My “mini” home-made studio has been working well with my passion for photography and (just like any studio), it gave me a lot of control and room for experimentations… and this is something WE (beginners or plain enthusiasts) need to pretty much understand more about lights and photography.

So, do you wanna know how my home made mini studio is made? Just read along.

Things you need: (note: some may be replaced with other things… depending on preference)

The Base

Things Needed:

• Table (preferably long to give a more convenient range and height for taking shots)
• Shirt (shirt color & cloth may depend upon your preference, preferably unwrinkled)

  i. ii. iii.

Steps:

1. Look for a good FLAT table (i). A longer table would be better specially when you want close up photos because it will give you a better range when you’re talking photos.(No need to duck that much).
2. With your desired color shirt (ii), cover the top of the table. It should look like (iii)

The Background

Things Needed:

• A Hard Cardboard (any material may be used as long as it’s hard and flat… in this case, I used a Kenny Rogers menu board)
• Shirt (shirt color & cloth may depend upon your preference…. preferably unwrinkled)
  i. ii.
  

iii. iv.

Steps:

1. Simply insert the cardboard (ii) inside the shirt (i)… see image (iii).
2. Cleanly fold the rest of the shirt to make it look like (iv). this will be your background. (note: you may change the color of the background from time to time)

Light & Stage

Things Needed:

• Any table lamp would do. (I suggest using smaller table lamps for easy handling)
• Any Box (size and shape may differ depending on preference)

i. ii. iii.

Options:

1. With you small lamp (i), you can freely position the light according to your preferred angle per shot.
2. Your box (ii) can be used as a stage for your photo subjects (see iii), or some thing to be used to hide reflections when mirrors are used.

The Studio

Now that you’ve made all the basic objects needed in a “mini” studio, all that’s left to do is to assemble them according to your desired position.

Steps:

1. Simply position the covered table (i) near the wall (for more stability, and make sure it’s near the electric outlet for your lamp).
2. Gently place the self-made background on top of the table (ii)
3. Place the stage on your desired position (iii)
4. Place the lamp facing the background. (position may be changed depending on your desired shot)
5. It’s done.

i. ii.

iii. iv.

Now don’t just wait for the proper light and background color to come your way, try shooting in your own “mini” studio at home and experiment. It all starts with small beginnings right?