Photo studio home interior ideas. Photo studio as a business idea
Photo salons, photo studios - at first glance, it may seem that this type of business has lost its popularity. All those who think so are deeply mistaken. It would seem that what new things can be done when digital technologies burst into our lives. Now almost everyone knows how to take photographs and print pictures. Then why do we need salons where masters work miracles?
In the modern world, the photo services market is developing by leaps and bounds. Photography has long won our hearts and has become an integral part of everyone’s life. This type of product enjoys constant success among the population of all social classes and positions.
The leading place in the segment of this market is deservedly occupied by private entrepreneurs and enterprises in need of advertising products, as well as ordinary people who give preference to high-quality professional photos. We present to your attention a business plan: “How to open a photo studio?”
The relevance of this type of business
Home purpose This type of creative human activity is to provide everyone with good photographs that meet high aesthetic requirements.
Priority task– provision of services of the highest quality.
Photo salons and photo studios are especially relevant among novice businessmen. If desired, an amateur can develop into a real pro and open a photo studio from scratch with a list of various services. For example, you can offer clients to use the services of a professional makeup artist - everyone will want to make their appearance even more attractive. The owner of the salon will be able to get double benefits from this.
To sum up the above, we can safely say that the most relevant area today is the service sector, which includes photography.
Analysis of the photography services market and competitors
Analyzing this area of business activity, at the moment its state can be characterized as transitional. This is due to the fact that the digital technology market is just emerging and taking shape in Russia.
Several can be defined indicators characterizing the development prospects of this type of business.
- The Russian Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Household Appliances conducted research, which revealed that approximately 40% of Russian families own cameras. At the same time, there are significantly more film cameras than digital cameras.
- The modern market is not sufficiently saturated with new generation equipment. There is a fairly high risk of purchasing low-quality products.
- Sales volumes of digital cameras are steadily growing, which indicates that the consumer market is not fully saturated.
Today we can state the following fact: with an increase in the number of sales of cameras, the need for the provision of photo workshop services is significantly reduced. Photo processing and printing technologies have become more accessible. Almost everyone has an inkjet or laser printer at home. Scientific developments make it possible to obtain high-quality images at home at an affordable price.
Analyzing the industry market in this area, we can conclude that a surge of interest in this type of business is still ahead. These forecasts are associated with an increase in sales of professional equipment. There is no strong competition in the market at the moment. Therefore, my advice to everyone is to get involved right now.
An analysis of competitors suggests that there are not many professional studios in Russia that are ready to compete with European standards. Therefore, when starting your own business in this area, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons. If you decide to try your hand at creating beautiful photographs, you need to attend courses or seminars of famous artists, learn from them how to take high-quality photographs, try to create a creative atmosphere in your team and try to find a creative approach to each client.
What does it take to open a photography studio?
In order to open a photo studio, it is not necessary to have a license, it is enough to be an individual entrepreneur. As in any other business, it is important to take a responsible approach to choosing premises and recruiting personnel.
Premises and decoration
At the very beginning of a business, it is preferable to rent space for a photo studio.
The location of the salon should correspond to your work preferences. If you plan to carry out only corporate orders, then it is quite possible to use premises in an industrial zone.
To serve private clients, you need to choose a building closer to the city center, close to a large number of people. These may be educational institutions or government agencies. Do not forget about convenient parking spaces - if they are absent, it is unlikely that a wedding procession will be able to drive up to your salon.
The main requirement for the premises for a photo studio is the ceiling height - it must be at least 3 meters, the area - at least 50-60 sq.m. The largest number of square meters will have to be allocated for shooting space. The equipment will take up a lot of space, so you won’t be able to save money. You will also need a place for a make-up artist and an area for the administrator.
It is not possible to convert an ordinary apartment into a professional studio - the height of the ceilings will not allow this. If the ceiling is not high enough, it will be impossible to install lighting for high-quality photography.
The design of the studio will depend entirely on the preferences of the photographer. The walls are usually painted white or gray - the main thing is that they are in the same tone. The windows are covered with blinds or thick curtains - this is necessary for long exposure photography.
The wedding business requires a lot of dedication and significant investment. But, nevertheless, this type of business is known for its profitability. , how to open your own wedding salon and make money from it.
Costs and profits
How much does it cost to open a photography studio?
In addition to the costs of opening a studio, you will need to invest some money in equipment, props, furniture and some elements to create additional coziness.
You will have to invest about 250 thousand rubles from your own funds, and you will also have to attract bank loans.
The main assets are:
- camera – about 70 thousand rubles;
- lens – 100,000 rubles;
- flash – 20,000 rubles;
- lighting equipment – 150 – 200,000 rubles;
- details - 25 - 30,000 rubles;
- computer and household appliances - about another 80 thousand rubles.
According to approximate calculations, in the first few months you will have to spend about 500 - 600 thousand rubles.
Is it profitable to open a photography studio?
At first, you will work at a loss, since in order to attract customers you will have to reduce prices. A photo studio can only make a profit if it is fully loaded, with an 8-hour working day for the staff and your full dedication.
With proper loading, a photo studio can work up to 12 hours a day within a year. All initial investment will pay off in about a year.
The profitability of a photo studio is about 80% - this is a pretty good figure. With competent and efficient organization of work, in a year you can make a profit of up to 200,000 rubles. per month.
Summary
There are so many good specialist photographers on the market. In order not to make a mistake when choosing personnel, you need to carefully read the resume of the applicant for the position.
A document designated as a “resume” should always be at hand for every specialist. It describes the professional “life” and abilities of the applicant. Finding an employee using this document is much easier.
Thus, a well-drafted business plan for opening a photo studio will allow you to calculate in advance all the pros and cons of this enterprise, and will help in choosing equipment and recruiting personnel.
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In recent years, the popularity of photography has increased several times. Now not only professional models who need to update their portfolios, but also those who want to add bright and creative high-quality photographs to their family album have begun to take an interest in studio shooting.
Not only famous photographers with many years of experience want to open their own studio. Ordinary businessmen also find this direction quite promising. Naturally, to open a photo studio from scratch considerable capital investment will be required. But with a properly developed marketing policy, these investments will begin to pay off within a few months after opening.
Specifics of the photography business
Most often, photo studios are opened pursuing the following three goals:
- Professional studio photography (creation of catalogues, portfolios, booklets, etc.).
- Shooting for reporting.
- Renting out premises and equipment as additional income.
Working in a photo studio is hard work every day. The peculiarity of this business is that Photographers usually have few regular clients. Quite a few families regularly update their photo albums.
On the other hand, it is always worth remembering about competition, which is quite high in this area. The same factor can be associated with a fairly long period of formation of a circle of regular customers.
It is also worth distinguishing a professional photography studio from a photo salon.
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First of all, the studio employs professional photographers who can offer their clients interesting ideas for upcoming shooting and have the skills to deeply process photographs using special graphic editors. For example, Lightroom and Photoshop. In addition, they do an excellent job not only in studio conditions, but also outdoors.
Photo studio workers can take good photos for documents, but, as a rule, they do not work outside the salons.
The studios offer their clients many other services. For example, photographing weddings or children's parties, creating slide shows, printing photographs and photo books.
Registration
Registration is a very important step when starting your own business. Without this stage, all commercial activities of the photo studio will be considered illegal. If an audit suddenly comes your way, you risk losing not only your reputation, but also your entire business.
You can register your studio as an individual entrepreneur (IP) or a limited liability company (LLC). At the same time, for Russians, OKVED number must be selected 74.81, which corresponds to activities in the field of photography.
Opening an individual entrepreneur may be the best option if most of your clients are individuals. Moreover, registering an individual entrepreneur will cost a little less than an LLC. But it is worth remembering that, according to the law, if the company incurs debts, the entrepreneur will be held liable with his personal property.
An LLC can be opened by more than one person. However, for this you will need availability of start-up capital. A limited liability company usually enjoys much greater trust among clients and potential business partners than an individual entrepreneur.
To open your own photography business, you don’t need to spend a lot of time obtaining licenses and other permitting documents.
How to open your own photo studio from scratch at home? We invite you to watch a video in which a professional photographer shares his experience.
Selecting a room
Your photo studio should be located as close to the city center as possible. The cost of rent, naturally, will be significantly higher than in residential areas. But it will also be much more convenient for clients to get to you.
The area of the room must be at least 60 square meters, and its length is 10 m. This is due to the fact that the distance between the photographer and the model should be no less than three human heights, and between the model and the background - two. About 90-95% should be allocated to the studio itself. At the same time, it is worth considering a comfortable waiting room for clients, as well as a dressing room and locker room. Large studios may also have showers and other amenities. It all depends on your financial capabilities.
Ceiling height also matters. If ceilings will be lower than 3 m, it will be very difficult for you to arrange all the necessary equipment correctly to get the desired result.
The photo studio should have several large windows, which will allow the photographer to work not only with studio lighting, but also with natural lighting.
The dressing room should be light under all conditions. It should contain large mirrors. Don't forget that makeup artists will be most comfortable working in natural light.
Once you find the ideal space, you can sign the lease and begin renovations. By the way, you will have to work not only on lighting. The studio should have good ventilation and heating system. After all, your client could be a cheerful group of a dozen kids or a family with a small child.
The quality of the wiring is also of great importance, because you will need to connect a huge amount of equipment. If your studio will be open 24/7, then don’t forget about soundproofing. This will help avoid conflicts with people living next door.
Before you start decorating the interior, divide the room into zones, think about what you would like to see in your photo studio, and draw up a design project for it. If your studio has several rooms, you can safely decorate them in different styles, but if you are limited to one room, then you can divide it into several stylistic sectors. If the room is small, choose neutral colors for the interior. This way you will get rid of unnecessary reflections on the model’s body.
Necessary equipment
What does it take to open a photo studio from scratch? You will have to purchase the required minimum equipment, which will consist of:
- at least 3 softboxes of different sizes and several attachments for them. Optimal power - from 500 J;
- umbrellas for light and reflection;
- reflectors;
- sources of light;
- stands, tripods, holders;
- reflector;
- color filters;
- flash meter;
- flash synchronizers;
- backgrounds and mounts for them.
You can also purchase additional items if necessary props and a SLR camera with a set of lenses.
We must not forget about the accompanying premises. You can go to the dressing room buy a dressing table, a large mirror, chairs and a screen. An iron and ironing board or a steamer will also come in handy. The administrator and photographer must be provided with a computer with the necessary programs installed, appropriate furniture and telephones.
Please remember that the list only includes essential equipment. In the first few months, you will have the opportunity to understand what is still missing to run the studio more efficiently and fill in the gaps in the kit.
Recruitment
Ideal if you are an experienced photographer who is opening a studio for himself. In this case, all you need is to find a good administrator who will communicate with clients, maintain order in the photo studio, update information about your establishment on the Internet and help you during the shooting process. If you are focused on working seven days a week, think about finding several administrators, to provide them with shift work.
If you need to choose a photographer, pay attention to the candidates' portfolios. Don't ignore young applicants they may turn out to be several times more creative than their more famous colleagues. The work of experienced craftsmen can cost several times more than the services of the “younger generation”. However, this is a worthy price to pay for their experience, which can be the key to the success of your business.
A good photographer must be able to communicate correctly with a client, understand what he wants from a photo shoot, and also have a supply of bright and original ideas for high-quality photographs. Remember that the photographer is the face of your business.
You can also hire a stylist, makeup artist and hairdresser. They will help your clients create exactly the look they expect to see in photographs. You can hire a part-time accountant or use the services of an outsourcing accounting company to do your bookkeeping and prepare quarterly reports.
Advertising and promotion
How to correctly and most effectively build a marketing policy for a photo studio? First of all, pay attention to social networks, websites and thematic forums. If you are renting out studios and equipment, it would be a good idea to attract the attention of experienced professionals. Invite them to the opening let us try out new equipment, think about possible discounts, bonuses or special programs for regular customers. Believe me, no photographer can resist such temptation.
From time to time, various promotions or lotteries may be held. You can highlight some in which discounts or bonuses will apply at certain hours or for certain services in your studio. You can also create a discount program for regular customers.
Don't underestimate modern web technologies. A bright, well-built website can become a wonderful business card for you. And don’t forget that good photos and satisfied customers are the best advertising for your establishment.
Possible problems and risks
Any investment of capital and opening an independent business is associated with some risk. What should you be wary of when opening a photography studio?
- There is a lot of competition in the photo business, the presence of competitors with lower prices, etc. A well-thought-out advertising campaign will help correct the situation.
- Inconsistency of demand for a number of services provided. A wide range of services provided will help you avoid problems.
- Possibility of losing some personnel. To avoid this, try to create a cozy atmosphere in the team, and also think about a employee motivation program.
- Risk of loss of property. Nobody not insured against robberies, power surges or fire. A good smoke alarm and contract with a security company will help you minimize this risk.
The structure of the photo studio and composition is described in the video.
Good afternoon, colleagues. My name is Alexander Egorov, I live in the Moscow region. Six years ago I wondered how to make a photo studio. For several months I studied photography and delved into the essence of the business. After some time, I managed to open my own studio, which has been successfully operating for more than four years.
The characteristics of my business are as follows:
- initial costs – from 500 thousand rubles;
- a large room with an area of 275 square meters. Rental cost – 125 thousand rubles per month;
- monthly income at this stage is 400 thousand rubles per month;
- payback – 6-8 months.
How to open a photo studio from scratch?
Please note that in such a business you will be in very high demand. If you work yourself, you must have a high level of skill. If you lack the appropriate skills, it is better to hire a professional photographer.
The peculiarity of the photo studio is the provision of a wide range of services, that is, not only photographing and transferring images, but also processing the latter in special editors, creating a portfolio and further processing, designing photo books, and so on.
But here, of course, a lot depends on the experience of the specialist.
Below I will give a small step-by-step instructions on how to open a photo studio. It should help you build an algorithm for further actions and future promotion:
1. Before opening a photo salon, decide on the range of services provided (the wider it is, the better).
You can take photographs for documents, model (portrait) photography, take photographs at events and holidays, do advertising and product photography, do photomontage, make souvenirs based on the photographs taken, and so on.
2. Find a suitable room. The ideal place for an office is the central part of the city, where large flows of people move.
Of course, rental costs will increase in this case, but it will also be easier for clients to find a photo studio.
The optimal room area for the first time is from 60-70 square meters.
Please note that for the convenience of visitors it would not be superfluous to organize a small reception and dressing room. Pay attention to the height of the ceilings. It is very important for the photographer that it is at least 3-3.5 meters.
If you take a standard apartment with ceilings of 2.4-2.5 meters, then problems may arise with the placement of equipment. Pay attention to the windows - they should be large.
In this case, it is desirable that there are several of them per room. Natural lighting is an essential attribute of a high-quality photo. A similar requirement applies to the dressing room. In addition to artificial lighting, it should also have natural light.
It is not necessary to buy a room for the first time - it is enough to rent it and make high-quality designer renovations. Please note that everything in a photo studio should “breathe” with creativity, so it is better not to skimp on finding and paying for the labor of a quality designer.
The average cost of renting a premises is from 50 thousand rubles (but it all depends on the city, proximity to the center, arrangement of the premises, and so on). Additional costs for finishing and purchasing basic furniture - from 150 thousand rubles.
Again, you can save money or furnish the room to the highest class.
3. Be sure to register officially. Otherwise, an audit from the tax office will come very quickly. There are two options for a photo studio: LLC or individual entrepreneur.
As a rule, entrepreneurs choose the first option. If the work will be carried out only with private individuals, then an individual entrepreneur will be sufficient.
Opening and promotion of a photo studio
As for taxation, one of the best options is UTII or patent form. The OKVED code for this activity is 74.8 (this includes the provision of various services) and 74.81 is a specialized code that relates only to photography.
If sales and copying services will be provided, then two more codes must be indicated - 52.4 (retail trade) and 22.22 (printing work).
Registration with the Pension Fund and a number of other organizations will be required. After arrangement of the premises and repairs, there must be a conclusion from the SES and fire inspection. Be sure to buy a cash register and strict reporting forms.
Expenses for the entire registration stage (together with the purchase of a cash register and other equipment) – from 30,000 rubles.
4. Once the documents are completed and the premises are ready, start purchasing equipment. At the initial stage, you can not spend much and buy only the essentials.
Please note that you will definitely need a high-quality camera (it will cost from 30,000 rubles).
In addition, you will need a computer with software, which should be very powerful to work in various video and photo processing programs (from 35,000 rubles).
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To print a photo, you will need a good photo printer (its price is about 10-15 thousand rubles), a tripod for mounting the camera (about 2,000 rubles), a photocopier (about 10,000 rubles), lighting devices (about 10,000 rubles).
Be sure to buy a laminator - about 8,000 rubles. The total cost of purchasing equipment is about 110,000 rubles.
5. Personnel may be needed if the photo studio offers additional services for scanning, photocopying, recording information to external sources, printing photographs, printing other information, and so on.
You can take someone experienced in working with Photoshop and put him in charge of processing photographs, restoring old photographs, creating collages, making retro photos, and so on.
As a rule, it is enough to take 1-2 assistants who, if anything happens, can replace you and take simple photographs for documents. At the same time, wage costs will be insignificant. As a rule, you can meet the amount of about 30-40 thousand rubles.
Table No. 1. Potential of photo studio product services in Russia
6. If you want to quickly recoup your costs, then advertising is required. Ideally, it is advisable to make your own website on the Internet with examples of the best photographs, organize outdoor advertising, make beautiful advertisements and hang them around the city.
Thus, the total cost of starting a business, taking into account the investments mentioned above, will be about 400 thousand rubles. Plus monthly costs for renting premises, advertising, paying people, and so on - about 100 thousand rubles.
What does it take to open a photography studio?
The business of opening a photo studio is one of the most accessible in terms of organization, design and competition. But here it is important to remember that not everyone succeeds.
You must be a professional in your field and approach each client individually. Opening a photo studio should be a special event in the life of your city, so advertise before work begins.
In the future, the reputation will be formed solely on the basis of customer reviews. So be courteous, always meet halfway, listen carefully to wishes and carefully introduce your professional vision. If the client sees you as a professional, he will trust you completely.
You don't need much to start your own business. First, you must be madly in love with your work (even if another person works as a photographer). Secondly, there must be a desire and readiness to organize a business.
Thirdly, you need to have about 500 thousand rubles (at least) on hand. This is the answer for people who are wondering how much it costs to open a photography studio. As a rule, at the initial stage the above amount is sufficient.
Then you can continue development - buy (rent) a larger premises, expand the range of services (for example, you can open a store selling photo or video products), hire people, and so on. Here a lot depends on success and profit.
Do you need a business plan for a photography studio?
Before opening an interior photography studio, creating a business plan is mandatory. This document becomes a reliable assistant in the harsh world of business.
If you have certain knowledge and experience, you can write the document yourself or entrust the work to professionals.
Please note that the business plan must reflect the following aspects - the goals of the future enterprise, types of services provided, development prospects, risk factors, ways to overcome competition, all types of costs, start-up capital for starting a business, initial and monthly expenses, features of personnel selection and etc.
The more accurately the document is written and the more details are taken into account, the less likely it is to fail. Of course, there is always a risk, but it can be minimized.
Opening a photo studio: total costs
Let's summarize the total costs of opening a photo studio:
- renting the premises will cost from 30-50 thousand rubles (monthly);
- repair and arrangement of the selected office - from 150 thousand rubles;
- registration of all papers, purchase of a cash register, registration - from 30 thousand rubles;
- remuneration of personnel, provided that you hire 1-2 employees - from 30-35 thousand rubles (monthly);
- expenses for a full-fledged advertising campaign – from 30 thousand rubles;
- other expenses (taxes, purchase of accessories, components, etc.) – from 20 thousand rubles per month.
At the same time, the potential income of your business in the first month can be from 200 thousand rubles. As popularity grows, profits are sure to increase.
There's no need to spend tens of thousands on lighting equipment to create professional-quality portraits. In this guide, we'll show you how to shoot truly original portraits worthy of any photographer's portfolio, with a standard home studio kit.
You don't need fancy light sources or expensive equipment to create powerful lighting effects for portrait photos. A simple set of two monoblock pulse sources is a great start.
Fortunately, such a kit is available and relatively inexpensive. Even if you don't have one or don't plan on purchasing one, an external flash and a few basic accessories will be sufficient for the practical application of this tutorial.
Once you have the right accessories, you'll discover ways to control the light. You can dramatically improve the technical level of a portrait using a few simple tools, accessories, tips and techniques. However, it's worth taking the time to experiment with different lighting schemes.
Prepare your equipment for creativity
There are a bunch of attachments with which you can control the intensity ( approx. translator - and quality) lighting: softboxes, umbrellas, tubes, curtains, beauty dishes, etc. Most beginner kits come with a softbox and an umbrella.
They are perfect for creating diffuse, diffused, soft lighting, while tubes, curtains and honeycombs are designed to create a directed light flux.
A good way to learn how to control light is to think through a lighting design. At first glance, this seems like a difficult task. But it only seems so. Most monoblocks are equipped with a source of modeling, pilot, light - a constant radiation lamp, which can illuminate the scene throughout the entire shooting without affecting the exposure.
Modeling light is great for assessing how light from a flash source will fall on your subject. First, make sure the modeling light is on.
Move the monoblock relative to the model. The closer the light source is to the subject being photographed, the softer the lighting - the transitions from highlights to penumbra and penumbra to shadows are longer and smoother. And vice versa, the further you go, the harder it is, the shadows are thicker and their edges are clearer.
The height at which the source is placed relative to the model is also important. In most cases, you may want to mount the monoblock higher than the subject you are shooting. But it's worth experimenting and seeing how the light falls on the model when the source is above or below her head. Also think about the angle of inclination of the monoblock in relation to the model: the direction of light “opposite” or “top-down” is usually the most acceptable options.
- Find out more: Setting up a home studio: equipment, setup, filming.
Practice
The classic, “Rembrandt” light scheme to start with is named after Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, a 17th century Dutch artist. The fact that this particular scheme is involved is evidenced by a light spot in the shape of a triangle on the model’s cheek. ( approx. translator - one side of the triangle is formed by the shadow of the brow ridge, the other by the shadow of the nose, the third by the shadow located along the unlit half of the face from the cheekbone to the chin.) Rembrandt often used this type of lighting in his portraits.
Ideally, you should position the light source relative to the model's head so that the shadow from the tip tends to the corner of the mouth.
Although Rembrandt's pattern is a good start, don't stop there and don't use it all the time. In a different shooting situation and with a different model, a different distribution of highlights and shadows may be more appropriate.
- Find out more:
The great advantage of digital technology is that you can experiment and, at the same time, monitor the test results on the camera screen. Gone are the days when you had to calculate every frame with utmost care and take care of expensive film. Then wait until she returned from the darkroom to finally see what the experiments led to.
In addition to installing a suitable lighting scheme, it is necessary to psychologically win over the model. The pose in which the model looks best, the emotion and atmosphere of communication... and, of course, the composition that makes the photo expressive.
Prepare the studio
Install lighting
Set the main (drawing) light source at a 45-degree angle formed between the model-photographer and model-source lines, and above the model's head. Try moving the source to achieve a triangle of light on the model’s face, on the half of it that is distant from the source. The shadow from the tip of the nose touches the corner of the mouth.
- Find out more: The best external camera flashes for portrait photography. Comparative test of 6 models.
Highlight your hair
Place the second light source with a tube behind the model - in a position opposite to the main light source relative to the model. The second source gives directed hard light to the model’s hair. Finally, use a reflector to highlight the shadows on the face, on the side where the light from the key source creates a triangle of light.
Tune in
Turn on the manual shooting mode on the camera, focusing on the picture on the camera screen and the histogram, achieve normal exposure. Make sure the shutter speed you shoot at is not faster than the sync speed, which is usually 1/250th of a second. ( approx. translator - the synchronization shutter speed for your camera is indicated in the instructions, it can also be equal to 1/200, 1/180 seconds and other values). Now everything is ready for shooting. Create a comfortable environment for the model so that she remains relaxed, even though you may be excited about the upcoming creative activity.
How to create a beautiful highlight in a model's eyes?
Glare in the eyes is the result of reflection of a light source from the mirror surface of the eyeball, usually it is white. Most serious photographers ensure that the highlight is in its place and looks attractive. And there are reasons for this.
Without highlights, your subject's eyes may look slightly lifeless and flat. The shape of the highlight depends entirely on the shape of the source and how far and high it is located relative to the model's face.
There is a general rule: the highlight in the model’s eyes should be positioned like the hand of a dial “at 10 o’clock” or “at 2 o’clock.”
Explore
In this article, we mainly focused your attention on the technical side of creating a home studio. But don't forget about its artistic component. Look through magazines, go to exhibitions of those artists and photographers whose work you like, make written notes about everything that may be useful for shooting: manners and styles of shooting, poses, color combinations, tones, textures.
Make notes, something like wish cards ( approx. translator - moodboard, like English. "mood board» ). Do them in order to develop your own style, create principles, reference points, of your own style.
Melt the ice
Communicate with the model in advance, or better yet, try to arrange a meeting. Regardless of whether you are planning a fashion shoot, a family or business portrait, this approach will help establish a trusting relationship between you and the model, so that both you and the model feel more comfortable during the shoot. Offer to prepare for the shoot together - create a moodboard together, which will help you take into account the model’s expectations.
About a smile
Try not to get caught up in stereotypes about what a good portrait should be. A “Hollywood” smile is not always the basis for the best photo. More subdued, deeper emotions will help create the more expressive, captivating photographs we suggest you strive for.
At the end of the 19th century, at the dawn of amateur photography, hardly anyone could have imagined that over time it would become one of the most popular hobbies in the world. Today, everyone takes photographs, and offers to “conduct professional photography” clearly exceed demand. And yet, photography remains far from the cheapest activity. Not counting phone photos for Instagram, of course. Therefore, these ultra-budget life hacks will certainly be useful to many novice photographers.
Amateur photographers from all over the world offer their options on how and with what they can replace expensive photographic equipment and get decent results. Maybe you have some ideas too?
1. Lenses for a fashionable bokeh effect can be cut out of plain cardboard and attached to the lens using tape
2. The cardboard “sleeve” of a coffee glass will protect the lens and future photographs from the bright sun
3. A box of Pringles chips with a slight movement of scissors turns into a flash tube. Now you can work with light, highlighting individual objects against the general background
4. A fabric bag filled with peas or cereal will serve as a tripod stand. And no effect of trembling hands!
5. If desired, you can replace the lightbox with a sheet of white paper, attaching it to a well-lit window
6. And the ring flash is like a pizza box. True, you will have to practice your cutting skills
7. Wrap cling film around the lens to get a romantic light-exposed effect.
8. And by putting a nylon sock on it and securing it with an elastic band, you can get an even more romantic “soft focus”. The favorite effect of all girls on social networks.
9. You can use a transparent plastic bag and tape to make a waterproof case for filming in the rain.
