Photography is all about light and controlling light to get the best results. This can be tricky at the best of times, but working in a small studio comes with its own unique challenges. To overcome these, there are three important considerations:

The inverse square law is an important concept for any photographer to understand, regardless of whether you’re shooting in a small studio or not.

One of the common problems that photographers often encounter in a small space is light bouncing around their studio, adding light where they don’t want it. When working in a small space, if you put your light too far from your subject then you will have more bounce around your studio than if you placed your light close to your subject.

To learn more about the inverse square law, make sure to take a look at our ‘Introduction and Understanding Light’ class.

What modifiers you use largely depends on what you’re shooting. Do you mainly photograph products or people? Portrait photographers often use modifiers such as softboxes or parabolic reflectors, whereas product photographers often use scrims with additional modifiers such as reflectors or softboxes.

Whatever your choice of subject, if you’re working in a small studio then modifiers that contain the light are the best option, as mentioned previously.

Some common modifiers for studio photography include:

• Standard reflectors - These dish-like modifiers produce very hard, sparkly lighting and can be used with honeycomb grids for even tighter spots of light.
• Softboxes/Octaboxes - Softboxes are a common choice of modifier for many different types of photography. Available in a range of different shapes and sizes, grids can be attached to the front to further control the light.
• Umbrellas - Although not the best choice when working in small studios, umbrellas are still a popular modifier for studio photography. If you’re working in a small space but still want to use umbrellas, consider using reflective umbrellas instead of shoot-through umbrellas to control the light spill.
• Snoots - Snoots create a very small, controlled patch of light with little to no light spill.
• Beauty dish - Beauty dishes are a popular choice for portraiture and beauty photography. However, they can be difficult to use in small spaces with a low ceiling as they’re commonly used from overhead.
• Scrims/diffusion material - Diffusion material and scrims are commonly used by product photographers to create gradient lighting on products with glossy surfaces.
• Mirrors/reflectors - Having mirrors or pieces of white foamboard or card to use as reflectors can be used to add additional light without actually using another studio light, which can be a great way to save space when working in a small studio.
• Flags - Flags can also be a great way to control light, so it can be useful to have a few pieces of black card or foamboard on hand to block light in certain areas of the shot.

There are, of course, other types of lighting modifiers, such as parabolic reflectors, but these are not always practical to use in small spaces due to their size.

For those looking to start working commercially, a great selection of modifiers that cover a range of different types of photography include a large 120x180 softbox, an Octabox 150, a 30x120 softbox, a selection of standard reflectors with grids, and some scrims or diffusion material.

Dark grey walls are the best colour choice if you want to be able to control light in a small space, but not everyone wants to work in a dark box.

A more practical solution is to have white walls and ceiling but with the ability to darken them when needed. This could be black draw curtains or black foam board that can be stuck up with Velcro when needed.

Large pieces of black material (velvet is best) can be laid on the floor to further control any bounce back from the floor.

Having blackout curtains or blinds in front of the windows will also help reduce unwanted ambient light if you’re working in a studio that has windows.

Further things to consider when setting up your studio space includes storage space. Do you have enough space to store all your lighting, equipment, backgrounds, and accessories or do you need a separate space?

Look for creative ways to store everything, as Visual Education member Vera Change does. In her studio (which also serves as her office, video corner, and living room) Vera stores lights under couches, backgrounds behind doors and accessories in organised boxes.

Keeping things organised is a great way to effectively store things. Try sorting related items into dedicated storage boxes or cupboards, as Visual Education member Pierre Nli does.

Depending on what you’re shooting, there may also be additional features that could benefit your space. One such consideration for portrait photographers is a dedicated space for doing makeup, or a separate room for the model to change.

If you still aren’t sure about whether you want to set up your own studio, renting a studio might be a better option. Professional photographer David Lund, who is a former student of Visual Education, has his own small studio but he often hires studios as and when the need arises, as do many other professional photographers.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when setting up a home photography studio. But don’t let yourself get too caught up in the details. Try and find a space that works for you and then start building up from there.

Work with what you have and don’t get discouraged if you don’t have everything you need. When it comes to photography, knowledge is far more important than equipment. As long as you have the right knowledge, you can produce stunning images in almost any space!

To learn more about lighting, make sure to watch our “Introduction and Understanding Light” class. This is our most-watched class and will help you better understand light so that you can confidently work with studio lighting in any space.