my at home photography studio

Nico poses in my home studio

Having a comfortable and functional home studio can give you a leg up as a creative who needs space but can't justify spending money on rent.

Some of us are lucky enough to have an extra room in our home in which we could set up, even temporarily, a set of lights and a backgrounds stand. It doesn't have to be that big. In my case I work in a space which is no bigger than 6 by 10 feet. In this space I can photograph a single person quite comfortably and even set up a table for shooting small product and artwork. Both of which I have done.

Okay, so let's say you don't have an extra room. Do you have a room in which you could shove furniture aside and make presentable for a couple of hours of shooting? Even if it means dragging a Laz-y-Boy out of the way and hiding the kids toys? When you need the room to get your pics done, you'll find a way. What I'm saying is that if you have any sort of clean space in which you can set up your equipment, that is the perfect space. Make it happen.
The best thing about it is that it is free and you don't have to travel to do it.

A word of advice, make sure that your subject has a private and clean space in which they can change clothes. Whether that is a spotless washroom, tidy bedroom or amazing walk-in closet. It doesn't matter, as long as it continues the image of clean and respectable and gives them absolute privacy. That's all that really matters.

You could go a step further and point out the extra hangers for their clothes, the unopened bottle of sparkling water, clean tissues, amazing makeup mirror (and lighting), clothing steamer (for wrinkles) and that sort of thing. All of these little extras can make your client/model feel all the more respected and valued. Expressing value is important when it comes to your brand and being able to charge decent rates for your work.

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Kim poses precisely for my camera.