How I Built a Photo Studio in a Tiny NYC Apartment
New York City is known for many things, but one of those is not the convenience of space.
Living in a tiny apartment has its advantages and disadvantages, like the fact you'll likely be paring down and simplifying your existence to fit into a small space. This was the same reality that I found myself a few short years ago when I moved into a 500sq ft prewar brownstone on the Upper West Side of New York City.
Even given the small footprint, I wanted to find a way to live and work in my apartment and maximize the $2,500 that I shelled out to the landlord each month. Doing so meant that I needed to be incredibly creative with my decorating and furniture placement, given the limited storage space and minimal walking area.
(Below, you'll find everything that I used to turn a 6ft x 10ft square space in my tiny New York City apartment into a full-fledged photography studio.)
BUILDING THE STUDIO
To make this a reality, I knew that I needed to invest in photography equipment that could be easily collapsed or put away when not in use. Second, I wanted to make use of the North-facing window in the apartment as it produced beautiful light throughout the day.
Therefore, I elected to use the smallest corner in the living room, closest to the window as my studio space–a footprint of 6'x10'. A far cry from a fully-fledge photography studio, but completely doable.
Below, you'll find the list of equipment that I used to build my set (minus the studio lights). While everything is collapsable, I elected to keep the background poles up because of their small footprint.
WHAT I USED
Backgrounds Stands: Manfrotto Autopoles ($115 each)
Background Crossbar: Manfrotto Adjustable Crossbar ($65)
Background: Savage 53” by 36’ Seamless Background ($35)
Light Stand: Avenger Turtle Base Kit ($200)
Boom Arm: Avenger D600 Mini Boom Chrome ($125)
Super Clamp: Manfrotto Super Clamp ($30 each)
U-Hook Crossbar Holder: Manfrotto U-Hook Set ($10)
THE RESULTS
To effectively create a small studio space, you’ll want to be purposeful with the placement of your studio equipment. I was lucky enough to have a chance to shoot dozens of editorials in that space, along with shooting a celebrity portrait–in 60sq ft of space. Below, you’ll find a few images and a video of making the most of out a tiny New York City apartment.
