Photo studio at fun fair


lkf73

New Member
Apr 8, 2004
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Hi, am thinking of setting up a photo studio at a fun fair as part of the program. It's for charity, so everything will be DIY. Set up is out door lighting. Event is for 3 hrs. Audience will be young families.

No experience at this at all, so would like some advise on even where to start searching. Eg, can we do it with an external wireless flash? How many flash do I need?

Any advise is welcome.
 

Are u going to print out the photos on the spot?
 

are u going to use a backdrop?

For the flashes, you can consider main light/fill light/background light

Also consider diffusers, umbrellas or softboxes or reflectors
 

Yes, the target is to print on the spot.

Will not have access to other source of lighting such as light box. Firstly, do not have the equipment, second do not have the skills.

I assume a diffuser will not be helpful since it is out door.

What material can we use for backdrop? Was thinking we can choose a better location with a clean background.
 

Outdoor lighting sounds like trouble for a setup like this. Your light source will be changing position & intensity throughout the day. Would advise you to get a sheltered location if possible. It would also be good to recruit someone with some experience to help you out.

I've done quite a few of these in the last year, but all have been indoors or at least under shade. We did these as part of promo work for a child/family photo studio. Mostly we used a painted cloth backdrop (country scene), then had a few props (cowboy hats and vests), and a rocking horse for the kids. A couple of noisemaker-type toys help get younger children to look at the camera at the right moment.

We used a single studio flash into an umbrella (don't fool around with multi-strobe setups unless you know what you're doing). The same setup would work in a shaded outdoor location. But if you're in direct outdoor light, fill-flash might be a better idea (hotshoe flash would work).

A word of caution: some parents can be quite demanding (paid or free), so make sure your deliverables are clear. If you're printing on the spot, ensure you can meet the demand. The typical 45-60sec dye sub printer can be overworked and result in long queues of impatient parents!
 

Edwin is right,

you can forget about doing it at outdoor, the lighting won't be consistent, it will be a headache even for a experienced photographer.

high speed printer is a must, you need one person to mend the computer and printer full time to ensure the printing is none stop.

one studio strobe with softbox just place high above camera is the best set up, and portable backdrop support with muslin backdrop is recommendable.

Even though your event is only last for 3 hours, but the cost of renting such gears is minimum a day and it is not cheap too, I doubt you able to recover the cost and rise the fund within such short time span. because you are selling prints, you will be spending more time asking them to buy prints than shooting them.

if you offer for free or less than $10, than you will see a long queue.
 

lkf73 said:
Hi, am thinking of setting up a photo studio at a fun fair as part of the program. It's for charity, so everything will be DIY. Set up is out door lighting. Event is for 3 hrs. Audience will be young families.

No experience at this at all, so would like some advise on even where to start searching. Eg, can we do it with an external wireless flash? How many flash do I need?

Any advise is welcome.

If u ask me, I say go ahead do it. It's for charity. The idea of charity fun fair is for fun. Yes, outdoor and print on the spot is challenging. But u can still shoot decent pics out. The most impt is you need to have good props like costumes, hats, big funky specs, lady gaga wigs, fake guns, arrows, dolls, whatever.

Make it like a fun wannabe character photo shoot. With this concept offered, ppl will not have high expectation of what outcome the pic will be.

As for printer, you get more than one printer to work. Or u can ask them to walk one round and come back later.

I no expert in studio, but it's good way for u to learn in this situation. All I can think is 2 umbrella strobes, backdrop. And that's it.

Btw, if u need extra hands to help out, PM me. I keen to join in. No need to pay me.
 

Thanks for your feedback. The event will be more fun fair type, so hopefully the crowd is more casual and forgiving :p

Will need to figure out how to DIY a backdrop. No budget to rent. Rather donate to charity :)

Forgot about the hardware to link camera to printer.... Or must I need a laptop or something?

Please keep your comments coming. Really really new to this..... I usually just take holiday photos and pics of my kids only. Nothing complex.
 

lkf73 said:
Thanks for your feedback. The event will be more fun fair type, so hopefully the crowd is more casual and forgiving :p

Will need to figure out how to DIY a backdrop. No budget to rent. Rather donate to charity :)

Forgot about the hardware to link camera to printer.... Or must I need a laptop or something?

Please keep your comments coming. Really really new to this..... I usually just take holiday photos and pics of my kids only. Nothing complex.

U can approach any studio to lend the hardware to u, in the name of charity. Some kind soul might agree to it
 

Thanks for your feedback. The event will be more fun fair type, so hopefully the crowd is more casual and forgiving :p

Will need to figure out how to DIY a backdrop. No budget to rent. Rather donate to charity :)

Forgot about the hardware to link camera to printer.... Or must I need a laptop or something?

Please keep your comments coming. Really really new to this..... I usually just take holiday photos and pics of my kids only. Nothing complex.

One way is to have a few memory cards, and pass the card to the person manning the computer... Got to have a system how you work with the computer guy. Shouldn't be hard to do.
 

I'll just probably improvise some suitable backdrop/props and use a Instax camera to shoot. Don't need to worry about laptop, printing out and that whole process. Especially if you're shooting alone.
 

J-Chan said:
I'll just probably improvise some suitable backdrop/props and use a Instax camera to shoot. Don't need to worry about laptop, printing out and that whole process. Especially if you're shooting alone.

Agree, that will save you a lot, which means you will have more for the charity. Its very fast to set up, no memory card, laptop or printer involved, dont even need extra manpower. Since it is for charity and fun, people wont care much about image quality or sharpness.
 

Instax camera is good idea.

FYI the pros charges $1000 to $1500 for mobile studio, it is at least a 2 man team with lights, background, fast laptop and hi speed printer.

So to pull of a similar thing is not cheap, you can DIY a some of things but not easy for someone who have no idea.
 

J-Chan said:
I'll just probably improvise some suitable backdrop/props and use a Instax camera to shoot. Don't need to worry about laptop, printing out and that whole process. Especially if you're shooting alone.

Good idea on instax camera. Fuss free
 

Instax camera is good idea.

FYI the pros charges $1000 to $1500 for mobile studio, it is at least a 2 man team with lights, background, fast laptop and hi speed printer.

So to pull of a similar thing is not cheap, you can DIY a some of things but not easy for someone who have no idea.

It is a lot less than that nowadays.. with all the people rushing in to do the same. $600 will pretty much get what you need. sad but true.
 

It is a lot less than that nowadays.. with all the people rushing in to do the same. $600 will pretty much get what you need. sad but true.
har? $600?
after investing on camera, lighting, backdrop, wifi, lap-top, printer, plus printing paper and all the replenish items, than spending 5 hours on site, travel, set up and tear down.
what is left to spit among the two persons?
 

Since it is for charity and fun, people wont care much about image quality or sharpness.

I'm not too sure about this, many at such fairs do not lower their expection just because it is for charity, have seen this happen too many times liow.
 

yqt said:
I'm not too sure about this, many at such fairs do not lower their expection just because it is for charity, have seen this happen too many times liow.

Can paste some photo samples at the stall.

Not happy, don't take. Happy, then take.

No need to argue
 

donut88 said:
If u ask me, I say go ahead do it. It's for charity. The idea of charity fun fair is for fun. Yes, outdoor and print on the spot is challenging. But u can still shoot decent pics out. The most impt is you need to have good props like costumes, hats, big funky specs, lady gaga wigs, fake guns, arrows, dolls, whatever.

Make it like a fun wannabe character photo shoot. With this concept offered, ppl will not have high expectation of what outcome the pic will be.

As for printer, you get more than one printer to work. Or u can ask them to walk one round and come back later.

I no expert in studio, but it's good way for u to learn in this situation. All I can think is 2 umbrella strobes, backdrop. And that's it.

Btw, if u need extra hands to help out, PM me. I keen to join in. No need to pay me.

Hahaha. Sounds interesting. If you need another pair of hands, PM me. I keen to join in. No need to pay me also. But would be good to let me know what charity event this is. :)
 

catchlights said:
har? $600?
after investing on camera, lighting, backdrop, wifi, lap-top, printer, plus printing paper and all the replenish items, than spending 5 hours on site, travel, set up and tear down.
what is left to spit among the two persons?

That's why ppl say photographers got no more rice bowl Liao