Studio ℹ️ 📸

Graphics intensive page – please be patient while images appear…

[Jump to photo gallery] Sometimes new models ask about the waist.it studio. These questions include…

What it’s like?
How big is it?
Are there any changing facilities?
Is it heated?
Is there any parking?

So here is a brief overview, together with some “behind he scenes” photos. This should give you a general idea about the studio. The studio has been carefully designed to create a warm, pleasant, productive and safe working environment. It is very flexible and is especially geared-up for vintage pinup, fitness and corsetry shoots. We use a careful combination of old-fashioned techniques and modern up-to-date technology to create authentic vintage style dance, fitness and pinup images.

Old fashioned images, for the modern digital world

2017-10-22 Studio out-take shot showing lighting and well-used backdrop – while Stephy laces her sister Isabel into a tight black under-bust corset, preparing for the next set.

Environment

[Jump to photo gallery] The main studio measures approximately 6.45 metres long x 3.81 metres wide x 2.37 metres high – a floor area of approximately 24.6m² and a volume ≈ 58.2m³ It is kept warm by two radiators with a total combined maximum heat output of ≈ 4.5 kW. There is also a generic industrial dehumidifier to keep the studio ≈ 60% RH (relative humidity). To optimise floor-space, there are two wall-mounted extensible lighting booms, each pre-wired with IEC 60320-C13 leads and fitted with standard 16 mm spigots for mounting either flash or continuous lighting. There are various other pre-wired 16 mm mount points too, including two ceiling mounts and several more on the Dexion metal racking behind the photographer.

Equipment

Backdrops

There is a selection of professional quality, seamless, coloured paper backdrops, 2.72 metres x 11 metres, suspended safely from the ceiling joists, on a 6-way, radio-controlled motorised backdrop system. These backgrounds can be mixed-and-matched with the costumes the model chooses to wear, in order to achieve a pleasing blend of colours.

Lighting

Studio flash

The model is usually lit by mains-energised flash. This normally consists of:-

two 400-joule flash heads, shone through either 50 cm x 70 cm or 140 cm x 40 cm soft-boxes for main lighting. These are normally mounted on extensible wall booms.
a second pair of 200-joule heads for fill-in illumination, if needed.
a third pair of ceiling-mounted 360-joule units to highlight the model’s face and hair.
a further 200-joule unit with a Bowens adaptor and a gobo projector mounted on it semi-permanently.

All seven flash units are wirelessly-triggered from the camera and can be switched independently. There are further spare flash-heads available on site that can be deployed should one of the main units fail. Heavy lined curtains block out daylight, but can be opened if daylight is required.

Continuous lighting

Studio also offers various forms of LED (light emitting diode) “continuous” lighting technology, arranged in a similar multi-point configuration to that detailed above. We are currently experimenting with the latest remote-controlled RGB+CCT (red, green, blue plus controlled colour-temperature white) LED. There is also a little of the older type CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) type continuous lighting too. However we have almost completely phased-out CFL in favour of the tougher and safer LED type. In any event, we are continuously upgrading and improving the studio. Therefore the exact lighting configuration(s) may be subject to change and improvement.

Natural lighting

The studio has windows, totalling around five square metres all face north, and offer good, shadow-free natural lighting, when the curtains are opened. There is also a pleasant, small but secluded garden, roughly 90 square metres, adjacent to the studio, that can be used for some outdoor shots, weather permitting.

Seeing yourself

Large PC monitor

There is a high definition 1080p, 101 cm screen, mounted directly behind the camera, connected via HDMI to a GNU/Linux Media Server. Periodically, the photographer can download images from the camera(s) onto the server, and display them on-screen, so that the model can see them, whilst they are filming the next set. The photographer can also show a collection of vintage poses that the model can emulate if she wishes. This can be helpful for improving the model’s poses.

Mirrors

There are also plenty of long mirrors, so the model can see how the she looks, and make any adjustments necessary.

2016-11-06 Fleur in blue vintage style bra and girdle posing with blue 120 cm mirrors.

Other equipment

Fog machine.
40 cm steel blade fan.
Variety of brollies, soft-boxes, gels and modifiers.
Collection of vintage radios, telephones and a variety of other vintage props – all of which, actually work!

Models changing area

There is a heated (≈1kW), well-lit, lockable, private changing room/toilet, located roughly 6 metres down a carpeted passageway, that models have exclusive use-of during the shoot. In addition to toilet, hot and cold water, and wash basin, there is also a large make-up mirror and a large frosted window that lets in plenty of daylight.

Getting here

Exact details of location, transport and parking will be included in your shoot-plan. We are generally pretty easy to get to. It’s about ten minutes from the mainline railway station and central bus station, and there is off-street parking for a normal family-sized car up to about 4.5 metres in length, if you prefer to drive.