How to Shoot Pictures with a Studio Vibe without an Actual Studio
In order for you to shoot pictures with a studio vibe, you first need to understand what makes a picture look like it was shot in a studio.
Look at pictures you like. What makes them special? The equipment it was shot on? The space? No. You don’t need expensive equipment to shoot good pictures and you don’t need much space. All you need is to understand what makes a good picture great, and some real ingenuity.
What makes a picture look like it has a studio vibe? There are three important elements; the lighting, the background and the composition.
The lighting
The scheme to every lighting set-up is basically the same. What you can play with and express your creativity is with the ratio between the lights.
Sounds complicated? It’s actually simple. The lights should be set in a triangle; the head of the triangle should be behind the subject, the base of the triangle between the camera and the subject.
The backlight separates the subject from the background and lights the backdrop, or if you do not want to see the backdrop, it outlines the shape of the subject from behind.
The two lights to the sides are the key light and the fill light. Which one is which depends on how it looks best to the eye. The key light should be at least twice as strong as the fill light, which is used to fill in the details. Now comes the artist in you; maybe a higher ratio will be interesting? Maybe a lower ratio will increase the appearance of the blacks in the picture?
The background
A background is easy to achieve, even if you shoot outdoors. Think of the size of the picture – how much of the background will you see? And what color would you like it to be?
If you want a white background or a black one you can achieve it by hanging a sheet behind your object. White sheet are very popular and can be found in almost every home. If you shoot indoors, hang it on the wall. If you want to shoot outdoors (for lighting purposes) you can nail the sheet to a pole and hang the pole on two higher objects, like two open ladders which will be out of frame.
You can do it with any other material that looks good through the lens. You have to get used to looking at things through this format when you prepare a studio-like shot, not what you see around you.
The Composition
This has nothing to do with equipment. You can always improvise with things you can find around you to make the composition better. It is the tradition that when a subject looks to the left, a little more room will be left on the left side and vice versa. But that rule has been broken, very successfully, many times. There are no rules but what looks good to you and what you have learned and experienced through your life.
So if you want to shoot studio vibe pictures without an actual studio you can shoot your pictures outside, using the sun as your key light and foam boards to reflect the sun on the other side as a fill light and back light. Do not try to use lamps and lights. The sun is too strong and you’ll have a hard time seeing details. Using a sheet for background and the camera you have, you are ready to create studio vibe pictures.
Bear in mind; in this digital age, many things can be improved with computer programs like Photoshop. Mistakes can be eliminated and colors enhanced. Even without professional equipment and a studio, the only limits you have are the limits of your imagination.
About the Author:
Aileen Pablo is part of the team behind Open Colleges. It is one of Australia’s pioneer and leading providers of TAFE courses and photography courses. When not working, Aileen enjoys blogging, travelling, and photography.
Photo in the post thumbnail is by Danila Panfilov.
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There are 2 comments on this post.
Trackback URL | Comments RSS FeedVery cozy and beautiful photo that shows the background. I just can’t stop looking at it
I do believe that not just a text and writing skills define a good article, but the images and other decorations too.
Replynot having a studio space myself, this was a good article
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