Studio rental Guides

How to practise photography in a studio: five exercises for a first session

A studio is the best place to practise, because nothing changes unless you change it: no clouds, no passers-by, the same light every time. Here are five exercises for a two-hour session, from the simplest to the most playful. Bring a friend to sit for you, or a few objects if you practise alone.

Up to 5 people pay the base price, so a small group of friends can share one booking. At the start we help you set up the light and the backdrop, free.

1. One light around a face (25 minutes)

One strobe with the 90 cm octabox, grey paper behind. Put the light in front of the person and walk it around them in steps, like the hours on a clock: front, 45°, 90° to the side, behind. Take three frames at each position without changing the camera settings. On the 65″ screen you will see the same face go from flat to sculpted to dramatic. This one exercise teaches more than an evening of tutorials.

2. High key and low key (25 minutes)

High key: white paper, the person 2 metres from it, one light on the face and a second light aimed at the paper until it turns pure white. Bright, clean, few shadows.

Low key: close the blackout curtains, hang the black fabric backdrop, one light with a grid from the side. Almost everything goes dark; only the side of the face is lit. Same person, same room, opposite mood.

3. A product on the sweep (25 minutes)

Bring three objects: something matte, something shiny and something transparent, like a mug, a bottle and a glass. White paper sweep, two stripboxes from both sides. The matte object is easy; the shiny one shows every light as a reflection; the glass needs light from behind. Move one stripbox at a time and watch what changes.

4. Colour with gels and RGB (20 minutes)

Keep the key light white on the face and put a coloured gel or an RGB accent light on the backdrop or behind the person as a rim. Try two colours that sit opposite each other, like blue and orange. Keep it subtle first, then push it. This is where most people get the frames they actually post.

5. Movement (15 minutes)

Turn on the windblower for hair or a loose fabric, or add a little haze from the smoke machine and switch to continuous LED (Godox SL300 III or SL150). Shoot a burst, or film a short clip. Movement shows how fast your shutter speed has to be and what continuous light does that flash cannot.

Keep 10 minutes at the end

Setup and cleanup are inside your booked time. Put the backdrops back on their rolls, switch off the lights and leave the room as you found it. Keep food, confetti and glitter off the set: if the room needs real cleaning afterwards, it costs €60.

After the session

Pick your best frame from each exercise and write down the light position and settings next to it. Next time, start from those notes and change one thing. That is how a single session turns into a skill.

Practise with other photographers

These exercises go faster with people around you: one sits, one shoots, one moves the light, and everyone sees each other’s results. Regular practice in a group is how most photographers really learn studio work.

If you want that, join Lux Photo Club and practise with other photographers: walks, meetings, workshops and courses for photographers in Luxembourg.