How to Set Up Your Own
Natural Light Photography Studio

 

Creating a natural light photography studio at home doesn’t need to be complicated!

I took this shot at home, in my living room, without the use of any expensive or complicated studio equipment. You’d never guess it wasn’t shot in a professional photography studio!

 

What You Need

The two essential ingredients for a clean studio style look are a good amount of soft light, and a plain, clutter free background.

Related: Clear the Clutter

Ideally, a plain wall in nice light is perfect because it eliminates the need for a backdrop.

DIY Photography Backdrop

However, I just don’t have that many plain walls in good light to use in my house… so I had to create my own!

But you don’t need a dedicated backdrop stand to do this. I have draped backdrops over chairs, a table, a clothes horse, the sofa, a bed… I’ve even had my daughter hold it up for me!

When you’re photographing small people, as long as you can drape your backdrop seamlessly and smoothly you can create a clean background. Ensure your blanket falls evenly to the ground, and use whatever you have on hand to stretch it out so that there are no obvious folds or creases which will work to distract in the photo.

Related: DIY Photography Backdrop Ideas

Finding Light

When starting out with natural light photography, soft light is the easiest to use flatteringly. It’s gentle, and it wraps around our subjects evenly without splashes of hard light.

The best place to find it at home is filtering through windows or doorways.

Related: Finding Light Indoors

Positioning for the Light

You can see in the pull back shot below I’ve draped a blanket as backdrop across the back of a sofa. It’s positioned parallel to the light source, which was coming from a window directly opposite.

Then I placed little Harry on the floor at a 45 degree angle to the window. Once I placed him on his belly, the light coloured carpet acted as a reflector, as it bounced extra light into his eyes!

I cropped the photo in Lightroom to ensure the blanket filled the frame. Alternatively I could have spread the blanket out a little more, but for such a tiny subject, it was sufficient.

Related: Lightroom Basics Class (free!)

Settings

As I mention in the video my settings were:

• ISO 400
• f/2.0
• SS 1/400
• Lens: 50mm

 

We hope that helped you create your own natural light photography studio! We’d love to see your set up, show us on Instagram using #clicklovegrow