Welcome to my new studio space!  This is truly a dream come true for me.  For years I’ve worked in the storage room/toy overflow/camping gear/holiday decor/cluttered mess in our basement.  It had a lock on the door which was more of an illusion because it was never actually locked and when I told the kids to clean up, it was their dumping ground. I could also never hear the doorbell when I was in my dungeon.  When I would photograph products or food I would always use our sunroom because the light is just fantastic.  So my equipment was spread out on two floors of our house and I was a disorganized mess.

The red brick walls and cracked ceramic flooring of this sunroom room was never ideal for photography but I managed.  I still cringe looking at this before picture, yikes!

And while it wasn’t in the cards for a big budget makeover I managed to do all of this with a little help from friends and my husband.  I did a German Schemer on the brick with white mortar, and the floor we found at our local Habitat for Humanity.  Fresh new white curtains for a steal off of Amazon turns this room in to a huge soft box for ideal lighting conditions.

The bookcase was actually in our basement when we bought the house which was custom built for one of those 1990 projector big screen tv’s.  I almost trashed the whole thing until I realized that I could salvage it. So with a fresh coat of paint and the addition of a desktop I was able to have both a desk and storage for all my gear.  

I decided at the last minute to have my desktop be standing height.  I found the perfect bar stool that can also work as a model chair for portraits.  And my favorite thing about this unit is the storage on the sides of the unit for my backgrounds, tripods and stools where their used to be tall speakers.  Amazing how technology has come so far, no speakers needed.  My assistant Alexa works just fine.

One side has all the deep drawer space I could ever need and the other is shelves for my camera bag when not in use and reflectors.  

IKEA padded dividers work to house my lenses when not in use and keeps them safe in the drawer.  This is the Canon drawer, I also have one for flashes and for the FujiFilm.

My amazing husband installed the floor and helped me organize all my wires for my Mini-Mac and BenQ monitor.  This is probably my favorite part….organized wires under the desktop!!

I love that I can leave my equipment out and don’t have to convert my workspace back into a “living” space.

 

All my favorite photography and cookbooks are arms reach away (yes there is more packed away)

There is a lock on this door too, it will stay locked this time.  My room will be off-limits to my kids…I’ll let you know how that goes 🙂