Setting up a mini studio @ home

[frederickykfoo]

I agree with Photobum

Renting equipment is not forever.

For starter, 300W Elektra Century 300 studio kit from Ruby Photo ($800 for 2 strobes, light stands and softboxes) is a good buy. Talk from Ruby people. It is as good as some branded ones like Bowen.

So far you have not mention what kind of picture you like to do in studio.
For starters, with your camera and kit lens will do nicely for some table top still and some portraits with the lights from Ruby Photo.

If you need as help and lesson on studio lighting, you can approach me.

Have fun....

 

[Patryk]

You're just starting off i see...and technically..you don't even need much equipment for a home studio other than:
1. Camera
2. Flash Gun (with a swivel head of course)
3. Tripod
4. Backdrop

Then again, if you have the moolah you can go for softboxes and the whole shbang... but if you're still experimenting, you can just go with these items first which are affordable and also necessary for general shooting other than portraiture.

My backdrop is the back of a giant print that was made for me when i took part in an exhibition... attached it on my bedroom wall and voila...nice white backdrop for headshots up to the chest..

For lighting, i just bounce my flash off the white ceiling and for reflectors, i just use radom pieces of paper or even aluminium foil (which i ask my subject to hold sometimes if i'm doing tight headshots..heh). And don't underestimate natural lighting...you can setup close to a window which can give you pretty nice soft and natural light in the late afternoon..

Of course, you would have to play around and there's always a limit to what you can do with such few equipment..but for someone starting out and if you're on a budget..these things can really work to give you pretty decent results.

So yeah...that's pretty much what i do... here's two examples from what I got from my setup:

 

[Halfmoon]

You are most welcome!

Renting equipment is not a long term solution. You will end up spending more than you should. Kenneth's Jinbei professional strobes are very affordable. Alternatively, you may want to consider the 300W Elektra Century 300 studio kit from Ruby Photo ($800 for 2 strobes, light stands and softboxes).

I understand you are on budget and may not be willing to spend $1.5K~3K in a single purchase. If you are planning to start a home studio slowly, but gradually, I suggest that you invest in one strobe, a light stand, a speed ring and a softbox first. You can use this strobe as your main light, and use your existing EX420 as a fill.

Hi photo bum, thanks for your sharing and advises.

I have actually tried using my flashes and ST-E2 for shooting, and quite like the experience... a DSLR will help me a lot due to the instant feedback, and cut short the learning curve...

I tried shooting of my gundam model kits, and cars and etc... using the limited equipment and it was fun... but a single flash is not enough.... I think 2-3 flash will give more area for creativity....

Film background have drilled into me to be careful when shooting, even when I try using DSLR...

I am quite interested in the $800 pair of strobes as I feel a pair of strobes is most ideal for trying sut some ideas....

Is this the address of Ruby??

Ruby Photo Co (Pte) Ltd
Category : Photographic Equipment & Supplies-Retail
Address : 2 Jln Rajah #05-12 Golden Wall Flatted Fty S(329134)
Telephone : 6254 6582
Fax : 6253 2688

 

[Halfmoon]

I agree with Photobum

Renting equipment is not forever.

For starter, 300W Elektra Century 300 studio kit from Ruby Photo ($800 for 2 strobes, light stands and softboxes) is a good buy. Talk from Ruby people. It is as good as some branded ones like Bowen.

So far you have not mention what kind of picture you like to do in studio.
For starters, with your camera and kit lens will do nicely for some table top still and some portraits with the lights from Ruby Photo.

If you need as help and lesson on studio lighting, you can approach me.

Have fun....

Hi freder,

Thank you very much for your offer.... How muuh do you charge for your lesson???

I am thinking of shooting portaits of people... like studio, make over, etc....

I also tried taking model kit such as gundam, cars, etc before with my flash but felt a single flash is not enough, and I am thinking of learning more in actual studio shooting..... I tried a lot of things... macro with extention tube.. prefer flower in macro... tried events, wedding, sports, animals, etc... I do not like to restrict to a single field.. and so, studio is one area I have not touch.....

SG landscape is not in my mind either... and I am thinking of a wider zoom one day when I go abroad for holiday.... hopefully can get good good shots...

How do I link up the strobes with the camera? Will I need a transmitter or wire/ cable??

Also, how long can a pair of strobes last??? I am seriously thinking of this as a sideline.... ;p

 

[Halfmoon]

You're just starting off i see...and technically..you don't even need much equipment for a home studio other than:
1. Camera
2. Flash Gun (with a swivel head of course)
3. Tripod
4. Backdrop

Then again, if you have the moolah you can go for softboxes and the whole shbang... but if you're still experimenting, you can just go with these items first which are affordable and also necessary for general shooting other than portraiture.

My backdrop is the back of a giant print that was made for me when i took part in an exhibition... attached it on my bedroom wall and voila...nice white backdrop for headshots up to the chest..

For lighting, i just bounce my flash off the white ceiling and for reflectors, i just use radom pieces of paper or even aluminium foil (which i ask my subject to hold sometimes if i'm doing tight headshots..heh). And don't underestimate natural lighting...you can setup close to a window which can give you pretty nice soft and natural light in the late afternoon..

Of course, you would have to play around and there's always a limit to what you can do with such few equipment..but for someone starting out and if you're on a budget..these things can really work to give you pretty decent results.

So yeah...that's pretty much what i do... here's two examples from what I got from my setup:

Hi patryk...

Thanks for your tips on natural lights....

I tried shooting model kit before... gundam, and motor and cars... it was good enough to dupe people into thinking it was a real car!!! hahaha.... and I also made those models too!!!

I used A3 paper for back drop when shooting those models... I realised that if I used a long tele, I can compress it better.... but do not have a long tele primes yet.... I guess for portraits, I will need 3 lenses. a 50mm, 85mm & 135mm lenses....

I will be budgetting and then, think about it and then, hope that one day, I can succeed in shooting super dupper portraits...

 

[Halfmoon]

Actually, is EF 70-200mm f4 is ideal for portraits??

I think big F is most ideal..... I think.... F 4 might not be so ideal, but with strobes, F4 should not be an issue at all.... :think:

Please advice..... thank you........

 

[Halfmoon]

Hi All Clubbers,

Does anyone have the contact of Ruby Photo??

I went by yesterday, looking at the backdrop... and was asking the price... paper one is around 1 roll at $100. But I forget the dimension... is it 36m X 9m????

Also, how much does a pair of back light cost??? Just simple ones to use for hair line, and back ground lighting...

Thank you.

 

[photobum]

Actually, if you want a set of strobes just to photograph your toys collection, a 180W Jinbei lighting kit from EastGear is more than sufficient. The 300W Elektra strobes will be overkill.

 

[Halfmoon]

Actually, if you want a set of strobes just to photograph your toys collection, a 150W Jinbei lighting kit from EastGear is more than sufficient. The 300W Elektra strobes will be overkill.

Hi Photobum,

I am more interested in portraits actually, and I used my models as a testing base for understanding more about the exposure, and lighting power... like setting it at 1/8, 1/4 of power, etc... only regret is I only have 1 flash to do that. I believe with 2-3 flash, it should be much better.... More variety... also, film... VERY EX learning curve.....

 

[photobum]

...More variety... also, film... VERY EX learning curve.....

Talking about expensive learning curve, I remember many years ago when I was still a student at RIT majoring in photography, my monthly film processing fees could easily exceed US$800! This was roughly SGD1440 at that time when the exchange rates were very high.

My total lab fees alone for the two years MFA program cost as much as a brand new car in Singapore. Now with digital, it is so much cheaper.

 

[Halfmoon]

Talking about expensive learning curve, I remember many years ago when I was still a student at RIT majoring in photography, my monthly film processing fees could easily exceed US$800! This was roughly SGD1440 at that time when the exchange rates were very high.

My total lab fees alone for the two years MFA program cost as much as a brand new car in Singapore. Now with digital, it is so much cheaper.

OMG.... you sure must be spending a lot on photography since...

*RESPECT*

How many bodies, and lenses you can buy with that amount of money???? You sure have deep pockets!!