a crop factor of a 75mm lens ( which gets you in the bottom end of what is traditionally seen as a portrait lens) and an aperature that will give you good bokeh. The 1.8 can be gotten at a good price the 1.4 will cost you a bit more.
Go to the Nikon site and look at the creative lighting system for using strobes for location portraits. Then invest some time to go to strobist.com and go thought the lighting 101 section.
Take notes and make cheat cards to remember what lighting setups worked well with your equipment. If you look a picture, find you really like it, and do not know how you set it up on lighting position and ratios its hard to re-create the effect on demand
With digital its 0s and1s so the cost is minimal so before you take shots for hire practice practice practice on your family, neighbors anyone you can get to sit still. You must know your equipment cold. Its almost embarrasing to the profession the amount of people who want to call themselves photographers and they cannot work the equipment they have and seem unwilling to put in the time to learn to do so
Contact your local camera club and camera store, they often have lighting classes. Community colleges and parks and rec also sometimes do this. Look in photo magazines for seminars and workshops near you to hone your skills.
http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-Photo-Basics-503-Three-Light/dp/B000P43MM4