natural light portrait studio

[PatB]

I've been long fascinated by the quality of natural light and

thought of building a small studio outside my house. The majority of

literature on studio photography deals mainly with artificial

lighting and only briefly mentions the possibility of setting up a

studio of this sort. I've read of glasshouse like constructions used

by photographers in the beginning of the XX century with a system of

curtains/blinds employed to control the amount and quality of light

falling into the studio together with a number of reflectors.

Although I am able to imagine such a studio I would be grateful if

someone could point me to some sources (photographs or plans) that

actually show such a studio. Is it actually one room, probably

rectangular rather than square in shape (to provide enough light

from the sides for the photographed objects), with a glass roof and

windows in the walls? What about dimensions? The height of the glass

ceiling etc.? Has anyone tried to setup a studio like that? Any

practical hints concerning this topic? Maybe you're familiar with

some books / websites that are devoted to natural light studio

photography?

Thanks in advance

best wishes!

Patrick

[primeimages]

Hello Patrick,

 

I don't know about your "very expensive" proposal to have a glass roof and windowS (in plural) on practically all your walls. With today's gizmo on studio strobes and accessories (grids, snoots, etc.), you can create (and most importantly CONTROL) the lighting effect you desire.

 

Based on what you've described, I'd rather get a fully enclosed studio and put my money on today's technology where I have full control of lighting. And if budget permits, maybe an outdoor studio either in a garden setting or a rooftop.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Regards.

 

Jack

[twmeyer]

A large skylight midway in the long dimension (which ideally would have northern exposure) with a floor to ceiling window at the same midpoint of one of the the long walls and a roll up door in the other long wall and one window 10 ft off the ground in one of the end walls. Diffusion and black out panels for all. 15ft ceiling throughout. (I'm making this up, entirely and extemporaneously and wish to have such a room myself, as portraits made in this sort of light cannot be duplicated with electronically generated light). Oh yes, an interior loft at the end opposite the wall with the high window... t

[bill c.]

Patrick-- Some very successful headshot photogs in NYC work almost exclusively with a white cloth (often a surplus white parachute) stretched across an open garage door with a significant amount of reflectors on the floor in front of the subject. They'll use gobos to cut off some of the light from the bootom of the doorway if required.

 

Best of luck, and happy shooting. -BC-

[david_beal___richmond_hts.]

Patrick, one of the best sources I found on natural light studios is a book entitled "Photographed by Bachrach," which I got at Half Price Books for $4.95 (published in 1992 by Rizzoli International Publications, New York). Scattered through the early sections of the book are descriptions of their original studios, and two prints of studios: the exterior of the summer studio, showing a massive glass insert in the sloping studio roof; and an interior of the Boston studio, ca. 1916, which shows you some of the reflectors they used. That studio also had a huge glass roof, with diffusing curtains which could be adjusted at will.

 

If you want to build one of these creations, it won't be cheap. You definitely need an architect. You'll also need glass which stops UV, but passes all of the visible spectrum.

 

You might want to think about some solar powered fans to keep the studio cool, since, even though the glass will face Morth, there will be some transmission of infrared, and thus heating of the air in the studio. Conversely, you might also want to think about solar heating, so you could use the studio in the winter without needing fossil fuel.

 

As I recall, solar heating collectors are mounted on the South slope of a roof, so that would work out ok. For electricity, you would probably want to mount solar batteries on both slopes.

 

I think you would also want to include a North facing veranda, so you could make exposures outside, under shaded North light.

 

Good shooting. If you do this, please report back to us with a post.

 

/s/ David Beal ** Memories Preserved Photography, LLC

[heller_harris]

Where are you located? Shooting with an open garage door is a lot easier in LA than it is in NYC.

[heller_harris]

Where are you located? Using a studio that depends on an open garage door is a lot easier in LA than it is in NYC.

[PatB]

I don't live in the states but in poland and I do have the convenience of using an open garage door. There are many options and they're all expensive. Although if i were to set up an artificial light studio, it would cost me even more and still lack the quality of natural light (which lacks the convenience of artificial lighting ;) - but i'm ready to live with that). I would be able to adapt one of my house's walls so electricity would be basically at hand and could be used for heating or cooling the room. As far as the direction of the windows goes, if the preferred direction is north, does this mean that the construction would requrie only windows on the northern wall of the studio from the floor to the ceiling plus a sloping greenhouse-like roof? 'Cause I imagined the studio as a rectangle with windows on both the longer walls plus a sloping glass roof (no too high though 2,5m? ) /\ with some system of curtains/blinds. the size would be about up to 3,5 - 4m wide (I guess, there must be some maximum width so one could actually use the light from the opposite window as fill-light) and 5-6 m long. I also thought of one additional window on one of the shorter walls? it could be an option for high-key photography, but generally it would be closed/covered by some sort of background. I will definitely check the book David recommended. I have also found some schemes and general remarks in Michael Freeman's "Studio Photography". Its polish translation can be found via emule in pdf format. Even though it is in polish (the title to look for is "fotografia studyjna") you can check out pages 12-13 for illustrations. Well, thanks for the feedback again!

patrick

[johnmarkpainter]

Patrick,

 

Consider starting with a large white translucent tent. Then use Black "Flags" and White

Reflectors to control the light.

 

Get a portable air conditioner/heater and shoot away...

[johnmarkpainter]

Also, this stuff works quite well. I have a back porch covered with it:

 

http://www.suntuf.com.au/frames.htm

[jtk]

Here's Thomas Alva Edison's ROTATING house-sized natural-light motion picture studio, "Black Maria." Somewhere I've seen a film of it in operation.

 

Think Charlie Chaplin.

[bob_daniels]

If you are still interested in natural light studios, I have extensive information on the

subject from two published 19th Century books on the subject and another from 1909.

They have detail on the studio design, design and use of blinds, diffusers, reflectors etc.

And they show how to produce results favored at the time. My email is

bobdaniels@charter.net and I'd be happy to fill you in on these sources. Also, for some

time I've wondered whether these amazing studios can achieve anything that can't be done

even better with softboxes etc. I don't know the answer. But if you had the money and

space to set up a "huge" softbox the size of the skylight -- and the system of shades etc.

to go with it -- would you have simulated one of these studios? Again, I don't know the

answer. But it would be fascinating to see a working version of one of those studios

recreated.