Do you own a DSLR? Do your friends love your photography? If you can answer yes then maybe a home portrait studio is just what you need. It's easier then you think. For about 500.00 dollars (not including camera, lenses and light meter) you can set up a studio in your home.
First lets talk about 2 types of lighting you can consider. "Continuous light" is the most affordable option. These light are constantly on. The benefit of this setup is that you don't need a light meter. Your camera will read the amount of light and use the built in meter to set the correct shutter and aperture for you. You will also see where the light is falling on your subject and gives you great control over shadows. Typically you would want 3 lights at a minimum. 1 main, 1 fill and 1 back light. However if you intend to use a black background with dark hair subjects you will need to add a 4th light or hair light to your studio configuration. This light puts light on the hair which helps to aid in adding dimension to your portraits This type of light now comes in two types "Tungsten" and "CFL". The tungsten lights can get very hot and burn out frequently. The CFL's are a better option since they last longer (10,000 hours) and are cool. This type of light has its draw backs also. As the wattage gets larger so does the physical size of the bulb so you need a larger diffuser. They also don't give off the same amount of light so more bulbs are required to produce the same brightness as using the hotter shorter lived tungsten bulbs.
Now lets talk about the second option "Strobe Lighting". This type of lighting is a bit more expensive and more difficult to use. It requires a light meter to ensure the correct settings on your camera, and replacing light tubes can be expensive and need to be ordered. A modeling lamp is provided by these lights and allows a preview of where the shadows are falling. With that said however care needs to be taken so you don't get shadows on the backdrop. Strobes are used most frequently by pro's, but I am currently using continuous lights in my studio and am very pleased with the cost of running them and bulb replacement. Another consideration when using this type of light is that not all DSLR's have a socket built into the camera to fire them. So in many cases a hot shoe adapter needs to be added to the cost of this setup.
Now that you have decided which system works best for you go ahead and setup your home studio and start on your way to making your camera pay for itself.
For more information about lighting check out my previous blog on color temperature
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