DCHU studiosFour years ago when I started dabbling into photography, the notion of having my very own studio was far-fetched. Trying to figure out what I needed, how much it would cost and where to find it proved daunting. I figured that this wasn't going to happen.
Now, four years later, I've realized that my fears were unfounded. After perusing Ramit Sethi's "I Will Teach You to Be Rich," I came away more educated about my financial future (random, I know) but more importantly, I became inspired by one of his ideas. He calls it the "85% Rule" and the premise is that it's better to get started, make mistakes and get 85% of what you're doing right than not doing anything at all. He makes a strong argument about getting started, so after moving to Baltimore and presented with an empty living room with no furniture, I realized it was time to build.
At the most fundamental level, all I really needed for a studio was a backdrop stand and a seamless backdrop.
- stand: $69 (
http://amzn.to/19kYGK3)
- backdrop: $40 (
http://bhpho.to/19kZ37p)
And since I already had speedlights at my disposal, purchasing a lightstand, an umbrella bracket plus umbrella allowed me to achieve "studio lighting." For about $200, DCHU studios was create. Not only that, the studio doubles as a nifty personalized movie theater (ninja hacking, woo-hoo!)
Up until now, 95% of my photoshoots have been self-portraits. Since that sounds a bit narcissistic of me (which I don't entirely deny), I thought I would change that when my Twin decided to visit me for her summer break. There's no coherent theme to this photoshoot, just a random assortment of objects at our disposal, coupled with our quirky personalities and enhanced by studio lighting goodness. It got weird pretty fast but we like it weird.
Location: DCHU studios
Gear: D700, 24-70 2.8
Lighting, Softbox camera left as the key light and two bare strobes to the sides and back as the rim lighting.
