How to Make a Vintage Style Photoshoot in your House without a Studio
Looking for tips on making a vintage setup in your house without a studio? Look no further, I’ve got you.
It is an absolute dream of mine to have my own studio someday. I know I’ll reach that goal eventually, but in the meantime, makeshift studio sessions will have to do.
This client wanted a fun vintage-style photoshoot to celebrate her upcoming birthday. Without having a studio, I chose to get creative around my house & use items that I already had + a quick trip to a local antique store.
First off, I knew I needed to figure out my locations. I have an “office” with a large white wall that I knew I wanted to use. I also have a sunroom with large windows letting in lots of natural light, so I decided to utilize that area as well.
In the office, I wanted to setup a table with vintage accessories. I knew my client was bringing a red/pink birthday cake as well as some red roses. I put a white tablecloth over my office desk to use it as our table. I had some black candles and tall candlesticks, but I wanted more accessories to complete the look. I ran to Walmart & grabbed a bottle of Pink Moscato as well as a cute wine glass, then I went to a local antique shop & found the PERFECT vintage phone.
In the sunroom, I needed to cover a large window to give a more solid backdrop, so my husband & I grabbed an old white sheet & nailed it into the wall (we could have used a less aggressive approach but this wall is getting wallpaper soon so a couple holes weren’t going to bother it). I have a couple of white tufted chairs so I brought one into the sunroom to use for some of the photos. I ended up bringing a lot of the props from the other setup into the sunroom & I even added a pair of pink heart sunnies to give it a little more pop.
For the vintage vibe, I shot mostly with flash. I experimented with direct & indirect, but I ended up really loving how the direct flash shots were looking. I also used a pair of pantyhose over my lens to give that film look. Personally, those were some of my favorite shots. I love how moody it makes the photos & it’s so effortless. Those photos don’t need much editing in my opinion, so it really is a win/win.
Although I thought we would use natural light for the sunroom photos, we ended up not shooting until the sun was already down (hair & makeup took a little longer than planned, by yours truly hehe). We ended up strictly shooting on flash & when I didn’t use flash, I cranked up my ISO to give a dark, shadowy appearance while catching the light of the candles.
This shoot was an absolute blast & a great reminder that you don’t need fancy studio setups or extravagant lighting to create beautiful images. You can make the most out of what you have & whatever you may buy for a session, you can always use it again for future sessions & it’s a tax write off for your photography business! So in girl math, that basically means it’s free haha.
