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Wheatfield · 08-03-2008, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by foots

Hello everyone, I what to get a building that will serve as my at home Studio, and I was wondering what would be a good size to have it build e.g. 20x20 or what? And how high should I try to get the ceilings? Any help would be great. Thanks

The bigger the room, the more versatile it is. I worked at a studio once that had an overhead door, and was large enough to shoot 5 motorcycles (though only one car) with a normal focal length lens.
We rarely had vehicles in, but it was nice being able o have several jobs on the go, at the same time, and to have several semi-permanent sets.
OTOH, if you just want to be able to shoot half length portraits, then your needs can be fulfilled in your basement.
The studio we just moved out of gave us about a 24 x 24 foot room, IICR. It was good enough for most of what we did, larger groups were a problem, but it was rare enough that we would just rent a conference room at a hotel.
Where we are now gives us about the same shooting space, but has a better laid out office and customer area.

Anyway, figure out what the biggest thing is that you are likely to want in your studio, go out and find one and see how far away from it you have to be with the lens you want to use. Add a few feet for the background. Add 10%-20% to allow for some elbow room and theres your length. Width wise, Unless you are shooting cars, I really don't think anything bigger than 20' is needed, with 24' being nice.
My ideal room would be 24'x32' with an overhead door. I'd tell the city it was a garage.
A taller ceiling is better than a shorter one, 9' absolute minimum, 12' is the ideal compromise, though I'd go a bit taller if I could.

08-03-2008, 05:58 PM	#6
Wheatfield Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Gallery Photos: 0 Posts: 1,243	Originally Posted by foots Hello everyone, I what to get a building that will serve as my at home Studio, and I was wondering what would be a good size to have it build e.g. 20x20 or what? And how high should I try to get the ceilings? Any help would be great. Thanks The bigger the room, the more versatile it is. I worked at a studio once that had an overhead door, and was large enough to shoot 5 motorcycles (though only one car) with a normal focal length lens. We rarely had vehicles in, but it was nice being able o have several jobs on the go, at the same time, and to have several semi-permanent sets. OTOH, if you just want to be able to shoot half length portraits, then your needs can be fulfilled in your basement. The studio we just moved out of gave us about a 24 x 24 foot room, IICR. It was good enough for most of what we did, larger groups were a problem, but it was rare enough that we would just rent a conference room at a hotel. Where we are now gives us about the same shooting space, but has a better laid out office and customer area. Anyway, figure out what the biggest thing is that you are likely to want in your studio, go out and find one and see how far away from it you have to be with the lens you want to use. Add a few feet for the background. Add 10%-20% to allow for some elbow room and theres your length. Width wise, Unless you are shooting cars, I really don't think anything bigger than 20' is needed, with 24' being nice. My ideal room would be 24'x32' with an overhead door. I'd tell the city it was a garage. A taller ceiling is better than a shorter one, 9' absolute minimum, 12' is the ideal compromise, though I'd go a bit taller if I could.