Subject shooting at home is possible not only in fantasy, but also in reality. Many photographers, especially beginners, think that subject photography can only be done in a specially equipped studio. But they are completely wrong. Even at home, it is quite possible to create a small but effective photo studio to take quality pictures.

Necessary equipment

A table for subject photography is the simplest option. It can take pictures of small objects or still lifes. This table is very easy to build by hand. Even an inexperienced photographer can handle this easy task. First, you need to purchase a fairly large sheet of white cardboard. Secondly, you need to find it. To do this, you can take some thick book, a bowl or any other large thing, since the support will not be visible in the frame. A table for subject photography is best placed on a wide windowsill. Particular attention should be paid to the incident light from the sun. After all, if the subject being photographed is in a bright strip of sunlight, then it will cast rough and deep shadows on the table, which will not lead to the desired result in the picture. That is why a window that faces the shadow side is the best place to organize a stage.

How to make a photobox?

There are special professional photo boxes for subject shooting. Their price is quite high, so it makes no sense to purchase such facilities for one-time work. A high-quality photobox can be made at home. To do this, you need a cardboard box and a sheet of drawing paper. It is desirable that the selected cardboard box has a cubic shape. Next, the lower part of the box is removed, and the back remains intact. On top of the box and on its sides, it is necessary to make large square-shaped cutouts and seal them with whatman paper. The inside back of the box and the bottom itself should also be covered with a sheet of white paper. Guided by the above steps, making a photobox at home is absolutely not difficult.

Ordinary background

Product shooting at home does not require the photographer to work with a photo box or a table. It is quite possible to do without these things. Many amateur photographers choose the easiest way to shoot. Before starting work, it is necessary to determine which of the sections of the wall of the dwelling is the lightest. In the event that the wall is not plain, it must be hung with a background (for example, a sheet of drawing paper or a piece of cloth). The subject to be photographed must be placed on a stool, which is covered with the same material from which the background is made. It is better to photograph various jewelry on polished granite, then the beauty of the jewelry will be clearly visible in the picture due to the reflective surface of this aristocratic stone.

How to arrange lighting?

A great lesson for a novice photographer is subject photography at home. The right light for the job ahead can dramatically affect the result of filming. Lighting directly depends on the chosen equipment for work. If objects are photographed on the windowsill, then the main sun. If additional lighting is required, a reflector can be used. You can make it yourself using cardboard and foil. If there are no such items at hand, then even an ordinary white sheet of paper can serve as additional illumination. In addition, absolutely any light-colored surface can act as a reflector.

Photobox lighting

Product photography at home, which uses a photo box, requires a minimum of three light sources. Thus, the object will be highlighted through the walls of the photobox from all the necessary sides, that is, from above and on the sides. The result is an excellent shot that does not have harsh and ugly shadows. If you give more attention and time to setting the right lighting, then the shadows in the photo can be completely avoided. Additional light sources can be table lamps or any lamps that can be found in almost any home.

What photography equipment should be used?

In product photography, the clarity and sharpness of the subject is of paramount importance. To get beautiful and contrasting pictures, you need to use a tripod. This is a simple accessory that will help you avoid camera shake while shooting at slow shutter speeds. If there is no way to purchase a tripod, then you can use some kind of fixed support instead. In addition, without a remote control for the camera, the process of shooting can become quite difficult. In extreme cases, the remote control can be replaced with a cable for non-contact shutter release.

Correct composition

Product photography often involves painstaking work with composition. After all, it is not always necessary to place only one object in the frame. To correctly position several objects, you need to create a multi-level space. For this, various coasters are used, which can be both visible and hidden under any background material. If you need to highlight one object among many others, then you need to focus on it with the help of light or the location of the object in the foreground.

Product shooting at home on a white background is the best solution for a novice photographer. After all, white color will help create a clear and contrasting image. For uniform illumination, the background is usually illuminated from the front and back sides. To create a clear reflection effect, you cannot use glass mirrors. They make the reflection double. For this purpose, it is necessary to use polished material. If during work it is necessary to fix a small product, then you can use a miniature hot glue gun. First, the glue is applied to the object itself, and only then the object is attached to the background.

Beginning of work

In order for subject shooting at home to please with an excellent result, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the working equipment, but also to the object being photographed. The subject should be beautifully located on a makeshift mini set for filming. At this stage, you need to make all the necessary settings in the camera. Manual mode is the best choice for product photography. In photographs taken in automatic mode, exposure flaws are very often visible. If the subject chosen for work is colorful and bright, and the background is dark or even black, then manual mode will be an excellent choice for shooting. Quite a painstaking process - subject shooting at home. White balance and sensor light sensitivity settings are also extremely important. The ISO value should not exceed two hundred units. To reduce the amount of noise in a photo, you need to lower the ISO number. This action is of great importance in the work of the photographer. Indeed, as a result, the object in the image should look natural and harmonious.

First shot

In order for the photo to turn out to be of high quality, you need to turn off the flash on the camera. For a good work result, enough light from a window or table lamps. After the first test shot, you need to pause the process of photographing. The resulting image must be carefully considered and analyzed. If there are visible problems in the photo, such as exposure flaws, fuzzy sharpness, incorrect lighting, then you need to correct all errors by changing the camera settings or the light. If the repeated subject photography turned out well, then you can safely continue to work.

A few secrets

Quite often, photographers are faced with the problem of lifelessness in the pictures, although at first glance everything looks perfect. If the photo needs to be creative, then you can make the image more dynamic. For example, you can add small spray from a spray bottle that will create volume. An interesting addition can be confetti, feathers, or even. It is important that the aids do not fall on the camera lens. Such secrets of subject photography will help to achieve the necessary "air" in the final picture. If the photo should be full of colors, you can try to place a New Year's garland near the subject. Thus, by choosing the flickering mode, it is possible to achieve interesting color accents. It is necessary to make a series of shots, and then choose the most harmonious of them. In the process of work, you must constantly brush off the dust from the photographed objects so that they look perfect in the picture. Product shooting at home without expensive studio equipment is real. You just need to follow the above tips and a good result will not keep you waiting.

The first and most important thing that is required in subject photography is, of course, a camera. For shooting at the initial stage, any camera, even an amateur one, is suitable. Why is there a camera, the level of technological progress has reached such a level that you can get excellent pictures on your phone. However, if you plan to seriously engage in product photography, it is still worth opting for a classic camera.

When shooting for an online store and placing images in a small size (about 600-900 pixels on the long side), you can get by with an entry-level SLR camera and even a mirrorless camera. The main thing is that the camera has a manual photography mode. We will not talk about the brand, choose according to your taste, but remember: having made a choice in favor of this or that brand, you attach yourself to it for a long time.

If you are working on a serious project and photographing expensive exclusive products for subsequent large-format printing, then, of course, you need more serious equipment. Usually professional full-frame cameras are used for such shootings.

The Nikon D800E and D810 cameras have proven themselves very well. They do not have a smoothing low-pass filter in front of the matrix, so they have the highest detail, which is especially important in product photography. But representatives of other brands Canon 5DMKIII or Sony A7 are also not bad. Note that the given camera models are relevant as of the date of writing this article. In a rapidly developing market for photographic equipment, information quickly becomes outdated.

Lenses

As with choosing a camera, the lens is chosen for a specific task. In most cases, macro lenses with a focal length of 60-180 mm (100 mm is best) are used, although there are exceptions. They are used in catalog photography when it is important to correctly convey the proportions of the photographed object. I recommend taking a lens with a focal length of 50-60mm for a cropped camera and 100mm for a full frame camera.

In some cases, to give an artistic effect, wide-angle lenses are used, which give perspective distortions.

Often you have to shoot small objects at close range. This leads to the fact that it is impossible to put the object being removed into the depth of field as a whole. To solve this problem, use a tilt-shift lens. If you didn’t have a tilt-shift at hand, you can get by with what you have, and shoot using stacking technology, followed by cross-linking in a graphics editor. But I will talk about this another time.

To begin with, you should pay attention to the following lenses, with one caveat - they are for full-frame cameras:

• Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
• Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D
• Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 DiSP AF/MF 1:1

For those who decide to take the issue more seriously, it is worth looking at a few more models:

• Sony SEL90M28G FE 90mm f/2.8-22 Macro G OSS
• Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro
• Canon EF 180mm f3.5L Macro USM AutoFocus

Tripods

Product photography is almost always done with a tripod. It is advisable to use a good quality heavy tripod to minimize the possibility of camera shake and shake. This is especially important when shooting at slow shutter speeds or when using stacking. Also, a tripod will help you keep the same angle and scale of the shot if you are shooting a series of subjects. When choosing a tripod, it is best to stop at a model with a horizontal installation of the central column, this allows you to take pictures from above - a very fashionable trend, especially among instagram followers. Don't buy lightweight carbon tripods, they are good for street shooting (as they are easy to carry). Take a heavy metal tripod, it is more stable. In addition, such a tripod is also cheaper than a carbon counterpart. Take a tripod with a 3d head, it is more convenient: you can change the camera position independently along any of the axes.

Lighting equipment

Both constant and pulsed light are suitable for shooting. For catalog photography, you can get by with a set of 2-3 inexpensive sources of pulsed light.

Some citizens prefer to use on-camera flashes for their small size and mobility, but their usefulness is severely limited. The main disadvantages of on-camera flashes include: their low power, lack of pilot light, short operating time without recharging the battery. In addition, the work will require light modifiers, which still need to be looked for.

Studio lighting equipment includes light sources (pulsed or constant), light-shaping nozzles, as well as various reflectors. In photo studios, pulsed light sources are usually used. Constant light sources are used much less frequently. This is due to the fact that they consume a lot of energy and at the same time get very hot.

Pulsed lights, as the name suggests, are designed to create short bursts of light. Studio sources contain two lamps: a flash lamp and a regular modeling lamp (a constant light source that allows you to see how the light from the flash falls). If we are talking about ordinary on-camera flashes, then there is no pilot light in them.

Pulse sources are of two types: monoblocks and generators. Monoblocks are a single system, where all the elements: control system, flash lamp and modeling lamp are placed in one housing. The generators differ in that the lamps themselves are not placed in the case, but are connected to it with wires (they are mounted separately on tripods). Due to this, generators have better characteristics in terms of power, pulse duration and recharge rate, which determines their higher cost compared to monoblocks. The power of pulsed studio light sources is indicated in Joules (J.).

Studio flashes can be either non-adjustable (used to illuminate the background where there is no need for precise light dosing) or adjustable.

To change the characteristics of the light flux, so-called light-shaping nozzles are used. They are divided into two main groups - nozzles of directional light and diffused light nozzles. The first (reflectors, tubes) are designed to form a beam of hard light, the second (softboxes, stripboxes, octoboxes, umbrellas) - to scatter the light flux.

Most often, softboxes, stripboxes and reflectors are used in subject photography. Honeycombs and conversion filters are actively used.

Reflectors play a very important role in product photography. It is convenient to use them to highlight the shadows of the photographed object or cut off part of the light flux. In addition, by changing the type of reflector used (for example, from silver to gold), you can change the color temperature of the reflected light. But that's not all. Since reflectors are made of fabric, it is convenient to use them to further soften the luminous flux, similar to softboxes. However, unlike a softbox, in which the diffuser surface is rigidly fixed to the frame, the reflector can be freely moved between the object being photographed and the light source, thereby controlling the degree of rigidity of the light flux.

When carrying out artistic photography, photographers use conversion filters, with which you can easily change the color temperature of light sources, as well as correct shades

Work with studio sources of pulsed light is impossible without their synchronization with the camera. Synchronization is possible through a radio synchronizer, IR trigger, sync cable, on-camera flash of the camera. An IR trigger is a device attached to the camera's external flash that performs synchronization via an infrared pulse. Thanks to the use of a sync cable, synchronization occurs through a wire that is connected to both the light source and the camera at the same time. When the camera flash fires, studio flashes will also fire (for this, special “traps” are installed in them that catch the impulse from the flash). Here you need to cover the flash itself on the camera in advance (for example, with a white sheet) in order to exclude the interference of light from the flash into the light picture. There is also radio synchronization, which is a set of receiver and transmitter (the receiver is connected to a light source, and the transmitter is attached to the camera).

backgrounds

As a rule, shooting for online catalogs is carried out on a plain white background. Often matte plastic is used as a background. I wrote about its merits in an article. If this is not found, you can use whatman paper, which is sold at any stationery store.

Many photographers dislike mass-produced object tables: cheap tables are very unreliable, and expensive ones are unprofitable. The most popular design is two goats (ikea) and a sheet of plastic laid on them. This design is more versatile and, due to the absence of mechanical connections, is quite reliable.

White balance setting card

Another indispensable attribute of any studio photographer is a gray card. It is called so because it reflects 18% of the incident light. Believe me, this simple thing makes life a lot easier! For a long time I shot without it and periodically faced the problem of setting the white balance, not knowing what to take for medium gray in the frame. After getting the card, the problem disappeared. All that is required of you is to take a picture with the map and use it to set the white balance at the processing stage in a graphics editor. On sale there are cards very different both in form and price. The option that is shown in the picture is offered in photo shops at the date of writing the article for 400-900 rubles.

Important little things

We talked about the main, and now let's talk about the most important. Yes, yes, I did not make a reservation, it was about the important. These are clamps. If you knew how much these things make life easier for a photographer, you would understand me. With their help, it is easy to fix the background, the photographed product, install reflectors / dimmers, and much more can be fixed. I will say this: if you want to free your hands, use clamps. I recommend to everyone! And the more you have, the easier it will be for you to work. You can buy them at a hardware store. Take different sizes - they will come in handy.

In addition, you can also add all sorts of little things here: adhesive tape, foil, fishing line, cardboard, tracing paper, paper clips, etc. and so on. This list can be continued indefinitely, a lot will fit in the household of a subject photographer.

The minimum set of necessary equipment

At the initial stage, for comfortable work, we recommend purchasing the following set of equipment:
1 camera;
1 tripod;
1 large softbox;
2 stripboxes;
3 monoblocks;
2 sets of honeycombs;
3 backgrounds (white, grey, black);
reflectors (dimmers).

For today I have everything, but this does not mean that the topic is fully disclosed. Not at all. The topic of equipment in product photography is so extensive that you can talk about it for hours. Today we have considered only the most common questions. Further, if you show interest, we can continue to consider the topic of equipment in product photography.

Product photography is a special kind of photography. This genre of shooting is most often used to create promotional photos of various products. Also, various pictures of objects are a sought-after product on photo stocks. The main purpose of advertising object photography is to show the object in the most interesting and beneficial way for the buyer.

To shoot a subject well, you need strong knowledge and good experience. After all, the photographer must choose the right background for shooting, choose the point of shooting, set the light.

Currently, shooting for catalogs of various online stores, which multiply like mushrooms after rain, is becoming especially relevant. Everyone needs a good shot of the products they offer to people. After all, photographs are often the first impression.

Various restaurants and cafes also need to shoot their products. Photos of dishes are necessary to make a beautiful menu.

3D photographs are also in demand, which allow you to view an object from all sides.

If we consider advertising product photography from the point of view of the photographer's potential earnings, now the situation has changed somewhat. Online stores and various companies prefer to recruit photographers to their staff. Examples of vacancies can be viewed on Yandex-work.

In our short article, we will cover the main technical points that will help you get started shooting for online stores. So, let's begin.

Background for shooting.

As a rule, when shooting for online catalogs, a discreet monophonic background is selected, preferably in light colors or white. But, it is necessary to coordinate everything with the customer. Experienced subject photographers work according to the so-called brief. This is a technical task, which describes in detail the result that the customer wants to receive. Often a brief is made with examples of such shootings.

Preparing subjects for shooting.

Subjects for shooting must be prepared by the customer. For shooting, you need to use new items from the factory packaging. In this case, there will be no pronounced defects on their surface. If the photographer himself prepares objects for shooting, then you need to carefully clean them of dust, periodically blowing it off with a special pear, since the slightest specks of dust will be clearly visible in the final photo. This will help reduce the time it takes to retouch.

Use of a tripod.

Subject shooting is carried out from a tripod. It is advisable to use a good quality heavy tripod to minimize the possibility of camera shake and shake. This is especially important if shooting will be done in constant light or with focus bracketing. Also, a tripod will help you keep the same angle and scale of the shot if you are shooting a series of subjects.

Lenses.

It is not customary to use wide-angle lenses for shooting objects, as this gives distortion. Mostly used lenses with a focal length of 100 mm, although there are exceptions. For shooting small objects, it is best to use specialized macro lenses. Autofocus is practically not used in product photography, so you can choose lenses with manual focus for shooting. In some cases, this can save you a lot of money.

Camera.

You can use both amateur and professional cameras. It all depends on the tasks of shooting. If you are shooting for an online store, where photos will be viewed in a small size (about 1200 pixels on the long side), then you can get by with the simplest SLR or mirrorless camera.

If you are shooting expensive exclusive items, such as jewelry, collectibles or antiques, then in this case, of course, you need more serious equipment. Most often, professional full-frame cameras are used for such shooting. The Nikon D800E and D810 cameras have proven themselves very well. They do not have a smoothing low-pass filter in front of the matrix, so they have the highest detail, which is especially important in product photography.

Lighting equipment.

For shooting, you can use both constant and pulsed light. Naturally, the more expensive products you shoot, the higher the level of lighting equipment should be. For simple catalog shooting, you can get by with sets in the form of an object table and 2-3 inexpensive sources of pulsed light.

Camera settings.

Manual mode M is used. No automatic settings!

Optimal values ​​when shooting with flashing light:

ISO 100, f/11 aperture for good depth of field, shutter speed 1/160 s.

The exposure is controlled by the power of the pulsed light sources.

White balance is best adjusted manually using a gray card.

If you are shooting with constant light, then the shutter speed settings will depend on the power of the light sources used. The aperture also remains f / 11, ISO in some cases can be raised to a value of 400-800 to shorten the shutter speed. This can only be done if the final images are small, then the noise will not be noticeable, but you will save time.

In the following materials, we will continue to talk about product photography.

To date, photo galleries of the company's production have become popular on the sites of plants and factories. No wonder, because a person is proud of almost any of his victories, which everyone should know about: a three-millionth duvet cover, an overfulfilled norm, new Italian equipment, 5 years of the plant, etc.

And most importantly, capture the process itself: beautifully, solemnly, and people should look more than happy! Note for yourself that these productions cost a lot of money, and if you are called to take pictures of the production process - agree, and agree to a rather big payment for your modest labor!

Photo Idea will tell you how to photograph the production and work process correctly!

In general, production at an industrial enterprise looks unremarkable: at first glance, it does not cause much enthusiasm.

However, as soon as we see the work of a professional photographer, we immediately notice the scale of this production, the power of the machines, and the beauty of the industrial process!

So, let's begin?

What should be included in the photo report on the production of the plant / factory:

1. General view of the production (shooting from above, if possible - from a helicopter)

2. Production inside: workshops, warehouses, offices.

3. Happy workers in the labor process.

4. Production owner.

Remember safety precautions:

If they give out goggles, respirators, gas masks, make you wear a protective suit, a helmet, don't resist, put it on!

Are you a photographer! Your hands are very important and necessary (like any person). Therefore, do not pull your hands into production, there are workers there whom you better photograph in the process of work!

Take care not only of yourself, but also of your camera!

Don't forget that there are protective filters for cameras! Anything can happen in production, for example, sparks from a grinder can damage a camera lens, leaving small dots on the glass. Solvents and paint also do not bode well for the appearance of your camera.

Do not forget about other factors that take place in production: aggressive environments of chemical industries, high temperatures and powerful electromagnetic radiation. These factors can damage your equipment.

Photographing objects in the production area.

Objects are different: it can be a concrete mixer, a crane, a machine for manufacturing parts, or a workshop where work is done with casting molds from liquid metal.

In production, you may need both a telephoto lens and a wide-angle lens, and macro photography is possible, depending on the object you are going to photograph! Therefore, our advice is: Take as many lenses as possible to cover the entire range of focal lengths.

Working with bright flashes and light sources.

Almost any photo session in almost any production includes shots with flashes, sparks, light, laser beams and burning metal. We can immediately reassure the owners of SLR cameras - you have nothing to fear: your camera will not suffer. The advantage of SLR cameras is that the matrix is ​​open only for the duration of the exposure. And the owners of "soap boxes" are in fact at risk of losing their "photo assistant" forever.

In the process of shooting production, do not forget about the basic photographic techniques that you have been using for photographing other genres for a long time: this way you will emphasize individuality of your work.

A little about the tripod.

A tripod will definitely come in handy. BUT remember that in production there is often vibration on the ground and in the air, in many industries everything moves: floors, stairs, fences. Here a tripod will not help you, but will only complicate your "shaky" position.

Work as a director!

Working with the team / production workers is the most fun part of the whole photo shoot. Here you can show all your directorial abilities. Your task is to show: the complexity of the process! And these are thoughtful faces; this is some process in which more than a dozen people are involved, this is an attentive look, etc.

Please note that the person is in a clean working uniform, and, of course, smiling! He is happy that he works at THIS plant!

In heavy production, the main thing is people. Show the workforce of an industrial enterprise.

Below we provide a detailed photo studio business plan and consider the following important points of the organization of the case:

• How to open a photography studio for rent and choose the right space;
• How to open an individual entrepreneur for a photo studio, preparing documents;
• Photo studio equipment, its cost;
• How to open a photo studio in a small town, and make it popular and profitable, promotion methods.

Register the best thing it's easier and cheaper. Required codes OKVED: 74.20.– “Activities in the field of photography” and 47 – “Retail trade, except for trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles”. The second code is required if the studio plans to sell goods.

The activity is not licensed. It is also necessary to register with the Federal Tax Service. The cost of the registration procedure is not more than 60 $.

Services

The main services of the company:

1. Photos of the documents;
2. Carrying out studio shootings, including interior ones;
3. Shooting for business, subject photo shoots, food photography;
4. You can profitably rent a photo studio for photo shoots;
5. Printing photos from removable media;
6. Development of graduation albums, photo retouching;
7. Sale of related products - flash cards, batteries, disks, albums, etc.

Market analysis

To carefully plan how to open a photo studio, where to start and calculate the costs, you need to decide on the target audience. The main clients are photographers renting a salon for shooting, young people, couples with children, future newlyweds (shooting Love Story). The average age category of visitors: 16-35 years.

room

Best location for your studio as close to the center as possible, an additional plus is the availability of a parking space. Most often, the studio is located in a business center, less often in shopping centers.

An additional clientele for printing will allow getting placement near universities, migration services, and other government agencies. The area of ​​the room is 60 square meters. Of these, 40 sq. m - studio, 15 sq. m - reception with an administrator's desk and a small shop, 5 sq. m - bathroom.

Studio requirements:

• Underfloor heating, laminate or commercial linoleum should be used as a coating;
• Ceiling height - from three meters;
• Large windows draped in dark fabric. Drapery is needed for shooting with shutter speed set by light. It should be possible to easily remove the fabric from the windows;
• Monochromatic wall decoration;
• The presence of an air conditioner;
• Fire safety system, evacuation scheme, fire extinguisher.

Renting a room requires a monthly cost of $800-900. In how to open a creative photo studio, design is of great importance. You need to make your establishment a popular and fashionable place. It will cost about $ 1500 for repairs and decoration.

Photo salon equipment

What do you need to buy to open your own photography studio?

professional equipment

For a small company you will need:

1. Digital camera and two interchangeable lenses- 2500-2700 $. Good cameras are offered by Canon and Nikon, lenses - by Sigma, Tamron;
2. 4 light sources different power (they are also flashes or monoblocks) of 400-800 J - $ 1200-1300. Falcon Eyes, Profoto, Bowens, Godox;
3. 4 flash stands. Of these, three are standard (2-4 meters), one stand is a crane. The total cost is $150. Manfrotto, Falcon, Godox;
4. Three softboxes different sizes - $ 130. Bowens, Green Bean, Lumifor, Dedolight;
5. 2 photo umbrellas- 80-90 $. Lastolite, Elinchrom;
6. Two stripboxes- $150. Falcon Eyes, Godox, Hensel;
7. Two reflectors(1 with curtains) - $ 200-230. Profoto, Elinchrom, Bowens;
8. Octobox- 130-150 $. Hensel, Fujimi, Godox;
9. beauty dish- 120-130 $. Lumifor, Falcon Eyes, Godox;
10. Two reflectors- $25. Lastolite, Westcott;
11. Jelly color filters for flashes (6 pcs.) - $ 90-100. Maxilite, Falcon Eyes, Bowens;
12. Radio synchronizers for flashes (2 pcs.) - $ 80-100. Youngnuo, Aputure, Godox;
13. Set of paper backgrounds different colors - $ 150-200. Polaroid, Savage, Colorama;
14. background holder automatic - $ 150-170. Manfrotto, Phottix;
15. Accessories(memory cards, batteries, cables, fasteners) - $ 100. DigiCare, Fujimi, Nikon, Prolike, Transcend;
16. photo printer- 70-100 $. Zebra, Conica, Canon;
17. Computer or laptop– $450. Asus, HP, Lenovo.

Furniture and software

To open a small photo studio, you will need to purchase furniture and showcases for the reception area. It will cost about $700 to buy display cases, a wardrobe, a table, a chair, a sofa for visitors, an air conditioner, a telephone, and a cooler.

To process photos, retouch, create collages, you will need to buy licensed versions of programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Studio Pro. You will have to invest about $ 600 in software.

For the arrangement of the bathroom, you should lay an amount of about $ 170-200.

How to open your interior photography studio from scratch

In a small room, it is realistic to arrange five interior zones. The most popular options are: an area with a fireplace for family photo shoots, a boudoir option with a mirror and a bed, a cozy area with a wide window and blankets / pillows, a brick wall and a leather sofa, a bar counter, etc. Themed corners are created for the holidays: New Year's, co For Valentine's Day, for Halloween, etc. It is convenient to style an area with a fireplace.

Don't forget about the kids. Opening a photo studio for children is dooming yourself to a too narrow direction, but it is worth equipping a children's corner. There is always a steady demand for family and children's photo shoots.

For a standard photo zone with removable paper backgrounds, 2-3 square meters is enough; for interiors, a space of 4-5 square meters is required. m.

To open your own photography studio with scenery, you should carefully consider not only the interior of the zone, but also accessories, decorative trifles. For example, candles, LED garlands, gift boxes, retro records, decorative pillows, etc.

The cost of equipping one site with scenery is from $ 200-300. In total, you will need from $ 1,500.

Pay special attention design of a corner with a dressing room mirror and special lighting. This is a good place for a make-up artist and an additional photo zone. Such a mirror with a dressing table costs $160-200.

Pricing

How can a beginner open a photo studio and correctly navigate the prices? Analyze the average prices of similar establishments in the city and form your own price list based on them. To get started, set the following price tags:

• Shooting, including interior, with a studio photographer - $ 60. The premium class service includes the work of a makeup artist, a printout of several photos and costs from $70-80;
• Studio rent – ​​$13/hour;
• Retouching – $5/photo;
• Creation of photobooks and albums – from $23.

Staff

The studio staff consists of three people. Photographer, sales manager and technical assistant setting up lights and advising clients.

Almost every photographer dreams of becoming a professional photographer and opening a photo studio, so there are many who want to work for you on a permanent basis. The photographer receives 50% of the cost of shooting, the salary of the administrator and assistant takes $ 700 per month.

Marketing plan (advertising)

Step-by-step instructions on how to open an interior photo studio and promote a business include the following activities:

1. The outdoor sign of the company will require investments in the amount of $ 300-400;
2. Creation of a logo and corporate identity - $ 100;
3. Printed promotional materials (business cards, flyers) - $100;
4. Website development, detailed description of services, studio portfolio - from $100.

Sales promotion methods and promotion channels

A good advertising move is the distribution of gift certificates at a discount. Promotions for regular customers, discounts for the second and third hour of studio rental, etc. work great. The first clients should be looked for among the members of photo clubs and in advertising agencies. Most on the Internet: website promotion, .

Costs and profits

To properly open a photo studio, calculate in detail the investments in the business:

• Documents - $60;
• Renting a room for six months ahead, repair, finishing, conducting the necessary communications - about $ 7,000;
• Purchase of equipment, furniture, design of photo zones - 10 thousand dollars;
• Promotional events - 700 $.

Capital cost is approximately $18,000. Monthly expenses (salary, utility bills, rent) – $1,600. Add here the purchase of goods for sale - $ 1,500. Only 3100 $.

The studio will receive the minimum profit when renting a salon for at least 2-3 hours a day, 10-12 orders for shooting by a full-time photographer, and making several albums. Together with sales of related products, the monthly net profit will be about $600-800. This figure is increasing every month.

A detailed plan on how to open a small photo studio will allow you to foresee all costs and plan the work of the company. Such a business will only expand and flourish over time, gaining popularity and fame among customers.