tungstun lights are a must have for indoor pics and i think you can purchase them for about $100 apiece (incl. light tripod) at any photography specialty store.
i am far from a prof. photographer, but i prefer to shoot my models outdoors, on an overcast day (not sunny day) with a black backdrop and some added lighting for shadow.
you can look into equipment that portrait photographers use, im sure it would be similar.
in school we had a dark room for shooting models. the tungsten lamps are a must, like cln1 said. shooting outside will give you the best natural lighting, but if you're looking for more dramatic "studio" shadows the easiest thing to do is simply use two saw horses and two pieces of plywood. basically, create a table with a vertical back. drape flat black paper over the whole thing and viola! you're ready to go. when shooting you want to make sure that there is no other light other than the lamps otherwise you'll get funny shadow patterns that are less crisp. as far as cameras go, it's really up to you and your budget. you could go with a nice digital or film SLR (around $2000-$5000), or a small compact digital like the canon powershot. for high quality images to display around the office, i would go with film. for presentations and archiving go with digital. if the office is willing to spend the money, go with a Nikon digital SLR, around $3000 or so, with expandable memory. you'll need, preferably, a 50mm standard and a 30mm wide angle lens.
I don't know if you need to drop $2000+ on a DSLR. I have the Nikon D50 and it was $550 without a lens and gives great results. Althought it's been discontinued now, but there is the D40 and D80. $3000 sounds really high. (Just looked, D40 w/lens $550, D40x w/lens $800, D80 w/lens $1100). I don't think you need more than that unless you are hanging out of helicopter windows shooting photos of Lance Armstrong riding his bike on lava. As far as a background, even better than paper is a finely flocked black velvet. It absorbs more light, doesn't crease, is more reusable and will 'vanish' more than paper. Paper ususally looks fine if you don't see where it curves into the table (I don't know if I'm making sense). So if you had a vase on a podium and had black paper behind it, it would be fine. But when the paper goes from verticle to horizontal, that emergent transitional affordance usually shows up as a highlight. Black velvet usually just looks blacker than black throughout.
Also, tungsten is best. But really, digital opens a lot more doors as far as lighting because in camera editing and post production are so easy. In camera white balance takes care of almost anything. I have this $50 fluorecent day light that everyone is studio borrows from me for model photos. I've done some nice photo set ups with the incandecent lamps in my apartment. So if you have space and can devote it to a photoshop, then all means get the lamps. But, I've had great luck as long as the lamps are bright and directional (those crappy $20 drafting lamps with a GE white light bulb do great, seriously).
tungsten lighting, in only my opinion, is pretty much the best way to go inside. one of the local photo stores here sells a studio 'kit' for around $500, which includes lights, tripods, a backdrop, and some other accessories, which is a pretty good deal all things considered.
we have a digital rebel camera, roughly 6mp, with both a standard 28-50mm lens and a 100mm macro lens. macro is an absolute must if you want to get tight close ups and stay anywhere near a true perspective.
I made one of these for my projects and the occasional product photography job that comes my way. It's cheap, easy and the results are worth it. You'll have to scale yours up depending on the size of models your firm typically makes of course.
"Also, tungsten is best. But really, digital opens a lot more doors as far as lighting because in camera editing and post production are so easy. In camera white balance takes care of almost anything."
i recently went to a local camera store and inquired about tungsten lighting for purposese of shooting stuff for my portfolio. i told him i was using a digital camera. the guy said he could sell them to me, but that it would be a waste of my money for exactly the reasons hasselhoff says.
Couple of incandescent lamps if you're shooting digital. One for a 'spotlight' and one for a general light source.
I shot my portfolio (for admission to grad school, which was accepted) with two lights: a desk lamp and an automotive trouble light. Made great shadows, but you do have to know a little about what you're doing. It helps if you've dated two photographers in the past ;)
ok enough on the lamps - tungsten is good only because its compact...white lights that have a directional output (up or sideways) is really what's needed
back drop
large opaque cloth that can be spread from the ceiling to the walls and drape the floors. You'll need one in black & white minimum. I would also suggest one in deep red - particularly for B&w shots
stage
you'll need this. Saves the stress of straight line perspectives. As works well with the work horses. If you can get one that's demountable kudos to you.
other items of interest
tape measure, shade to reflect light, hot assistant m/f, roof hooks & pullies, & space.
btw 1300 posts i think i spend far too much time on archinect
im with the double source for lighting and a reflector. i find that whatever works for portraits also works with models. I dont think the type of light matters as kelvins can be adjusted in photoshop. Consider distance as lighting further away will give you crisper shadows. camera wise, wide angle will give you cool distorted shots, long will compress the image but require the model to be setup correctly. Macro lenses are a must but have some interns with kickass modeling skills and remember... tripod tripod tripod
setting up a decent mini-studio for taking model photos
i want to create a better environment to take photos of models made within our office, eg. a decent camera and lens, lights, backdrop etc.
does anyone have any advice or can direct me to any resources on this?
what does your office use for model photos?
i can spend a bit of money on this, so i imagine i need a decent DSLR, (not sure what lens in good though).
tungstun lights are a must have for indoor pics and i think you can purchase them for about $100 apiece (incl. light tripod) at any photography specialty store.
i am far from a prof. photographer, but i prefer to shoot my models outdoors, on an overcast day (not sunny day) with a black backdrop and some added lighting for shadow.
you can look into equipment that portrait photographers use, im sure it would be similar.
lazy susan
in school we had a dark room for shooting models. the tungsten lamps are a must, like cln1 said. shooting outside will give you the best natural lighting, but if you're looking for more dramatic "studio" shadows the easiest thing to do is simply use two saw horses and two pieces of plywood. basically, create a table with a vertical back. drape flat black paper over the whole thing and viola! you're ready to go. when shooting you want to make sure that there is no other light other than the lamps otherwise you'll get funny shadow patterns that are less crisp. as far as cameras go, it's really up to you and your budget. you could go with a nice digital or film SLR (around $2000-$5000), or a small compact digital like the canon powershot. for high quality images to display around the office, i would go with film. for presentations and archiving go with digital. if the office is willing to spend the money, go with a Nikon digital SLR, around $3000 or so, with expandable memory. you'll need, preferably, a 50mm standard and a 30mm wide angle lens.
I don't know if you need to drop $2000+ on a DSLR. I have the Nikon D50 and it was $550 without a lens and gives great results. Althought it's been discontinued now, but there is the D40 and D80. $3000 sounds really high. (Just looked, D40 w/lens $550, D40x w/lens $800, D80 w/lens $1100). I don't think you need more than that unless you are hanging out of helicopter windows shooting photos of Lance Armstrong riding his bike on lava. As far as a background, even better than paper is a finely flocked black velvet. It absorbs more light, doesn't crease, is more reusable and will 'vanish' more than paper. Paper ususally looks fine if you don't see where it curves into the table (I don't know if I'm making sense). So if you had a vase on a podium and had black paper behind it, it would be fine. But when the paper goes from verticle to horizontal, that emergent transitional affordance usually shows up as a highlight. Black velvet usually just looks blacker than black throughout.
Also, tungsten is best. But really, digital opens a lot more doors as far as lighting because in camera editing and post production are so easy. In camera white balance takes care of almost anything. I have this $50 fluorecent day light that everyone is studio borrows from me for model photos. I've done some nice photo set ups with the incandecent lamps in my apartment. So if you have space and can devote it to a photoshop, then all means get the lamps. But, I've had great luck as long as the lamps are bright and directional (those crappy $20 drafting lamps with a GE white light bulb do great, seriously).
tungsten lighting, in only my opinion, is pretty much the best way to go inside. one of the local photo stores here sells a studio 'kit' for around $500, which includes lights, tripods, a backdrop, and some other accessories, which is a pretty good deal all things considered.
we have a digital rebel camera, roughly 6mp, with both a standard 28-50mm lens and a 100mm macro lens. macro is an absolute must if you want to get tight close ups and stay anywhere near a true perspective.
I made one of these for my projects and the occasional product photography job that comes my way. It's cheap, easy and the results are worth it. You'll have to scale yours up depending on the size of models your firm typically makes of course.
http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/
"Also, tungsten is best. But really, digital opens a lot more doors as far as lighting because in camera editing and post production are so easy. In camera white balance takes care of almost anything."
i recently went to a local camera store and inquired about tungsten lighting for purposese of shooting stuff for my portfolio. i told him i was using a digital camera. the guy said he could sell them to me, but that it would be a waste of my money for exactly the reasons hasselhoff says.
lasers always add drama
Couple of incandescent lamps if you're shooting digital. One for a 'spotlight' and one for a general light source.
I shot my portfolio (for admission to grad school, which was accepted) with two lights: a desk lamp and an automotive trouble light. Made great shadows, but you do have to know a little about what you're doing. It helps if you've dated two photographers in the past ;)
did i hear mini naked female models.....like barbie...lite up with incandenscent lamps.....I'm all over this thread..
ok enough on the lamps - tungsten is good only because its compact...white lights that have a directional output (up or sideways) is really what's needed
back drop
large opaque cloth that can be spread from the ceiling to the walls and drape the floors. You'll need one in black & white minimum. I would also suggest one in deep red - particularly for B&w shots
stage
you'll need this. Saves the stress of straight line perspectives. As works well with the work horses. If you can get one that's demountable kudos to you.
other items of interest
tape measure, shade to reflect light, hot assistant m/f, roof hooks & pullies, & space.
btw 1300 posts i think i spend far too much time on archinect
snooker, re the naked model thing.
my useless research started with googling "model photography", derr!
im with the double source for lighting and a reflector. i find that whatever works for portraits also works with models. I dont think the type of light matters as kelvins can be adjusted in photoshop. Consider distance as lighting further away will give you crisper shadows. camera wise, wide angle will give you cool distorted shots, long will compress the image but require the model to be setup correctly. Macro lenses are a must but have some interns with kickass modeling skills and remember... tripod tripod tripod
Good advice about the tripod - critical if you want consistently clear, focussed shots.
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