Come along as I give a tour of my new studio! Including, a lot of the gear I have in the space!
I am really excited to get to work in this vintage loft space located on Chicago’s west side.
Click here for a full list of all the gear I use in the studio –
This video was shot with a
Canon Cinema EOS C70
Adorama
Amazon
B&H
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Adorama
Amazon
B&H
Items mentioned in order of appearance
Tennis Balls, 15 Pack Practice Tennis Balls for Beginners
Hansong Large Vanity Mirror with Lights
Insignia™ – 2.5 Cu. Ft. Retro Mini Fridge – Baby Blue
QEEIG Floating Shelves 36 inches Long – Wall Mounted Shelf Farmhouse Bathroom Bedroom Kitchen Living Room Large Extra Long 9.3″ D x 35.4″ W Set of 2, Rustic Brown (008-90BN)
Bazaar Odessa Gray/Blue 7 ft. 10 in. x 10 ft. Indoor Area Rug
Albany Double Diamond Center Medallion Persian Style Rug – Threshold™
Manfrotto 045- 6 Background Holder Hooks Holds up to 6 Backgrounds
Impact Deluxe Varipole Support System – Black (Pair)
Impact Varidrive with Silver Metal Chain
If you want a kit with both the poles and the rack with metal chains, I would buy this, but the poles will be chrome. Impact Deluxe Varipole Support System with Metal Chain Kit
J-Hook
STUDIO TITAN 01-450 Mono Camera Stand
Studio Titan Camera Stand STA-01-360 MK2
Adorama
B&H
Studio Titan Side Kick STA-06-090
B&H
Benro 3-Way Geared Head (GD3WH)
Studio Titan America Camera Stand Portable Side Kick 3-section STA-06-093 Full Option Kit
Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro HDMI Live Stream Switcher
Nanlite Forza 500 LED Monolight Adorama
Nanlite
B&H
Nanlite Para 90 Quick-Open Softbox with Bowens Mount (35in)
Adorama
Amazon
Nanlite
B&H
Saddle Stool Rolling Chair for Medical Massage Salon Kitchen Spa Drafting,Adjustable Hydraulic Stool with Wheels (Without Backrest, Black)
Nanlite Asymmetrical Stripbank Softbox with Bowens Mount (18x43in) Adorama
Amazon
B&H
Nanlite FS 300B Bicolor LED Monolight
Adorama
B&H
Drapes
BGment Blackout Curtains – Grommet Thermal Insulated Room Darkening Bedroom and Living Room Curtains, Set of 2 Panels (52 x 120 Inch, Black)
BGment Fashion Sliding Door Curtain 100 X 120 Inches, Wide Thermal Blackout Curtains Room Darkening Room Divider Window Curtain, 1 Panel, Black
set.a.light.3D
Studio Titan Side Kick STA-06-090
Imapact Counter Weight
Elinchrom FIVE
Adorama
Amazon
B&H
Studio Titan Rack & Pinion Geared Crank Stand STA-06-200
V-FLAT WORLD Foldable V-Flat, Set of 2, Black/White
Adorama
Amazon
Impact Wall Mounting Kit with Metal Chain for Roll Paper
Most of my painted backdrops are from Gravity Backdrops
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Dressing Room
02:17 Hair & Makeup
05:12 Storage & Dining Table
06:12 Green Set
06:50 Paper Backdrop Set
09:45 Camera Stands
12:08 Drapes
13:18 Mole Richardson Lights
13:59 Studio Titan Light Stands
15:24 Painted Backdrop Set
17: 35 Flags and Closing
Music: Evolution and Going Higher by Bensound
Comments
41 responses to “Studio Tour: John Gress's Chicago Portrait Photography Studio”
Well.. 9 months ago, so maybe the studio got changed a lot. Amazing space. the only one thing that I maybe add, it is a full body mirror on the left of the make up station. Love it…
Hope you can keep that studio space. It's my dream studio space – wow!
My first was the DSLR was Kodak DSC-315
Do you have a link to that boom arm on the crank stand? Thanks!
Hi John, an alum from your Brooklyn workshop here. I have a large space with an 11' ceiling. What height would you suggest I hang my paper backdrop rack at?
And second question, what are you using for the wood-like flooring platform you put in front of your seamless in some shoots? Is it a DIY solution?
Tx for the video, may I ask how wide is your background ? 2,2m or 2,7m ? Can't really say
John your studio looks amazing. I have a 2 questions for you. If you have a time and answer I will be more than appriciate. I want to rent space like you have and invest for all decorations and lights, and I want to rent it hourly as a studio
1. What was a estimate cost for built the stuido you have now?
2. As a photographer do you think is there any demand for studio ?
Thanks for your respond
❤
This is ace. Cheers for the walk around and insights. You’ve built an awesome space!
Congratulations, John. That looks like an awesome studio space to create in. I watched your tour along with my daughter who offers you the suggestion that even if you're a bad plant dad, you may find great success with cacti. Good luck with all of the creative work that you do. Looking forward to more videos. 😊
What a loft! I have a similar empty space but in the cellar, i will definitely use you tips, thank you John💙💛
The uneven floor… in UK we have something called self levelling compound.
John, you ask for homey feel advice… my idea…. find models favourite music and have that in the background, fresh coffee on tap. Maybe some magazines for the waiting around time.
so nice
John, the backdrop holder where you have three on one side and three on the other…are those the painted canvas drops? I haven’t found a good way to have them on a rack yet. It’s a lot of work taking one all the way down and installing another one to shoot different painted backdrops in one day. Very curious how you store your painted backdrops and what type of pipe you have them on that won’t end up sagging from the weight. Ty!
Thank you for showing us around your fabulous studio. Love your easy going style John. Just found your channel, through one of Manny Ortiz's videos. Look forward to watching more. Best, from England, U.K.
having a studio in the middle of the city would be a struggle to find parking and the traffic so I bet you get more business being away from that.
I found most of photo studio using white color as their wall and ceiling. What is your consideration for choosing the 'non-white' color as your studio set-up? Any pros and cons for choosing gray and bricks as your main background?
The new studio is fantastic John! Everyrhing is so organized. I can't wait to visit.
That studio is much better, because of the higher sealing. 👍
So glad I found your content. I opened a studio in Montana and you are amazing
@JohnGress Absolutely love your studio john! Love what you did with the place. Congratulations and i wish i had that big of a space to shoot. Do you mind sharing where you got those cases you have hidden behind the backdrops? I'm looking for a similar type case for lighting and light stands for travel and for location shoots.
Thanks for sharing your studio!
You are nice! congratulations
Studio stand – the link in the introduction to the video refers to a Titan stand without the dual axis arm that – I would say – is imperative. The Titan's price may seem titanic, but relative to the classic brands is really cheap. Even the $2K version with horizontal arm is cheap relative to the $6K base price for Foba, Linhof, Cambo, etc. (brands with great history and reputation). You'll need the horizontal arm to comfortably work with these stands.
I would consider mounting an – say – A4 or Letter size tablet on the other end of the horizontal arm (or potentially a notebook computer as tether station). We often think our shots are perfect (e.g. sharp) on the small display when they are not on the larger display.
In my "boom" other comment, I reference a boom arm in a parallelogram design and as that can carry some 26 lbs, I have considered a second one as a camera stand. It needs a junior stand on wheels and the advantage is that its feet are not in the way of my big feet. But, on the fence, I may need someone else to try this and make a video review about it, before I try.
Boom – not seen a lot, but very clever is the boom arm with a parallelogram mechanism. It has 4 pivoting points connecting 4 rods in an adjustable parallelogram configuration. One rod hold a stud for the light modifier, another extends beyond the stand's end and holds adjustable counterweight. Strong enough to hold some 26 lbs. What's the point? Well, pull it down and adjust the light (modifier) angle and push it back up – the angle does not change.
You'll find a Cambo brand 6' boom (RD-1201) for about $900 ($730 without the lead shot in the counterweight bags RD-1200) or a $650/$530 RC-1101/1100 with almost 3' range (~80cm) (for this 81cm boom length, the total arm length is 132cm, so there's 51cm sticking out on the other end to hold the adjustable counterweight bag.)
You'll need a "junior" light stand to carry this – not the basic "baby" – see my "junior" comment.
I bought a vanilla brand one that is about half the price and very good, but it doesn't have a fixation in one light movement direction, but rather a friction thing that does not really arrest a larger softbox, depending on how it is mounted – so I keep a super clamp at hand to arrest that. You'll have to go see one before you buy, I suggest. Shipping back can be a hassle.
That junior lightstand in my case is on wheels.
"Junior" lightstand – as you mention the big Manfrotto stand being "junior" it's good for people to know the what they consider standard size spigots at 5/8" (15.874mm) diameter is called "baby" in US studio jargon. The next size up is called "junior" and then there's "senior". As "bigger, taller" gives longer levers for forces (weight) to work on, tube sizes and strengths need to improve and that's where the larger sizes come in.
Looks nice and professional. One problem you may encounter: the 6 roll backdrop. You seem inclined to leave the paper rolls on there and swap background depending on taste, mood. Easy, fast. The problem with this system is that the paper rolls will sag over time, in the middle. This then causes the paper on the roll to become corrugated in the middle. Annoying if you have to Photoshop that out.
There's only one way to prevent that: take the rolls off and only put them up for a shoot. Store the rolls in their boxes, perfectly flat, or make a rack that holds them perfectly vertically. The longer the rolls, the faster the problem occurs. It will take an engineer and some finite element analysis to calculate what wall thickness – say aircraft grade aluminium – tube you would need to insert as prophylaxis.
Chairs: they look great, but there's two kinds and I would have them all the same model – not necessarily the same colour, though – if you want a toned down style and leave exciting colour to the shoot area, take e.g. tones of grey. As a client: do I sit on the leather(ette) one with the cushion, or is it for the owner? Also, the table is large and allows distance between you and clients – that distance creates a comfort zone in which taking a decision becomes very relaxed to them. I would prefer a round table, I think, not very big.
NIce studio
Wow! Thanks for sharing, your studio is inspirational.
thats for share master The New Studio look perfect 🙌🏻
Hi John. Great space, but I think as a decorator you are a great photographer. The best part is having to set various scenes, but a studio has to have magic, a modern ambience and a good use of space. But it's all up to each person's taste. Good video and all the best to you.
If you use chairs as props in your photos, then perhaps surround your table with 6 or more eclectic chairs that could serve dual purposes.
I have to rethink autopoles. I've been hesitant to use them for stability reasons but since you have 6 backdrops on each set maybe they are stable after all.
You are truly a light Master John. I love watching your videos.
That's a really good space you have there. I always enjoy your videos, your style feels like you are talking to a person, not lecturing them.
my only question is wheres the bathroom😂😂
John that’s a beautiful studio. I also moved out of my old studio and looking for a new place. What’s is the total square footage of your studio?
Congrats and may the new place makes you a great living.
Look up Maker Pipe and you can create structures using EMT Conduit and it's AMAZING!! If you wanted a more secure structure for the changing area, shelving, rigs, etc. You can literally make anything with them. It's super great to have.
Very nice studio. Glad I discovered your channel.
Love the video John
With the chains for the backdrops, how did you find them? I have the plastic ones and they have the same issue!
Thanks for sharing!!
Nice Studio! Very well thought out. Great place for creativity.