A Common Interest

I would have thought that all genuine camera owners out there share one interest, a love of photography. This passion may be in different directions, wildlife, landscapes or, in my case, studio photography. We probably all dabble at more than one type of photography but, most likely, there is always one area that is “special”.

For anyone who hasn’t experienced studio photography here is a brief insight into what makes it so enjoyable for me.

For me the studio is a trip into the unknown, a journey into a land of make believe and often the images produced transport the viewer to another place just by how they are composed. The bedroom isn’t there, the window doesn’t exist, they are just small parts of a studio built to create the illusion and by carefully choosing the angle of the shot and the lighting you create the illusion through the lens of the camera. I’m sure that other areas of photography also employ “tricks of the trade” to produce the required final image.

Lighting is an important part of any form of photography and I suppose none more so than studio photography where you will come across several different types of lighting depending on the studio you are in. Natural light is probably the least common form of lighting in studios and depends on the design of the studio and how much light enters the room from outside. Often studios are designed to minimise the amount of natural light so as not to conflict with the studio lights, however there are some studios now that do offer natural light as a major part of their setup.

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A natural light shot with Mischkah at Hallam Mill Studio

By far the most common form of studio lighting are studio flash and studios will usually offer a range of modifiers to accompany these lights, all offering their own specific lighting effect.

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Illy shot with studio lighting at a JFYP Studio group shoot

There is also continuous lighting which, as the name suggests, is on all the time and does not flash. This type of lighting is usually offers less light than studio flash and is more associated with the “moodier” type of shot with more contrast and shadow.

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A continuous lighting shot of Miss Pixie at Map Studios

I am talking about studio photography here but sometimes the “studio” will be a room in a house and may not offer as much space as a purpose designed studio and here I find that off camera flash, or speedlights can be useful. Speedlights take up much less space and so are much easier to set up in small rooms and nowadays several flash heads can be controlled from a single trigger mounted on a camera and there are also a range of light modifiers available to add to the heads to again change how the light appears on the final images.

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A shot of Arabella from a home shoot and using 3 speedlights to try and create a “Hollywood” look

 So there it is, a brief look at what it is that makes studio photography so enjoyable for me. I hope that a few people out there who haven’t previously been in a studio may now want to give it a try. I hope so. If you have any questions, get in touch or perhaps come along to one of the events we have arranged. You can find these listed in the Main menu . Or  maybe arrange a solo studio session? We are always there to offer any help we can on any shoot.

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