Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
I can't quite walk to retirement but I can sure get there by car. Insomuch that I can see it on the horizon, my wife and I are starting to contemplate this new chapter to our lives. Our last goes off to college this fall and we have 18 acres to build a house and two small simple studios (my wife is a glass artist and I have no desire to share a hot-shop). The studio I am imagining is North Light in the tradition of a 19th century studio space where the light is controlled/diffused by canvas with pulley's etc. I much prefer natural light to studio lights. Of course the studio would have to include a darkroom but for the purposes of this thread I am interested in portraits/ideas on the studio space itself with its concentration on a shooting space plus what ideas that would be indispensable to a working studio. I would love to see your studios if you currently have access to a dedicated shooting studio. Examples posted here much like the darkroom portraits thread would be optimal. If no photos what would you make sure to include in the studio space?
The limitations:
1,200 sf maximum(400 for darkroom give or take) so shooting space could be as large as 800 sf give or take.
Common materials to keep cost at bay.
The Goals: Space to be able to shoot from life size head and shoulders to full body with a 20 x 24 camera using lenses from 550mm to a 37 inch Dallmeyer 8D.
Questions that come to mind;
How to configure the square footage length and width wise?
How tall should the walls/ceiling's be?
What are the things to definitely avoid?
What must be included in a good working studio?
Are there modern or old pieces of literature that go into detail on the various types of North Light studios that would show examples?
Links to modern studios is fine as long as it doesn't exclude natural light.
What would you want in a shooting space? I've included one below to get the ball rolling.
Thanks in advance,
Monty
Moderators: I didn't quite know where to put the thread please feel free to move if you so choose.
https://petapixel.com/2018/01/11/bui...io-us-century/
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
Lots of good images of daylight studios here: https://kadenca.tumblr.com/F
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
I've moved the thread to "Style & Technique" and given it a new title that more clearly conveys what you're interested in.
< removes moderator hat >
It's wonderful that you will be able to do this - I hope someday we'll be able to see what you come up with. In the meantime I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's ideas, links, etc.
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
Sounds wonderful, Monty; you are going to have a lot of fun!
I'm also a fan of natural light for a studio. Have you considered including skylights?
Looking forward to hearing the progress of McCutchen Studios.
Best,
Merg
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
Wow great collection
Some remind me of Greenhouse and Mark Osterman’s observation of color of wall paint used is very important
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jason Greenberg Motamedi
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
Monty, one thing you may need to take into account in your studio design is your latitude. I suspect the split between roof-based and side-based windows will be very different in North Carolina and North Dakota. It's also seasonal, so you may want a system of adjustable blinds for roof-based windows.
Re: Designing a studio space for natural light portraiture
Monty, I've been looking into constructing a natural light studio as well.
Here's a fantastic book from 1902 that's filled with diagrams and instructions. Download a PDF and then start around page 53 -
Photo lighting : a treatise on light and its effect under the skylight, including chapters on skylight and skylight construction, window lighting and dark room work.
Marc