How to Build a Portrait Studio

When you are shooting portraits, a home studio will allow you to control lighting conditions and backgrounds, giving you the best possible control of your subject. Consider the space and height of the room when deciding where to set up your home studio, and also take into account lighting and wall color. You can create a studio for a relatively low cost, and in such a manner that will allow you to disassemble the studio when it's not in use.

Instructions

1

Choose a studio room with enough space to contain your tallest imagined subject, camera and lighting equipment. Ideally you would like to have at least 5 feet between the subject and background, and another 7 feet between the camera and subject.

2

Whiten the studio's walls. White walls will reflect light without altering the color balance of your photographs. If possible, paint the walls white, as this will yield the most consistent results. If the walls cannot be painted, cover them with white paper or cloth.

3

Assemble a portrait background. The cheapest option may be to mount hooks to support a dowel that you can hang the backdrop from. You can also purchase a background stand that, although more expensive, can be mounted almost anywhere. Purchase the background itself from a fabric store, choosing a cloth such as muslin, or design a background yourself using rolled paper or a painted wall. Good portrait backgrounds should not clash with the subject of the portrait, so avoid intersecting lines and bold colors. Pastels and neutral tones tend to work well.

4

Set up three-point lighting for professional-quality results. The key light will be the primary light source and thus the brightest. Place it at a slight angle from the camera and strike your subject from above. Fill lights should be about half as bright as the key light. Place fill lights to strike the subject from the opposite angle as the key light; you can use multiple fill lights if needed. The final light source is known as a rim or back light and helps distinguish the subject from the background. Rim lights strike the subject from behind and above.

5

Locate props to use for your shoots. Props can include household items or furniture pieces such as chairs and sofas.

---

When you are shooting portraits, a home studio will allow you to control lighting conditions and backgrounds, giving you the best possible control of your subject. Consider the space and height of the room when deciding where to set up your home studio, and also take into account lighting and wall color. You can create a studio for a relatively low cost, and in such a manner that will allow you to disassemble the studio when it's not in use.

Instructions

1

Choose a studio room with enough space to contain your tallest imagined subject, camera and lighting equipment. Ideally you would like to have at least 5 feet between the subject and background, and another 7 feet between the camera and subject.

2

Whiten the studio's walls. White walls will reflect light without altering the color balance of your photographs. If possible, paint the walls white, as this will yield the most consistent results. If the walls cannot be painted, cover them with white paper or cloth.

3

Assemble a portrait background. The cheapest option may be to mount hooks to support a dowel that you can hang the backdrop from. You can also purchase a background stand that, although more expensive, can be mounted almost anywhere. Purchase the background itself from a fabric store, choosing a cloth such as muslin, or design a background yourself using rolled paper or a painted wall. Good portrait backgrounds should not clash with the subject of the portrait, so avoid intersecting lines and bold colors. Pastels and neutral tones tend to work well.

4

Set up three-point lighting for professional-quality results. The key light will be the primary light source and thus the brightest. Place it at a slight angle from the camera and strike your subject from above. Fill lights should be about half as bright as the key light. Place fill lights to strike the subject from the opposite angle as the key light; you can use multiple fill lights if needed. The final light source is known as a rim or back light and helps distinguish the subject from the background. Rim lights strike the subject from behind and above.

5

Locate props to use for your shoots. Props can include household items or furniture pieces such as chairs and sofas.

---

• 
  

  Howcast The best how-to videos on the web

  www.howcast.com

  Howcast is the best source for fun, free, and useful how-to videos and guides.

• 
  

  Apple - How to Contact Us

  www.apple.com/contact

  Sales & Product Inquiries Apple Store. Visit the Apple Online Store to purchase Apple hardware, software, and third-party accessories. To purchase by phone, please ...

• 
  

  How to make a movie

  indiemoviemaking.com

  How to make a movie step by step. From writing a script to production to final movie distribution.

• 
  

  How to choose a basic Portrait painting palette for Oils

  willkempartschool.com/how-to-choose-a-basic-portrait-painting...

  How to paint a portrait limited color palette for Oil painting, how to match skin and flesh tones in painting

• 
  

  Lifetouch Portrait Studios, School Pictures, Senior Portraits ...

  www.lifetouch.comSchool Pictures Contact Us Select Your City & State

  Learn about Lifetouch photography services and offerings, including portrait studios, preparing for a portrait session, and how to log in to view, share, and order ...

• 
  

  How To Become A Model - Modeling Portfolios - Fashion,

  www.purestorm.com

  Purestorm aims to help you become a successful model, for all types of modeling including glamour, fashion, photographic, teen and many others. Sign up for a free ...

• 
  

  wikiHow - How to do anything

  www.wikihow.comRelationships Articles Hobbies and Crafts Youth

  wikiHow is a wiki based collaboration to build the worlds largest, highest quality how to manual. Our multilingual how to manual has free step-by-step instructions ...

• 
  

  DIY Instructables - Share What You Make

  www.instructables.comTechnology Craft Workshop Outside Food

  3 Simple Ways to Share What You Make. With Instructables you can share what you make with the world and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

• 
  

  HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHILD A MODEL IN NEW YORK D&G

  www.dgphotostudio.com/modeling/children-modeling

  Children Modeling. What you should know before spending money on children modeling portfolio.

• 
  

  How to Build Your Own Acoustic Panels (DIY) AcousticsFREQ.com

  acousticsfreq.com/blog/?p=62

  How to Build Your Own Acoustic Panels (DIY) Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 April 2013 06:15 Written by AcousticsFREQ Thursday, 13 October 2011 08:41