Home studio suggestions

[Andrea Brewing]

Ok, so here's the scoop. I want to create a studio in my home. I have printed a couple of backdrops on a 13oz matte banner material. The wall is 7' tall by 6' wide. It is 11' from the backdrop to the oppostie wall. I do not have lighting yet. Based on the room size, what is the best set up for me to have? I did a couple of tests shots using a desk lamp about 6' away and pointing at the back drop (and my son) just to see if there was room enough and it appears that there is. I'm thinking I need one light from above and one facing? I can see a slight glare from either my flash or the light, not sure which, on the backdrop. Below are the test shots. Keep in mind that my son is nine and goofy!

[jrome]

If it were me, I would get a couple of softboxes with grids and separate your subject (son) from the background a little bit and aim the lights at him, mainly from the sides. The grid will keep spilling from the lights from lighting unwanted areas, and the softbox will help with harsh light. As far as keeping the background from being "shiny", I'm not quite sure how to light it without encountering that problem.

[Michael]

I agree, softboxes with grids would work well. Softboxes provide soft, even lighting without the spill of an umbrella. With small spaces, spilling light becomes a big problem because it ends up bouncing around and gets where you don't want it. The grids help reduce spill even more. I would also add a strobe with a grid as a hair light.

That takes care of your subject, but the background presents a different problem. In most studio lighting, you want to light the subject and the background separately. Otherwise, your subject throws shadows on your background or your background light throws light on your subject. If your background -which looks very cool, by the way- is very high gloss, I would try sidelighting it, backlighting it if its translucent, or sticking a polarizer on your lens or background lights.