How to start a home-based photo studio

It's easy enough. You can start with the absolute basics, and build up over time with a new piece of equipment as and when your budget permits. Read on to find out more.

A home studio can be as sophisticated as the local commercial shooting space or as simple as a sheet taped against a white wall and lit with flood lights. Depending on your needs, studio photography opens up new opportunities for the photographer in search of more creative possibilities.

Convenient and immediate, digital studio photography is surprisingly easy to practise. Unlike film photography, there is no need to use a handheld light meter. With a simple lighting setup, you can put your point-and-shoot digital camera to professional use, creating instant studio portraits.

Before you begin | What exactly do you need? | Tools of the trade

When it comes to studio photography, a digital SLR or a point-and-shoot camera with a large megapixel count will do fine. Do invest in larger memory cards to house the photos now that they are of a higher resolution.

Your camera should also have a display screen that allows you to have a better perspective on the composition of your image. Most digital cameras today do. However, should your model not have a monitor, an alternative would be to check if it comes with a video-out feature which will allow you to hook up the camera to a TV so you are able to preview the results. Having a display screen also has the added advantage of making your subject less nervous as you are able to maintain eye contact with him while you are composing the photo shoot.

Space. Not a lot of it. You could use a corner of your living room, or if you have the indulgence, you can convert one of your rooms into a studio. The walls of your home studio should preferably be white so as to allow light to bounce off more easily. At the same time, this will provide a better background for your shots. White walls act like reflectors when you need them, and if you don't, they are neutral and won't create colour casts. Depending on your budget, your home studio can be as sophisticated as that of a professional studio with impressive strobes or just a simple setup with a sheet taped against the wall and floodlights.

Tripod. As we all know, a tripod is a must-have when it comes to studio photography. There are several different types of tripods, usually varying in height and mobility. You may have noticed that professionals tend to use tripods on wheels, which is not necessary when it comes to a home studio. You just need a simple tripod stand for support.

Light. There are two options to doing this. You can either make use of available light or artificial light. Available light can be obtained if you have windows in your home studio which you can keep open and allow the light to fall into the room. Alternatively, you can use artificial light which is exactly what most photographers rely on. These are usually strobes or hot lights. Strobes are flashes that sync with your camera's shutter and stop action. Hot lights are ones you can leave on all the time while you are shooting and are easier for beginners to master since what you see is what you get.

Umbrella. This isn't your rainy day variant, but what you use to soften the lighting. A softbox will work as well. You can use anything from white seamless paper to muslin, to painted canvas for a backdrop. If you feel creative and want to save money, paint your own background with the acrylic paints and plain canvas you can buy at an art supply store.

Reflector. Now that we have light, what else do we need? Next on the list is a reflector to get those nasty shadows out of the way. You need not buy the kind of reflector a professional photographer uses, as this may be pricy. What you really need is essentially a white surface, such as a white cardboard or drawing board, to throw those nasty lights off during your shoot.

Props. For those of you who are interested in portraiture, you may want to consider props. They need not be complicated but simple things such as different-coloured cloth, tables, flower vases, sculptures or chairs. For table tops you may want to choose glass tops which look elegant and can also allow you to create special lighting effects.