New Office/ Studio Need Advice from the Pros

[Lucid Photo]

OK, so I have been doing photography for all of about 6 months and have really gotten into it. I know that I don't know more than I know (is that philosophical or what). Anyways, I have to move my office because they want to raise my already high rent even higher and I found a space that would be perfect to put my office and a small studio.

So to make a long story a little shorter I am moving into a space with 900 sq feet and I only need about 160 or less for my "real job" and this will allow me to put a studio in the back. The space will be approximately 16 ft X 40 that I can use. The area that I use as my office can also double as a reception area for the studio when I need it. The location is OK, but I am not really looking for drive by traffic at this point as I still have my day job and want to keep it that way for a while.

Given this amount of space what would you do? I was thinking of painting one wall black, 2 white, and the third doing a texture and probably going with a light tan. Similar to what I saw that Mike and Holly had done at Belle's Studio in Abilene. Is this a good idea or not. I have several backdrops and as money allows I would like to put in motorized backdrop rollers and overhead lighting racks. We are working on a budget, so please take that into account. I already own Smith Victor hot lights and Alien Bees Strobes, so some of the lighting stuff has been taken care of. I mostly just want to find out your opinions on use of space and whether to paint or not.

Thanks to all of you for the help.
Ben

[Outlaw]

Congratulations, Ben! Here's a few ideas that popped into my head:

What about painting each corner of the room a different color, based upon your company colors? For example, I would do orange in one corner, blue in the next, and white in two others at the long end of my space. That's where I would put my backdrop. The colored walls I would use with select pieces of furniture for some interesting styles of photos. Each corner might have different flooring to coordinate.

I am sure anything Mike and Holly use is awesome, you can't go wrong flattering them with imitation.

Keep everything clean and ensure the atmosphere of your office and studio reflects the personality and style of your work. Other than that, the KISS rule applies. Be sure to keep us posted on what you decide to do, and of course, photos of the final product!

[Lucid Photo]

James,
Thanks. I am going to seperate the "office" portion from the "studio" with a wall and door. I really don't have any company colors although I did use a maroon on my business cards...... Anyways, I like the idea of using some other colors on 2 of the 4 walls. As far as flooring goes, I was going to strip and polish the concrete (friend of mine has a business doing this and will hook me up for free) and create different flooring designs using plywood covered with different tiles. Think this would work? I have access to a bunch of different styles of flooring (same friend :)) and thought that this would give me the opportunity to create different sets and styles. Just an idea not sure if it will work.

[Outlaw]

Hey, now that's an even better idea with the flooring! Using your existing contacts to offer something unique and provide yourself another unique selling point is great thinking.

I personally adhere to more simple means, trying to squeeze and work every last ounce out of a lesser number of options, so I would be more apt to just create three or four shooting spaces and leave them static until I can master and brand those looks as my own. With too much variety, you possibly overload your client with options, and it is harder to establish your own look. But again, that's just my style.

Never get caught up in the minutiae; make informed, intuitive decisions and then focus on how to better draw and serve your clients. I can't wait to see how your new studio turns out, and best of all, what the photos look like! What is your time line for opening the doors?

[davidzvi]

Ceiling height?

Instead of black, how about gray? It can always be made to look black with lighting tricks. So 2 gray, 1 white and 1 chroma green?