My ghetto studio – making the best of what we have
by Kelli France, Editor-in-chief
When we lived in a rental home that looked like it was straight from the 70′s, I thought “There’s no way I can have clients come to my home for Ordering Sessions or for newborn sessions.” But then I changed my attitude and stopped making excuses that got in the way of my making my dreams happen.
I transformed my dining room into a lovely gallery and studio by pushing my dining room table up to the window where the most yummy light would shine through. I put the newborn on a beanbag from Target on the table and pinned blankets that doubled as backdrops to the wall. I joked with my clients that it was my “Ghetto Studio” but the images that I got were exactly what I was hoping for and my clients loved them and didn’t care at all about my “Ghetto Studio.”
{image taken in my “Ghetto Studio}
- the studio space we DON’T have
- the latest and greatest camera or lens we DON’T have
- the clients we DON’T have
It’s easy to say “I’ll be happy when ____________.”
This is a good reminder to make the best of what we DO have:
{Image Source The Veda House Blog}
These days, with PhotoShop plug ons and textures, the best lenses are great if you have them, but you can hardly tell the difference. I shoot with old manual primes that cost one tenth what Canon L glass costs. Yes, I work harder on focus with some extra hardware, but the results speak for themselves.
July 13, 2012 at 6:39 pmOh my goodness I so needed to hear this. I too have a “ghetto studio” I have to rearrange my whole front room to make a little “wanna be” studio. I am always saying things like, “I will be happy when I finally have my own space to shoot and not have to transform my house” but truth is my clients do love their photos and I don’t think they really care where I am shooting as long as the pictures turn out right. I will stop complaining and stop saying, “welcome to my wanna be studio” when they walk in.
Thanks so much for sharing!
July 13, 2012 at 7:09 pmThanks for this reminder! I have a home studio that has been working great. However it has some problems that I see as set backs so I dream of having a larger studio some day. This week I was bumming out because it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting a larger studio any time soon. So I tried telling myself that I just need to work with what I have and maybe find some ways to fix certain problems I’m having that don’t involve getting a new studio. Thanks for helping me see this more clearly!
July 14, 2012 at 2:33 pmI LOVE this post! SO so true, on so many levels, as you mentioned. I love reminding myself “bloom where you are planted!”.
Thank you for reaffirming!
July 22, 2012 at 9:44 amOh my word, I completely needed this today. I’ve Been feeling so limited by my very own “Ghetto Studio” …needed this perspective shift! Thanks for sharing and happy shooting!
January 23, 2013 at 12:39 pm