TURNING A HOME INTO A PHOTO STUDIO

How a move to The Bronx gave me the space to create a home studio in my TV-slash-home office room.

In my previous blog

In a previous blog of mine titled: “How One Photoshoot Reminded Me of My Passion” I had briefly mentioned my move to The Bronx and how my newly acquired apartment had given me the space for a home studio.

https://www.robertschall.com/blog/emotionalshoot

In my paragraph “From a home into a studio” I quickly illuded to how I changed one of my rooms into a home studio, with the promise to write more about this transformation in another blog. So here we are.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

The room where the magic happens

Home studio you said Robert, pray tell! Off my living room there is what I guess is best described as the entertainment room. The previous owners had built a full wall length bookshelf with TV mount along one of the side walls in this spacious room. There are even three extra closets. As soon as I saw the floorplan I was intrigued. My hunch was confirmed the moment I walked into the apartment and saw the space in real life. Definite home photo studio potential.

So, my office desk, PC and three monitors were set up in there, my camera and lighting gear neatly organized into the closets, books arranged on the shelves, TV hung in its place on the wall, and a nice pull-out sofa to nestle in while watching movies. Voila, I was all set. Now I just needed to test out if it would work.

That client photoshoot I talked about in one of my previous blogs was the perfect opportunity, my inaugural home studio shoot. Just happens that I had thought this through already ahead of time and had placed coasters under the sofa legs, so that I could easily slide it into a corner of the room. This opens up the room and gives me the space for my setup. My Flashpoint backdrop with an 8-foot-wide roll of white paper fits perfectly along the back wall between my desk and the bookshelf. Probably could get up to a 10 foot wide paper roll in that space. This paper roll allows me to have a seamless background, sort of a home cyclorama. Just had to distribute my three Adorama Flashpoint eVOLV Pro flashes with softboxes strategically and I was set to go.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

On the move again

In my many moves and trust me there have been way more moves than I care to remember. To forestall your questions, no my parents were not in the military, but they did move around as if they were. My childhood was spent packing and unpacking mover boxes. It was a dream; I could build forts nonstop in my room. Ok, all joking aside, and in all honesty, I did really move every 2 years, and most of the time there was a move from one apartment or house into another in between too. I can pack up a room into boxes in my sleep now.

In my many moves, as I was trying to explain, I have learned that finding the right place takes patience and you should always trust your gut feeling. This move was no different and does quite prove my point too. It is fair to say that Covid-19 was not kind to the real estate industry, and as we all started to emerge post pandemic, it did not prove the most fruitful time to list my apartment. But I felt it was time to make a change, after all I had been in my old apartment for five years now.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

Trials and tribulations of listing

I had to pull the listing at some point because I was just not getting offers that I wanted. It was disheartening to say the least. Even accepted an offer from someone, below asking price, only to have them flake out on me. In the end it all worked out just fine. I ended up relisting the following year, got three offers over asking price, oversaw, with relish, a bidding war, and sold my apartment to a lovely young couple for well over my asking price. See?! Patience pays off. Mind you I did have a few moments of doubt and, at times, had to talk quite a lot of sense into myself.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

Trust your gut feeling

Fun fact of buying a new place, is that you can’t really start looking for a new place until the one you are selling is under contract. Heck, you need the money from the old one to buy the new one. So here I was, I had my apartment under contract, with a proposed closing date and now had to find a new place. You suspect that in a place like New York City, finding a place for sale would be easy. Well think again, it is not. Or maybe it is my doing. Too many criteria on my wish list. Lol.

Boy did I go see a ton of places. I proverbially snaked my way around New York City trying to unearth the right place. Experience of moving has taught me to trust my gut instinct. Plenty of places met my criteria, but I was also looking for a place that spoke to me. I wanted a place that let me know that I would feel at home there, a place that was right for me. For me at least, I don’t want to convince myself of wanting to move into a new home. I want to feel it when I am visiting it. That is exactly what happened when I saw my new apartment. On the tour it just felt right, my gut was onboard, and I listened. Not going to bore you with the details and ramble on (which I might have already), it suffices to say that I now live in this apartment, and I am tickled pink with delight about calling this my home for now.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

Longer focal lengths, no worries

You are probably wondering how I can get the right distance between the model and myself or whether I have to shoot with a 24mm lens. That is where the layout of the apartment comes into play. This home office/studio has double sliding pocket doors, that give me a great and wide opening into the room. I can set up my camera in the living room, with space for a little table for my tethered laptop on it. Without much hassle I am at the right distance. Without much hassle I can shoot full body shots with an 85mm lens.

It gets even better. Should I need even more focal length, I just move even further back into the en suite dining room. Advantage of an open floorplan. Just need to slide the dining table over and bingo, I can shoot with a 200mm lens. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this apartment. Such a great living space, and I can totally use it as a home studio. Not to mention the tax right off that gives me. Win, win, win if you ask me.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

Take another look at your space

If I may suggest, take another look at your space, maybe you will discover that you too can find a way to get a home studio in your space. Maybe not a full body shot, but enough for properly lit portraits or such. When I started playing around with the setup in my apartment, I thought I needed to leave my 14.5-foot wall empty as a backdrop. No longer necessary with my Flashpoint backdrop. The ability to create a seamless wall has way more advantages. I can now figure out what to hang on my wall. Come to think of it, I have 2 large walls that still need something hanging. Finally, time to hang some of my favorite photos.

I had for so long always wondered how to and whether I should get a studio or find a way to have space at home. I had a smaller set up in a smaller apartment before. And now with this one I can do even more. You would be surprised by what you can do if you get creative with your space. Have another look at your home, maybe you too can find an area where with minimal effort you can set up a small home studio. Keep in mind your home photo studios do not need to be a permanent placement, you only really need it when you want to shoot something.

Photo by Robert Schall Photography

Thank you for visiting my website and taking the time to read my blog, I will be trying to post a new blog weekly.