Studio Colour

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mark19

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Ok im involved with a studio for a charity and we have a nice studio although I understand the Idea about having it painted with black walls I cant really see why some people are obsessed with the idea. most of the studios i look at are white walled which I think makes a better and more friendly environment for a studio that you have people in and out of all the time, not only that it leaves you options, but if you have it black its black and thats it. they do say it helps with the light control but surly if you set your lights correctly you wont have too many problems. we haven't up to now and its been going for a few years, just wondered what your thoughts on this would be black or white?:)
 
I think the best solution I've ever heard of (I don't have a studio) is white walls with black drapes you can pull over the walls in the shooting area to help control the lighting.
 
faddius said:
I think the best solution I've ever heard of (I don't have a studio) is white walls with black drapes you can pull over the walls in the shooting area to help control the lighting.
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That works, as long as the ceiling is painted black.

People who only want flat lighting don't need a black studio, because they aren't looking for controlled lighting - quite the reverse in fact. But, for more creative work, black or dark grey is a must, to prevent unwanted light from bouncing around the studio.

Obviously the larger the studio the further the light has to bounce, so it becomes less important as the studio gets bigger
 
What Garry said (although that makes this a candidate for the most redundant post ever on TP).

If you're shooting for fairly even lighting the white walls are helping you out. But as soon as you want precise control, then black walls is controlling your light properly.

The drapes are a great idea if you want a flexible space, a high black ceiling is a great asset too.

As with all things, it's the incrementals, how many photographers have the luxury of a daylight balanced grey processing space? How many would benefit?
 
Damien Lovegrove has at least one wall- and from images I've seen, more- painted in Dulux Ice Storm 2 which is the nearest to 18% grey. You'll find the article if you search his name with Ice Storm. ( It's a colour that has to be specially mixed from the Professional range, and is far from cheap before anyone gets a nasty shock at their local B&Q)

Although he enthuses about its use as a background, I can see advantages in having the whole studio done out in it.

Aside from the photographic advantages described by Garry, if I was receiving paying customers into a studio I would be avoiding having everything black if I could. Every 'all black' studio I have visited has always has had an unwelcome air, and not an atmosphere conducive to building interpersonal relationships for the benefit of good people photography.
I'd much prefer to see black curtains used to deaden the light with white painted walls.
 
The thing is, a customer is there for one reason alone. At the end of the day how often do customers visit a studio (unless they're a model etc), I don't think many people feel spooked by a studio - from experience I've had nothing but happy people as they're in the vibe element as they're about to look fancy in a new photo instead of using the standard P&S camera that Grandad bought 2 christmas's ago. Most studios also have a welcome area away from the studio for a start so I feel this thread is a bit pants! The subject is following the Tog's command, not looking at the black and thinking how drab it is....
 
If you're in a bright white environment then you'll likely need to look at something like black polyboards to give your subjects are crisper edge. Big or white walled studios can be harder to get this effect and at worst you start getting a hazy wash on your photo.

My personal choice would be black walls or at the least 18% grey, and I can always put white boards on the walls if I need to.

A neat solution I saw at Ray Lowe's small portrait studio was having white walls then black roller blinds on each side which went the length of the studio walls.
 
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