How to make the most of small spaces when shooting portraits

by Gannon Burgett

posted Friday, January 9, 2015 at 12:17 PM EDT

 
 

In this video for Rangefinder Magazine, photographer Miguel Quiles shows how to make the most of a small space when shooting portraits.

Ideally, we’d all start our photography careers with a giant studio to work from. Realistically, we’re often left shooting in our garages or living rooms until we can get our portfolio built up. In this three and a half minute video, Quiles shares a few techniques and suggestions on how to make the most of small and awkward spaces.

 
 

His setup consists of a collapsable backdrop from Savage, a 400 Watt FlexFlash shot through a small Photoflex Octodome and Pocket Wizard Plus IIIs to trigger the strobe from his 5D Mark III with an 85mm f/1.2 attached. It’s not exactly entry-level gear, but you could easily substitute a few less-expensive options in place of his setup.

Gear aside, Quiles astutely calls out the misconception that you need an elaborate setup to get quality results.


 

(via ISO 1200)