log cabin studio setup

hi all,we are thinking of getting a 4x3m log cabin and setting up a studio in it.
we are looking todo childrens/baby photos.
iv been looking at lighting setup`s,do we have to have a flash system or can we use constant lights ???
any feed back would be great.
can anyone recommend a set up,we have around £400.
thanks chris.

Hum,
We've just got a 5m x 3m cabin 2.5m high, which is as large as you'll be allowed close to the boundary without planning permission.

Children/baby would be fine or 2/3rds shots as you start running out of headroom. I've large doors and a window at one end so I can open them and shoot through if needed, plus two large side windows for natural light.

Mines fully insulated, double glazed with radiant panel heaters, over spec'd for the size of cabin but it warms up really quick when required. These type of heaters are great as they are small and don't get very hot to touch, just warm to very warm, so there's no burn hazard you get with some heaters. The insulated option is brilliant and I'd recommend it all the time. We can turn the heaters off and it doesn't get really cold and warms up very quickly.

For lighting, I've run a strip down the middle with 6 x 350 lumens led spot lighting, equivalent to 55w GU10 bulbs but only 6w. This is backed up with flashguns, brollys etc but room is a little tight with only 3m wide. I have access to a bowens 3 x 500w head setup if I need more.

The backdrop at the moment is a paper roll, but at some point I'll buy a highlight type.

At the moment it's been taken over as a teenage den but it doesn't take long to get it back into a studio.

Have a look at these people. This is ours:
http://dunsterhouse.co.uk/garden-of...x-5m-sunlight/3m-x-5m-radley-sunlight-office/
Total cost is about £8k for the fully insulated, installed, price. We had the pad system floor to further insulate it.

Decking starts going in around it this weekend.

Some of them look good so worth thinking about

thanks for your help.
so would you say i`d be ok with constant lighting ??
we have found the cabin we like and the planing regs are all ok for where we want to put it.

this would be my wifes full time job,which would need to earn us approx £16.000 a year,is that unrealistic ??
also thinking of doing budget weddings,pet,partys etc.

it also mean we have to sell our house and rent her dads bungalow untill we can afford to get a morage on it as it`s around the £210k mark.
the house has land which we dont,so this is why we would have to move.

powell7 said:

we have found the cabin we like and the planing regs are all ok for where we want to put it.

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Um, did you check with the actual planning department? Some log cabin site's interpretations of planning regs are "optimistic". Everybody said I didn't need permission for mine (which is 30 square metres) for all kinds of reasons. They were all wrong. I needed planning permission - fortunately I checked first so it only cost me £200 and an hour or two in Photoshop.

powell7 said:

this would be my lifes full time job,which would need to earn us approx £16.000 a year,is that unrealistic ??

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Yes and no. Plenty of people could "earn" that money from a cabin that size. But to be blunt, nobody here really knows if you can. You'd want to be thinking about turning over £500 - £1,000 per week to comfortably hit that (depending on your business model and other expenses). Does that sound likely to you?

Over 1m away from the boundary and my planning dept said I could cover 50% of my garden if I wished.

Byker28i said:

Over 1m away from the boundary and my planning dept said I could cover 50% of my garden if I wished.

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And mine gave me a completely different set of rules. Best checking with the actual planning dept.

And mine gave me a completely different set of rules. Best checking with the actual planning dept.

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Likewise !

I believe the rules you've quoted were changed in October 2009. In my area, you can be right up to the boundary, but no part of the structure can be more than 2.5m high within 2.5 of the boundary.

There are other rules as well, so you need to check with the planning dept.

Log cabins come under permitted development, you should check with your local council as it varies but the government recommendation on planningportal is something like:

Max eaves height of 2.5m, max ridge height of 4m.

Buildings where any part is within 2m of a boundary can be no more than 2.5m high at their highest point.

Buildings within 1m of a boundary need building regs if more than 30m2, or more than 15m2 if they are combustible (i.e. wood)

No more than 50% of the area can be taken up by original house + extensions / outbuildings.

There's lots of other stuff - talk to the council before you build!

Constant lighting is hot and cuncomfortable for the subject - as well as the photographer. Flash is more powerful also and with flash systems there are many more modifiers although that depends on the system you buy.

Personally I'd look at Elinchrom / Lencarta / Bowens budget end flash systems to start with.

What sort of images do you plan to shoot?