PICTURES IN A SMALL ROOM

MIKE MCNAMEE CALLS ON TOM LEE AND TAKES A TAPE MEASURE ALONG

With high street rentals and rates escalating in many areas of the country, more and more photographers are choosing to work from home-based studios. This brings with it substantial reductions in your monthly outlay along with a number of problems. The problems are; having to share your living space with both your family and business clients and sometimes a lack of space in which to work.

Tom Lee's Studio

We examine here how SWPP & BPPA Vice President,Tom Lee, has solved his own space issues. His studio is the upper floor space of his bungalow, substantially, the under the roof area. Space is particularly tight overhead and to the sides, which have necessitated the use of some cunning ruses to create more depth to the scene, than actually exists.

A plan of the studio area is drawn on page 28 and illustrates just the shooting and client viewing areas. The panorama at the head of this feature shows the full 360° view. Tom's office is is about another 1/3rd on the area drawn. The tapering roof rafters constrict the backdrop width to just 6 feet and Tom has "expanded" the width by creating a corridor of plants and props. Additional depth is create with the hand painted backdrop, which is slightly de-focussed and recessive in tones, and feel. The one used is in keeping with the low-key, traditional feel that Tom was after for this particular shoot.

To maximise the use of the dead space directly beneath the eaves Tom has placed his Epson 7600, 4000 and their print server to one side and prop storage area to the other. Camera to subject working distance is the least of Tom's problems in this studio, which enables him to shoot with moderate telephoto lenses to narrow the field of view, especially avoiding the problematic side areas.

The tripod is normally situated within the area set aside for client viewing on other occasions. Flash is triggered by remote infrared to remove the need for trailing leads. Background

The pair of shots [1] illustrates how the apparent chaos of the wide view is transformed in the actual shot and it is quite hard to imagine how the view is transformed as you move from 12mm focal length to the 50mm used for the proper shot.

ABOVE: Spot the difference. From top left follow the build up of Tom’s set.The final placement of the props is adjusted for each shot.

As part of the preparation for this feature we shot the breakdown of the studio.Normally it takes about 20 minutes to prepare the area for a sitting and this is always broken down again for a client viewing so as to create suitable surroundings for this important part of marketing. Clients are comfortably seated on a sofa and the digital show is projected across the studio to the pull-down screen on the opposite wall. Examples of Tom's albums and portraits are arranged around the room.

Portrait

Studio Setup

Photo Quote: Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man. - Edward Steichen