Perfection Made Simple: Starting A Personal Home Photography Studio

I’ve been thinking a lot about pictures lately. How badly i want to get picture of little Matthew when he comes. I have thought about pictures we got of Abby when she was newborn

I was also thinking about our at home photo shoot HERE

They were pretty good but there wasn’t much planning behind them or anything and just kinda threw up the backdrop and everything.

I have for a long time had a few things pinned on pinterest about setting up a simple at home photo shoot area. Then last week one of the photographers i ‘like’ on facebook posted a ‘behind the scenes’ of one of her newborn photo shoots and i was ‘Dude i could do this!’

So i went back to pinterest to look at my pins and plan some things out.

Here are my two inspirations:

So i know i need to up my props but i think i have a few and i might be able to barrow something from the in-laws cause they have some really cute vintage things.

Bob says he already has the stuff to make the holder for my backdrops. Then i need to buy a cheap piece of baseboard at the hardware store. And just a few minutes ago i order these:

A picture that was taken with the faux wood flooring

I also searched what other supplies i will need.

Bean Bag: Have
Various Fabrics: Have (but will want to get some more)
Soft Fuzzy Blankets or Fabric Pieces: Need
Baskets: Have Some
Vintage Drawer: Have

With the other pictures i took up in the upstairs bedroom i did the natural light from the window, which i can and will do again but I'm thinking i really want some other lights in there to help. I did a lot of searching on that and ended up with some great DIY lighting things i can do.

One i really liked is you buy the light fixture top and you make the stand with PVC pipe. There is even tutorials on making soft light boxes out of some material and cardboard boxes. I mean this is just for my fam, i don’t have to have the fancy stuff. Just the last pictures i took showed me that i could get some really good pictures myself…. plus if i had a little equipment they would be even better. Only thing i wish i had was a fancy camera LOL But maybe in a few years i can afford one. For now my camera works good enough for me, especially since i know some photoshop effects to put on pictures to make them look even better.

I found some cool light fixture tops on amazon that is actually through a photography company and has great reviews, $5.40 a top. I just so happen to have some amazon credit that made them free for two… and i think two would be plenty!

Then you make the stands out of PVC pipe. The tutorial i found for the stands costs about $10. So pretty cheap… if bob couldn’t even come up with a cheaper idea :)

With backdrop and prop changes i should be able to do all different kinds of pictures. I am really happy to find out that a lot of these ladies use fabric as the ‘wallpaper’ behind the pictures, this gives me all kinds of options. At first i thought i was going to have to use vinyl but I'm glad i won't really have to. These site gave ideas like: table cloths, sheets… that sort of thing, which is do doable!

I’m thinking:

Newborn Pictures
Anabel’s 4th Birthday
Abby’s 3rd Birthday
Heck Pictures of Matthew Each Month (Why not right?)
Thanksgiving
Christmas

Possibilities are endless and i think in the long run having this stuff should save me money, plus give me a hobby! Heck if i get good enough at it maybe i can shoot some pics of my adorable niece and nephews too.

One of the times i got professional pictures done it was in the ladies house, in a room were she just clipped up some fabric and took our pictures and we paid like $150… so why not at least try and do it myself? So far with this stuff i bought today i’ve paid less then $25. Yeah i will have to make the light stands and buy the baseboard (should be under $10 for sure) So I'm saving a ton of money i think. Only thing I'm not going to have that the lady had was a nice camera… but like i said, maybe one day.

I mean this pic was taken on my porch and then i added some photoshop effects to it and i love this picture… and that was with my crappy camera.