{"id":23009,"date":"2016-06-30T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=23009"},"modified":"2016-07-05T15:21:55","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T19:21:55","slug":"benefits-working-home-studio-organization-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/benefits-working-home-studio-organization-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Working in a Home Studio & Organization Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial studio space or home studio space? I\u2019ve worked in both and while it\u2019s nice to have a separate dedicated studio space, working in a home studio space has a lot of perks. For me, it\u2019s been a smarter and economical way to build up the gear and equipment I need for shooting in a studio and on location using my home studio as a base while avoiding the cost of expensive commercial studio space in the city. If you can get a good grasp on organizing and separating your living quarters from your business quarters in the same space, not only do you have a convenient workspace, but a nice tax write-off too! If you are interested in more perks of working in a home studio and how to get yourself organized – especially with space limitations – read on!<\/p>\n

\"01-Intro\"
My home studio space after a shoot.Image courtesy of Yann Bizeul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Benefits of Working at Home<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the fact that you can just roll out of bed to shoot, or in my case, occasionally shoot in my slippers, working in a home studio environment has a lot of exceptional benefits.<\/p>\n

A Short Commute to Work.<\/strong> As I mentioned before, working in a home studio means you can roll out of bed, make your coffee and start setting up for the day – because your studio is just in the next room.<\/p>\n

Good Technology Options. <\/strong>When you don\u2019t own a studio space and are just renting for the day, lugging around a big monitor for tethering is not really ideal. For me, working in my home studio vs. working in a location studio is the difference of my tethering to a big screen 27\u201d iMac in my home studio vs. tethering to a small screen 17\u201d laptop on location. You can read more about tethering in my article: Preview While You Shoot: The What, Why, When, Who and How on Tethered Shooting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"02-Technology-Options\"
My 27\u201d iMac (left) for home studio use and my 17\u201d Dell laptop for location use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Background Options.<\/strong> In addition to the white or colored seamless paper or muslin choices as your background options in most typical commercial space studios, you have the option of using various rooms of your home as a variety for backgrounds in your indoor shoots. I generally use the studio area of my apartment for creative installations and some catalog\/lookbook-type shots, but I have also used my living room\/office for portraits and headshots and a combination of all of my rooms including my bedroom and the indoor stairwell outside of my front door for fashion and boudoir shoots. You can keep a variety of regular supplies and props (like different colors of sheets, throws and toss pillows for boudoir) to alter the appearance of your space each time, or, buy, use and sell props to create an entirely new set each time your shoot.<\/p>\n

\"03-Background-Options\"
I utilize all rooms of my apartment plus the stairwell just outside my front door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Access to More Props.<\/strong> Ever get ready to shoot only to need a dark red scarf that could put the finishing touch on a client\u2019s wardrobe and make the image – a scarf you actually own and have at home? I\u2019m a bit of a practical person and do not keep many useless things laying around my apartment. When I look around my apartment, everything becomes a potential prop.<\/p>\n

\"04-Props\"
I love working from home as everything around me is a potential prop. Pictured: scarves, hats, jewelry, flowers and umbrellas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Comfort. <\/strong>Many people tend to be more relaxed at home. Relaxation can aid in creativity and as photographers, we have to be creative. See where I\u2019m going here? While this can benefit your creativity, this is not all to be gained here. When you invite a client into your personal space, it provides an opportunity for them to get to know their photographer and to make some sort of connection between themselves and you. A connection is generally what all photographers strive for with their subjects as it can help a subject relax in front of a lens, which leads to a more natural, candid image. As a bonus, you are also able to offer a better refreshment to selection to your client and crew, such as coffee\/tea and hot\/cold snacks as you have the appliances available at home to make that happen.<\/p>\n

\"05-Refreshments\"
I tend to keep a nice little coffee\/tea\/snack station stockpiled for my team and clients.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You might wonder with all that I\u2019ve mentioned on technology, backgrounds, props plus comfort, how do you actually fit all of it into a home studio space? This is where good organization comes in handy.<\/p>\n

Organization<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The key to good organization in a home studio is making sure everything has a place the studio space. Creating a good system of organization and implementation of that system can also benefit your production time so that you avoid spending time looking for misplaced or lost gear.<\/p>\n

How to Store Gear and Equipment<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The same holds true for lights, tripods, light stands and whatnot. Keeping your gear stored in bags, cases and pouches not only preserves the gear but it makes it that much quicker to get on the go with your gear for any location shoots when it\u2019s already packed. I go into great detail on storage and travel solutions for your gear in my recent article: Bags, Cases and Pouches: Picking a Means for Carrying and Storing Your Gear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"06-Gear-Bags\"
Storing your gear in bags while not in use helps to protect your gear and also makes it ready to grab and go if an impromptu location shoot arises.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the big things for me is trying not to lose my camera and flash batteries as well as loose memory cards. I use ThinkTank Wallets to keep them all in one place. These help keep me organized for anywhere I shoot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"08-ThinkTankAA\" \"07-ThinkTankCamera \"09-ThinkTankMemoryCardCase\"<\/p>\n

The <\/em>ThinkTank DSLR Battery Holder<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>ThinkTank AA Battery Holder<\/em><\/a> and the<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>ThinkTank SD Pixel Pocket Rocket<\/em><\/a> (they make CF wallets too\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

Where to Store Your Gear<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

So your bags are packed and everything is protected or maybe you do not want to pack everything into bags. Where do you put it all? (Especially if you are a gear and prop junkie like me?)<\/p>\n