[colinmac]

As I stated in a previous thread I was moving house and hoped to make my own studio. I have reached the point where it my be possible to complete on a house. It has an integral garage 22' x 10' I consider the length to be sufficient but is the width of 10' wide enough? If I have an 8' background this only allows one foot space on each side is this quite workable?
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Colin

[Dabhand16]

I think you will only get problems if you want to photograph a group. Solo portraits or couples will allow you to have a bit of elbow room on each side. You won't have to light the whole BG - many are 'only' about 1.3 metres wide.

Dave has recommended the lights being close and on low power. Allowing about 2 feet from the wall for a light and softbox leaves you six feet between the lights with them at 90 degrees to the subject, and more if you have them in front or behind the models. You can also have the BG at an angle and shoot from a corner to pinch a little more room.

[sejanus]

When I was an assistant in the 'sixties, we did fashion and commercial in a studio not much bigger than that. As Graham says, the average single only requires around four feet.

One useful trick is to hang your lighting from the ceiling or walls, there's quite a few commercial kits for this or you can make your own using domestic light fittings as a starting point. Without the lighting stands in the way, you'll find 10 feet is more than adequate for most work.

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by sejanus

One useful trick is to hang your lighting from the ceiling or walls, there's quite a few commercial kits for this

Yeah - I also though of this, but the downside is that you are more restricted with the positioning of the lights unless you have some fancy and expensive system. There is a lot to be said in favour of the humble light stand although I agree with you that they can take up space. Maybe a boom is a good compromise? The stand part of this can be positioned more flexibly and the head will be on a universal joint. Downside of this is that the price will be much higher than a stand that will either be included in a kit, or can be got for about £15.

[colinmac]

Thanks for all your input on this much appreciated, I had already thought that the 10' would just about be enough but wanted a second opinion.
Dabhand you suggest turning the lights down to low power because of the short distance. I am considering buying the 400watt D-Lite kit plus a third light, would the 400watt lights be too powerful or would the 250watt be more suitable?

Colin

[Dabhand16]

I've got the 400watt D-lites. Agonised for a long time whether to go for 200 or 400. Eventually decided on the 400 so if I ever got the opportunity to use a larger space the lights would be up for it. Lots of people say that 200 is OK for head and shoulders and you need more for full length and groups. I would have hated to have bought the 200's only to find they were not able to do the whole job. You can always reduce the strength of the light with diffusers, but there is only one way to get more

I've only used mine in my lounge which is about 22' x 11' and shooting from about 10' for head and shoulders. Not tried too many set ups, but with the key light at around 3' from subject and flash set on lowest power, back/rim light + half a stop at around 4' distance gives around 1/80 - 1/100 at f8/9 at ISO 50.

Based on that, I'd say that the 200's would be OK, and Dave has also said somewhere that he thinks that he could have got away with 200 watts and he has done far more stuff with his units than I have.

BTW - wattage is only a guide. I think VinnyP had a thread showing that some 'low' power lights actually had higher guide numbers than the higher ones. I know that does not help though!

Another factor to consider is that I have got low ceilings, so can't get the lights high enough for proper full length shots. If I could achieve optimum light height and wanted to do full length then maybe the 200's would be working on the limit, and might be inadequate for groups

Check out some of Daves threads where you will be able to get some better info with his examples and set-up explanations.

[colinmac]

Thanks for that Dabhand, I think I will go for the 400watts as you say you can always reduce but you can't increase if the power is not there.
Just have to wait and see if the house sale goes through OK but in these times there are no guarantees.
Thanks, Colin