Recently I have had a couple of studio shoots within the Manchester area, which as a Freelance Photographer Manchester is fantastic because they are on my doorstep in an area I know very well.
Studio shoots offer a range of advantages to trying to capture images in a more natural location or in a more informal setting. Some jobs require a studio setting to get the images needed for the client. I have been lucky enough to work with both the Rugby League Partnership and Sky sports on two different shoots. These were both slightly different in that one was completely in a studio and the other was a combination of outside shots and then pictures inside the studio.
The advantages of doing a shoot inside a studio are that because you have complete control of (most) of the elements that happen inside the studio, you can produce exactly what the client wants out of the shoot with relative ease. You do not have to worry about changes in the weather, and therefore lighting, that occurs outdoors. You can eliminate lots of problems that may happen because there is not enough sun or too much which might cause the subjects of the shoot to squint or scrunch their eyes up a little tighter. It starts to rain (as it does in the UK) which can affect make-up on models, the list goes on. Within a studio setting, you can totally control the lighting, whether there is natural light coming in or a proper studio lighting setup. This means you can create high-quality, professional photographs every time.
You can put up backdrops, such as the BETFRED one in the Rugby League shoot which gives your photo some context or a different look.
As we are working with sportsmen in these shoots, if you are outside, crowds and fans can gather looking for photos and autographs, which is fine but does lead to some distractions which again, in a closed studio with people who are working this happens a lot less. It still does happen sometimes!
Mostly the best things about working within a studio setting is that you can get a level of consistency running through your whole shoot. Having the same or similar backdrops helps tie the collection of photos together but also helps you have some separation if you should choose to change the background slightly from picture to picture. It is much easier to do portraits in this way as there is less “noise” around and in the photo.
I enjoy studio work as it gives me a chance to be inside for a day or two which is a nice change to sitting next to a pitch in the rain. Variety is the spice of a freelance photographers life, as they say in Manchester, probably!