Ideas for a new photography office

<p>One of the outcomes of our move back to Vancouver a year ago was to renovate a home we've owned there for a while. We've started to work through design ideas, and I've been told that if there's anything special I want for my photography habit then this is the time to think about how that fits in. </p>

<p>Just to re-affirm - I'm a committed amateur so this is not a professional photo studio. Rather, it's about a place where I can store, process, print and file photos that I've been taking over the past 40+ years, set-up to shoot some portraits and family groups, and also take into consideration how I might present photos either in prints, or digitally around the house. I'm all-digital now, with no plans for a darkroom in this mix.</p>

<p>I know that one room / office will be where the server/desktop will be; and there are also two scanners, a large EPSON printer, and a scanner/printer for business purposes that should go in that room. I need good long-term storage containers for 40,000+ slides and prints; and I need to store several camera bodies, and a dozen or so lenses, as well as the bags that they travel around in.</p>

<p>On the display side, I've had a few prints on some walls in a rotating fashion over the years, and would like to continue that. But as well I think I would like to be able to stream displays to the flat screens around the house - I know those are optimal but I could live with that.</p>

<p>Finally, I'd like to have a spot that can be used for shooting family and friend portraits and small groups - the house faces south and west and will lots of natural light, but it would be good to be able to supplement that. That space would not be in the photo office - that office will be on the darker side of the house and wouldn't have the room anyway, I believe.</p>

<p>This is clearly a once-in-my-lifetime opportunity to do this, and I'm looking for any ideas, mistakes, good decisions or what-ever that people have about how to accomplish this, and to get it as right as possible. So if you were to do this, what would you consider, what would be a necessity, and what would you not do (personal bad experiences are more than appreciated - no point in both of us doing these things, right?) </p>

<p>I've been considering the same in my living room. The house isn't huge, but it's an open-beamed, mid-century modern home, so if utilized efficiently, the space should still feel airy and clean (that's the goal anyway). Here's what I've been considering:</p>

<p>1. Surfaces:</p>

<p>Since I knew I would be using the house as a shooting space, all surfaces have been painted pure-white, or neutral gray (which are my personal aesthetic preferences anyway). The floor is porcelain tile, a light neutral gray (it's actually a bit too light, and will reflect some amount of light upward).</p>

<p>2. Workspace:</p>

<p>I'll try to post a picture later, but along the entire back wall of the living room, I'm planning to wall-mount long, white Ikea countertops. Most of the desks, cabinets, and shelving in the house are wall-mounted to maximize the perceived proportions of the space. A new iMac, built specifically for editing and post-processing, will occupy the primary work area, but I also wanted enough deskspace to accommodate a rotary cutter, to be able to do some small-scale matting and framing.</p>

<p>3. Printers:</p>

<p>To the countertop's right, I was planning to wall-mount two shelves--sized to fit one printer each: DNP DS40/DS80 dye-sublimation printers. Somewhere on that wall, I was also planning to wall-mount an upper kitchen cabinet (with matching door-fronts to the kitchen, Abstrakt high-gloss white). These cabinets will store all of the printing and optical media.</p>

<p>4. Shooting:</p>

<p>Electrical outlets are adequate. However, trying to dual-purpose my limited shooting space required some creative thinking. My current idea is to rig a 9' ceiling-mounted seamless roll, just forward of the countertop/desk area, so that while shooting, although the countertop workspace becomes inaccessible, the backdrop, when working, at the same time obscures any desktop clutter from view, yet still leaves enough room to shoot. When not shooting, the seamless gets rolled back up to the ceiling.</p>

<p>5. Grip:</p>

<p>Currently, all grip equipment, including stands, large modifiers, reflectors, etc., are stored in a backyard shed. This stuff is so bulky, it was the only practical solution. I've got all of my Matthews steel stands, booms, reflectors, Photoflex Litepanels (scrims), Foamcore, apple boxes, shotbags, stingers, etc. stored in this shed. My plan was to eventually buy a Ford Transit Connect, and store all of my grip equipment in the van, permanently, but I haven't found a decent deal on one yet.</p>

<p>6. Strobes + Batteries:</p>

<p>All strobes are kept indoors, in a hall cabinet that I'm actually working on customizing for photo gear storage right now. This cabinet is also storing all of my AC inverters and high-voltage power supplies for my strobes. I'm wiring two quad boxes inside the cabinet this weekend to accommodate the plethora of requisite chargers.</p>

<p>I've been thinking about this for a long time, and we're now finally getting to that part of the house for our finish work. I've been DIY-ing a whole-house remodel over the past few years, and we're almost done (finally). I'll type up my thoughts on natural-light applications to the space in another post. I'll try to post some pictures as well.</p>

I'm about to get my home office renovated, I've been using the same tatty chair and desks for 10 years and they are

showing their age.

Among my priorities are things like having camera storage at desk level, so that I'm avoiding bending over all the time.

Getting all the power points above desk level is important for saving power, and the huge number of sockets that are

needed for Computers.

I need to find some time when I don't have that much work on, it could take days to empty the room, so it's just as well

that our son' sat university and we can store stuff in his room.

<p>Thank you ralph - you're clearly ahead of me on the details of this. Some great ideas there. We've used Ikea built-in stuff before, and it actually is a great value - using that in the office has gone on the list now that you've mentioned it. And I like the idea of ceiling-mounting a seamless backdrop - that makes good sense. </p>

<p>One thing with the shelves for the printers - how do you get enough space to access the back of them, especially for large-format prints? </p>

<p>Thanks for responding - I look forward to any pictures you have of what you're setting up.</p>

<p>Thanks Peter - I like the idea of getting the power outlets higher on the wall. </p>

<p>For those interested in wall-mounting anything, I've been using these Rakks counter support brackets <em>everywhere</em>. There's two different models: 1.) Standard, surface-mount; 2.) In-wall, stud mount (Rakks calls this a "flush-mount"). I just finished the laundry area using an Ikea countertop with the in-wall stud mount for a cleaner install. These things hold hundreds of pounds, are TIG-welded at the joint, and are basically indestructible. A bit pricey, but worth it.</p>

<p>http://rakks.com/counter-support-brackets/</p>

<p>To support heavy items like printers, home theater systems, etc., I use the Rakks brackets, and 1/4" to 1/2" sheet aluminum for the "shelf," cut to size. Since I'm having the metal custom cut (it only costs $5 per cut at Industrial Metal Supply, Sunland, CA, if you bought it there), I can make sure the shelf is deep enough to accommodate any required rear access or cable management.</p>

<p>Peter said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Among my priorities are things like having camera storage at desk level, so that I'm avoiding bending over all the time. </em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>God bless it! Mine too! I'm retrofitting our hall closet <em>right now</em>, expressly to accommodate that very issue, and that's right where I'm putting all of my lenses--within easy reach. Since different assignments require different gear, it just doesn't make sense to store everything in my aluminum Hakuba transport cases.</p>

Get some flat files for prints. And put them on bases of sufficient height so you don't have to bend over so far.<P>

 

For a photo backdrop table, I initially mounted the end of a cut piece of seamless to the ceiling and let

it drape over an old computer table. I didn't like the inflexibility of the setup or dealing with the seamless eventually

getting dirty from use. So I mounted the roll above the table using plywood support

arms and 1" PVC pipe. The setup is now portable, and if the paper gets stained, I cut off the section and pull a fresh piece down from

the roll and tape the end under the table. The roll is around 30 feet long, that should last awhile...<P>

 

Next up is making some articulating support arms to attach to the front of the table to mount (the modified) light stands and get the trip clutter off the floor.<P>

 

<img src= "http://citysnaps.net/2013%20photos/PhotoTable.jpg">

<p>That's a nice set-up for photographing smaller things, Brad. I like the idea of getting the stuff up off the floor, especially.</p>

<p>Ralph - some good storage solutions, Thank you.</p>

<p>Here's a link to a very nice print studio that you might get some ideas from: http://www.danecreek.com/blog/2011/07/30/a-tour-through-the-print-studio-2.html</p>

 

<p>Interesting read, Peter! I think Ikea is a very good way to go if you have a dedicated area such as the linked author's.</p>

<p>thanks for that link Peter - there are definitely some things to learn from there.</p>

<p>Battery-charging station:</p>

<p>Also worth considering for any photography utility/office space is a location to store your batteries/chargers. Installing access to AC power makes this more convenient. I've found this to be a continuing PITA, so I finally engineered a more workable (and, permanent) solution.</p>

<p>I completely took over the hall closet last weekend (linens and towels have been moved to the recently re-done laundry area), and just finished installing two additional shelves, plus four duplex AC outlets to accommodate all of my photo equipment battery chargers. It's externally switched at the wall switchplate, so I can turn it all on and off at will for increased safety. Now at waist-height, it's easy to check the charging status for all of my camera and inverter batteries:</p>

<p><img src="http://studio460.com/images/batterycloset.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>David said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Thanks for responding - I look forward to any pictures you have of what you're setting up.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Here's a view of the living room (excuse the un-painted window frames--all of this is going to be replaced with new sheets of Lexan or plate glass soon). The Rakks brackets will be installed all along the left (windowed wall), supporting an 8'-long, white/aluminum Ikea countertop (desk-height), which will serve as the main post-processing/viewing work surface. Also Rakks-supported, the aluminum printer shelves will be wall-mounted in the small alcove where the tall black bookcase is currently located (the bookcase, bar table, and bar stools will all be deleted--the only piece of furniture in the living room will be a small white loveseat):<br /> <br /> <img src="http://studio460.com/images/livingroom1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Here's our recently re-done laundry area (which is just the opposite

<p>Thank you for following-up Ralph - that battery-charging station is a great idea, and organizing it behind a closet door, I like. </p>

<p>It appears that you're installing shelves along the windowed wall - will the incoming light interfere with post/processing and viewing, or do you see that as additive?</p>

<p>David said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>It appears that you're installing shelves along the windowed wall - will the incoming light interfere with post/processing and viewing, or do you see that as additive?</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sorry if that picture wasn't clear enough--the Ikea counter is to go all alongside the windowed wall on the left. Light will be an issue during the daytime (windows are facing east), but I usually work on images at night. Now that you've brought this up, I think I'll probably install gray, 100% opaque shades on the back-wall windows so that I can black-out the room if necessary.</p>

<p>Ralph - that ability to black-out the room was one of the things shown in the link from Peter Mellis, and I've added that to my list as well.</p>

<p>Hey, David, I don't know if you're still following this thread, but I'm just about finished cleaning/re-organizing my home office (which is separate from the living room). I built an 18" Ikea kitchen base cabinet over New Year's to store lenses (I've since re-located them from the hall closet), and Speedlights, then put an Ikea countertop on it:</p>

<p><img src="http://studio460.com/images/newoffice1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://studio460.com/images/newoffice2.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p> </p>