A studio is what passes in photography for a controlled environment and is inextricably linked to lighting. (Show Photo) A few daylight studios exist, making use of large windows in the same way as an artist's studio. However, for controlled work, particularly in color, they need photographic lights as well. Studio design must usually conform to available space; fully purpose-built studios are an uncommon luxury. The type of work for which the studio is planned determines the minimum requirements of space and layout; less room, for instance, is needed for still life than for portraits or fashion, while much more is needed for room sets or car photography. (Show Photo)
When considering size, always allow plenty of room behind a subject, so that backgrounds can be separately and efficiently lit (wrinkles in background paper are also less obvious if they are several feet out of focus). The choice of lens focal length also affects the dimensions of the studio: a long-focus lens, for example, gives more flattering proportions than a normal lens, but needs more room. A high ceiling is an advantage for still-life photography and a requirement for any larger subject. The main reason for this is to provide lighting positions, as lights frequently need to be rigged overhead. You need to be able to black out any windows, either by painting them or fitting light-tight roller-blinds of the type made for darkrooms. With the windows sealed, air-conditioning extractor fans are necessary.
Lighting, as already detailed, is the principal equipment in a studio, followed by a range of backgrounds. These can vary from neutral (such as white, gray or black paper or a white wall) to very specific (such as part of a room set to complement a still life, for example a kitchen wall behind a food shot). Once again, the type of work will suggest what is most useful. The larger the subject, the bigger the background area that is needed. Seamless paper rolls are a basic staple background and need a rigging system. A danger of standardizing backgrounds in this way, however, is that it gives a visual sameness to shots. It is usually much more effective if the background can contribute to the image in some way rather than just fill in the space around the edges. The choice, or invention, of a background derives from the photographer's imagination.
In addition to lighting and backgrounds, a wide range of tools is also necessary, ranging from staple-guns to woodworking equipment. Many shots require on-the-spot improvisation, as the studio is, or should be, a neutral space that can be adapted at short notice.
Studio flash
The top end of lighting equipment is designed mainly for use in a photographic studio, and is both heavy and mains powered. Portability is not really a consideration, although the trend is inevitably towards miniaturization of components and reduced weight. The range of equipment available is formidable, less in the basic units than in the attachments to alter the quality of the light. Without the tremendous variety of natural light, the studio photographer starts from scratch, and in order to create lighting effects that range from the subtle to the dramatic, needs to be able to draw on a bank of reflectors, shades and diffusers. To achieve precise lighting effects for specialized subjects, many photographers even construct their own diffusers and reflectors or adapt commercial makes.
Large studio flash units take the form of a power pack that can be connected by cable to a number of flashheads. For convenience and portability on location, some smaller units are integral (the power unit and flashhead are all housed in one unit). A transformer steps up the voltage from the mains supply and a rectifier converts the alternating current to direct. This current is then fed into the capacitor (or capacitors in a large unit), which stores the charge until the flash is triggered and it is discharged through the flash tube. The variety of flashhead fittings, such as diffusers and reflectors, make comparisons of light output meaningless, and so the power of a flash unit is measured in electrical output rather than light intensity. The unit of measurement is the joule, or watt-second. Small studio flash units have outputs of a few hundred joules; large units reach a few thousand.
Recycling times are rapid compared to battery-powered portable flash, and of course remain consistent. The output can be reduced, and in units with separate power packs, the power can be distributed unevenly (known as asymmetrically) between different heads.
The two extremes of photographic light source, and the extremes also in terms of equipment, are large-area lights and focusing spotlight. By comparison, a small on-camera flash is quite primitive in its possibilities, however advanced its technology. Area lights, which can vary from a head the size of a medium light-box used for viewing transparencies up to a unit larger than most domestic windows, are box-like constructions fronted with translucent sheeting. This can be fabric or, for more permanence and evenness, paper diffusion materials available at most photography outlets. The origins lie in the traditional northlight of an artist's studio, and the effect is very much like the light from a window, directional but soft. Alternative names for this kind of light are window-light, soft-light, fish-fryer and, for the largest, swimming-pool!
By contrast, spotlights of one kind or another focus the light into a tight beam. The most precise of these feature lenses can be adjusted in different positions, and the effect is highly directional, producing very strong highlights and shadows. Used at some distance from the subject, a focusing spot can imitate direct sunlight, as can often be seen in food shots that appear to have been taken with a low sun streaming through a window.
In between these two extremes is a wide range of lighting attachments. They work in one of three ways: by altering the diffusion of the light (soft to hard), by reflecting it to a greater or lesser degree, or by shading it from the subject.
Studio tungsten lighting
Less commonly used overall than flash, tungsten lighting nevertheless has admirable properties that keep it popular in certain kinds of studio work and other highly organized photography. Although it is of little use for stopping movement, tungsten lighting, being continuous, is ideal for illuminating large areas (only the exposure time needs to be adjusted). Flash has a lower limit, the output of a single discharge, and to increase the illumination beyond this, it is necessary to trigger the flash a number of times. This is not only inconvenient, it can easily build up into an impractical number of flashes (twice the exposure needs only 2 flashes, but 4 times needs 16 flashes, and so on). (Show Photo)
Tungsten's other great advantage is that its effects on the image are visible; to borrow a phrase, what you see is what you get. The most commonly used type of tungsten lamp is the quartz-halogen lamp but up-rated lights similar to domestic lamps and known as photofloods are also available at low cost. Most tungsten lighting operates at 3200K, which is markedly less yellow than domestic lamps, and it is for this that Type B film is balanced.
A portable studio
Although generally a professional rather than an amateur problem, it can happen that the object you intend to photograph cannot be moved to a studio. This could be because it is too valuable, as in the case of a museum exhibit, because of distance, or for any number of reasons. The only solution is to take the studio to the subject. (Show Photo)
Moving studio equipment to another location is not an easy matter and, if it becomes a frequent task, is worth considering a special set of equipment that will function as a portable studio.
As well as making sure that the portable studio is suited to the task, whether portraits or still-lifes, it must also be simple, adaptable and easily portable. Where possible, stands, clamps and reflectors should be selected for the widest range of uses; if one piece of equipment can double up as something else, such as an umbrella which can function as a reflector, so much the better. Portability is obviously important; the equipment must pack into whatever transport is being used. If it has to travel by air, check the baggage restrictions - you may be charged by weight or by piece, according to the route.
Studio flash is normally a much better alternative than tungsten lamps because a portable studio must often be set up under unpredictable and unsatisfactory conditions. It is not reasonable to expect to be able to work in a blacked-out room, and the ambient lighting could be anything from an open skylight to fluorescent lamps. Flash lets you work at such fast shutter speeds that existing lighting has virtually no effect.
Self-contained flash units with integral accumulators are probably more convenient than those whose heads are separate from the power pack. Most countries run on either 110 volts AC or 220 volts AC, and a step-up or step-down transformer, depending on the rating of the flash units, will take care of the problem of working abroad. If there is no electricity supply available, a generator is necessary.
In many places you may be able to rent some equipment and, although there is obviously a risk in using unfamiliar lighting, it may save trouble to hire the bulkier and less critical things, like stands and reflectors. Nevertheless, it is prudent to check first that they will be available.
