Studio Plans!!

OK… So today I’ve been looking things over, studying the finer details, and running around with a tape measure!  As of right this second, these are the plans for my basement studio.

The only real issue here is something I can’t control, and that’s the ceiling height.  At 84.75 inches, that’s only a sliver over 7 ft – which is not good… 8 ft would be better, 10+ ft would be ideal….   But, when handed lemons you make lemonade, right?   For standing, full body shots, unless the subject is super tall, I think if I position them close to the backdrop, and the camera is moved back out past the open ends of the blackout curtains and then zoomed in (I have another 11 ft of basement space beyond the open ended area for a total of 22 ft).  I will still be able to get decent photos without the ceiling showing.  The only thing I will not be able to do is add a “hair light” which is a light that is usually positioned above and behind the subjects head – creating a back glow on the hair… However for seated poses there should be plenty of room, and usually I prefer a seated or semi-seated pose anyway.  So I’m not fretting over it just yet…

The blackout curtains I mentioned are not necessarily “black” either, the name just implies that they will prevent, or “block out” light from going through them. The truth of the matter is, I will probably have two sets – one set actually Black, and another set White or Ivory.  The light colored curtains will tend to bounce the light and create a soft illumination inside the area; Whereas the black curtains will not reflect light at all.

Getting back to the ceiling again… I also need to figure out how to cover it.  Currently it’s just the foil backing of the insulation between the joists, and that will need to be covered or light will be ricocheting all over in there!!  To complicate things there are antenna and video cables and a grounding block fastened to the joists in that area as well.  I think I can re-route that with minimal effort, but I still have to decide on an overall covering for the ceiling.  It would be nice if I could easily change it, but I don’t know how that would be possible.  Hmmmm….  Maybe a semi, light absorbing neutral grey???  (Continue!)