almost done setting up my first studio [pics]

[Jon Oso]

Well, kind of.

*for cliffs just look at the pics, I didn't intend to post this much, sorry*

It used to be the corporate office for an IT company my boss used to run, it's been storage for an array of random shit since the company closed it's doors.

So he started moving stuff out and moving a few things in. The office is going to stay pretty much the same way it is, I'm going to be bringing a computer or laptop down and doing all the editing from there, and it will double as a lounge area for people when not shooting or girls rides since I don't let people shoulder tap. There's a huge printing thing in there that will be moved too. There's still some big stuff we need to get out but for a place you could barely walk in two weeks ago, it's come a long way.

Here is the office. I really like the desk and am considering bringing my HP w/ 24" monitor down but I might just do a laptop (the computer that's there works but is shit) for now until I do my dual monitor set-up at the house.




The square room will probably be moved around a little, the plants are obviously going to go, the couch looks like it's still in good shape so I will be using that.



The long room still needs the carpets replaced or heavily cleaned in a couple spots, the thing in the corner is a storage compartment the guy who owns the building is going to take home and use outdoors. We will probably be putting a bed in here for bedroom scenes, and will be going to purchase wall hangs and other tasteful decorations in the next week or so.



The hallway I thought was pretty cool with the lights on the wall that we are going to have the ability to put black lights in and do cool glow-in-the-dark stuff with since I think that's always pretty neat.



And here is the beautiful (haha) outside of the building. It looks like complete shit and super small outside but it's not too bad when you walk in the door. He also has the ability to print signs on laminate so we will be doing a backlit sign on the outside when we finally agree on a name.



Open to suggestions on how to set everything up and what colors we should paint things. I was thinking just a nuetral color and hang stuff on the walls but I might want to keep it the way it is.

Not the prettiest thing ever, but can't beat it for free and it allows me to work on this while at my regular job since it's in the back of the property, and I don't have to shoot out of my house anymore lol.


Since the owner is also a metal fabricator I was also considering buying a bunch of different lights and having him build lighting mounts into the walls and also using the stands to move them around too. Bad idea, too much work? Or does this sound like a decent idea.

Total cost so far including the couch, desk, computer, and cleaning everything out = $0.

[goldflower]

Looks really great work !!

[John-ACWM]

Looking good.I think it needs a few posters with something you like.

[xenigo]

Originally Posted by Jon Oso

Well, kind of.

Since the owner is also a metal fabricator I was also considering buying a bunch of different lights and having him build lighting mounts into the walls and also using the stands to move them around too. Bad idea, too much work? Or does this sound like a decent idea.

It's definitely a bad idea to build fixed lights into the walls. The reason I say this has many factors. First of which, you need to be able to precisely control the lighting in relation to the model. You want to have flexibility when it comes to this.

I'll give you an example. Say you have a model sitting in the chair. Your lights built into the wall are setup perfectly for that. But now you need her on top of the desk. Hmm. Now you run into a problem, because not only do you have to change the output of the light, but you also have to deal with the change in direction of the light versus your subject. Having a light source fixed to your wall would make that an impossibly shitty situation.

The other factor is that in order to have precise control over light, you (generally speaking, of course) need to have light coming from a single point per light source. If you have a wall of light, it tends to muddy the directional quality of light and create a less flattering image. Photography tends to look more stunning when light sources create contrast.

The only thing that would really make sense, if you want to go in the direction of some sort of built-in setup without utilizing light stands, is to go with a ceiling mounted track system. You need to be able to move the lights around. BUT, your ceilings are not high enough for this type of setup. You'd be banging your head on that stuff, and it would be excessively permanent in a setup that wasn't really meant to be a studio (small rooms are not entirely flexible for a permanent setup).

[Jon Oso]

What my idea was was to build tracks into the walls on the sides (I understand the ceiling is too low) with an retractable arm on it and a swivle on the end so I can adjust it and point it where I need it to go. it wouldn't be the same as having them on a stand but I would utilize the same style mounting point as the stands do so I can just pull them off the wall or off the stand and interchange them as needed.

I can mount outlets in the middle of the walls so I can move them as far forward or back as I need, and since he's a fabricator it would just cost parts and time. Would be a pretty cool set up and would also allow me to mount a camera on a remote or a video camera to do a "hidden camera" scene if needed, I could put a metal grating up in front of it to get that "hiding in the air duct" feel to it. Just throwing ideas out there.

Only reason I'm thinking about it is because the rooms are so small (and the one so narrow) it will allow me a little more ground space if I need to shoot at certain angles I won't be wrapped around a light stand. I'm a big guy at 6'5" 280+ so wrapping around shit like a snake only works once, and then I'm tired and need a sammich and some creamed corn.

Since it's owned by someone I work with and he's totally open to ideas I'm going to do everything I possibly can to customize it to make it easier to work in and around and give me as much space as possible since like I said I'm a fat fuck haha.

The possibilities are truely limitless as there is no "land lord" to deal with about putting shit all over the walls and drilling holes in stuff.

I do appreciate the input

[Jon Oso]

for what it's worth the pictures of the rooms are SUPER deceptive. The one is about 10x25 feet and the other is a good 13x13 or so.

I just looked back at the pictures and noticed it's hard to tell how big the rooms are lol.

[Cyber Fucker]

It looks cozy

[LiveDose]

Awesome Jon. You should be able to setup some great shoots in that joint.

[LoveSandra]

looks great.congrats

[Davy]

The walls are pretty ugly. I would definitely change that.

[Chosen]

Looks good

[VeriSexy]

Look nice from the inside

[JustDaveXxx]

Looks good,

[Jon Oso]

thanks guys

[Piotrek]

looking good.

[CaptainHowdy]

Originally Posted by Jon Oso

Is that a Bible ??

[tranza]

It is looking nice, congrats dude!

[Octopus]

Looking good, congrats!!!

[Spunky]

Nice little setup there

[LeRoy]

Looks good cant wait to see some content

[Jon Oso]

Originally Posted by CaptainHowdy

Is that a Bible ??

I honestly have no idea what book that is. He was showing me the progress and I think he told me what it was, I doubt we're going to use anything in that room other than the table and the couch, it's just there to get an idea of space and what a "finished" set could look like.

I still need to stop being lazy and drag my lighting down there.

[Scott McD]

Wow, looking very nice indeed !!!!!

[brilliant]

Looks like complete garbage, you guys must be pretty broke.

[Jon Oso]

Originally Posted by brilliant

Looks like complete garbage, you guys must be pretty broke.

LOL you must've missed the part where I clearly stated we have spent ZERO dollars on it and it's not done.

No problem though, I can take the criticism, though it seems you're the only one in the thread that thinks so.

FWIW we are definitely not broke between the two of us, but he owns and I run the club in the front part of the property, and THAT is our first priority, this is simply something to help create extra income per month. Not our full time obligation.

[brilliant]

Originally Posted by Jon Oso

LOL you must've missed the part where I clearly stated we have spent ZERO dollars on it and it's not done.

No problem though, I can take the criticism, though it seems you're the only one in the thread that thinks so.

FWIW we are definitely not broke between the two of us, but he owns and I run the club in the front part of the property, and THAT is our first priority, this is simply something to help create extra income per month. Not our full time obligation.

Everyone in this thread secretly thinks it looks like shit. The exterior and interior both, which is even funnier. People see the exterior first and it looks hodge podgy and low budget. They probably don't even want to go in the shed. Upon entering they realize it's so completely thrown together on a low budget. Even retarded models will notice that it looks cheap and instantly think they will probably be paid like shit.

[JP-pornshooter]

looks a bit on the small side of things but perhaps you are shooting small people..

[justinsain]

Looks great as an office space but I'm thinking it will be pretty tight for shooting pics. Not that it can't be done. I've set up three lights in my living room but there wasn't any room to move my lights around much or walk around for that matter.

I hope you find a way to make it work for you and post a few pics of your setup and the pics you took with it when your done

[Jon Oso]

Originally Posted by brilliant

Everyone in this thread secretly thinks it looks like shit. The exterior and interior both, which is even funnier. People see the exterior first and it looks hodge podgy and low budget. They probably don't even want to go in the shed. Upon entering they realize it's so completely thrown together on a low budget. Even retarded models will notice that it looks cheap and instantly think they will probably be paid like shit.

It's okay Eddie, I understand you're pissed off.

It's a lot easier and safer for anyone involved to shoot her rather than my condo. And unlike you people actually are willing to work with me so me shooting out of here is a good idea, especially for free, especially since I am able to do more with it because I'm not tearing up or constantly changing the place I live, which albeit is lacking furniture because I'm rarely home - is much nicer than your apartment. Hell I'm sure my floors are worth more than you pay for your apartment in a year, maybe even 5.

FWIW and to respond to your retarded statement on ICQ (which I've been ignoring until you decided to once again attack me on here) the rooms are pretty close to the sizes I listed. It's NOT a storage shed, just an old small office building that was used to store stuff when not in use. If you want I will go grab a tape measure and measure out each of the rooms and post up the actual sizes, since even though ANOTHER nick of yours got banned, I'm sure you will be back to read/respond/bug me on ICQ again.

And now to touch on a couple specific points.

People see the exterior first and it looks hodge podgy and low budget.

It is low budget. Why spend a ton of money on something though when I don't have to? Brilliant! The more money I put into this the less I have to give to models. Makes sense to me.

[quote]Even retarded models will notice that it looks cheap and instantly think they will probably be paid like shit[/qoute]

I tell girls exactly what they are going to get paid before I even meet them in person. So that point is pretty null.

BRILLIANT!

Can't wait to chat with you with your next nick, Eddie. Stay classy.

[Jon Oso]

Originally Posted by justinsain

Looks great as an office space but I'm thinking it will be pretty tight for shooting pics. Not that it can't be done. I've set up three lights in my living room but there wasn't any room to move my lights around much or walk around for that matter.

I hope you find a way to make it work for you and post a few pics of your setup and the pics you took with it when your done

Yeah like I said I don't know why the pictures came out the way they did, it looks SUPER tight but I'm pretty sure it's just because of the lighting. I literally had all the lights off except in the hallway when I was snapping pics so that might have contributed to how small it looks. It's not huge by any means but it's about the same size as my living room which i've been shooting in until this point.