Make-shift Photography Studio

 

 

I celebrated New Year's at our friends the Smiths' house

and was excited to photograph their

beautiful daughters and niece.

When I shared the portraits with others

they lamented that they didn't have a studio

with professional lights to take nice photos.

The truth is...I prefer natural light and

my favorite place to shoot portraits is

at the entrance to a garage

like this:

 

Yep, all the photos in this blog post

were taken in this make-shift "studio"

at the edge of the Smith's garage!

 

Shoot just beyond any direct, harsh rays.

This day, it was cloudy, so we could be at the very edge of the garage.

 

To make the white board background,

I bought a sheet of foam insulation board from Home Depot and

cut it in half...then covered it with white bulletin board

paper I bought from Michael's.  A roll is $8 and I use this

paper ALL THE TIME for white backgrounds.

 

I can easily transport this white board in my car.

Just roll out more white paper on the ground, or as seen here,

use a white blanket.

 

Later, you can add a background.

Here, I used one of the freebie papers from this week's newsletter!

 

 

I know this garage make-shift studio isn't very glamorous...

 

But, the portraits ARE glamorous!

You can also take the photos against a white wall or hang a white sheet

or blanket.  But the garage light is PERFECTION for these

high key, white background portraits!

 

To whiten the background even more in post processing...

simply adjust the opacity of your dodge tool and paint over the background.

 

I also like shooting on a wheeled seat

so I can move about freely and

 quickly adjust clothing and props

without ruining my knees.

 

Oh, did I mention it was January 1st

and just 28-degrees outside?

My hands were FREEZING!

But, it was WORTH IT:

 

 

 

The natural lighting right at the edge of the garage

is flawless...no harsh shadows on the face

or behind the models.

 

 

 

I added the newsletter freebie paper to the background

of this next portrait:

 

 

You gotta love redheads in leopard print!

I bought the jacket at a thrift store for $3.

That's where I buy ALL my props and portrait

clothing!

 

 

Many of my favorite portraits

are taken this way.

 

 So even if you don't have a professional studio,

you can still create some professional portraits

in a GARAGE!!!