Stage Hill 8. And everything you need to know.

Natural light photo studio for rental in Los Angeles

Last but not least. You will remember stage Hill 8 because of its props, I assure you. Featuring Red London Phone booth installed as well as wood, sliding barn doors and wine barrels, this stage will most likely be endeared as “the red phone booth stage”.

#Stage_Hill8

Dimensions

This stage is almost identical to stage Hill 7 for its size, going 37 feet by 20 feet in dimension. The height is the same as you would expect at any hill stage – about 12 feet.

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Windows

There is one wide window facing North West, bring a chunk of golden hour inside at the sunset. Other time this stage is well lit. So plan accordingly.

Electricity

You get 60 amps. Perfect for any photoshoot and good for a small size video shoot.

Looks

Adorned by props, this stage will bring the same quality of photo as Art 3, on grounds of uniqueness, quality of ambient light, and equipment options.

Equipmnet

As any of our stages, Hill 8 comes with 3x strobe lights, 3x preinstalled paper seamless backdrops – white, black, grey, make up station with 2x chairs, and other amenities.

Perks

Red London Phone booth. Wooden sliding barn door. Wine barrels. Big awesome wine barrels.

Psychology of light with David Bergman

Did you know that our eyes tend to look at the brightest part of the photo first? When working on the composition of your photo, keep this fun psychological fact always in mind. This is one of tips that photographer David Bergman shares with us in his quick 2 minute Youtube video on Adorama TV channel. In fact, let’s perform an experiment. In the first photo below, the sky is overblown white, while buildings are in the shadow. As an instinct, your eyes to tend to look towards the sky first, leaving buildings much lower level of attention. Now, on the contrary, if we make sky darker and highlight buildings instead, like seen on the second photo below, our eyes shift the attention of buildings more. The same trick can be applied towards portrait photography as well. When placing a model in front of the camera, if the outfit is white or very bright, it might steal the attention from model’s face. Of course, to remedy that, you can play with the intensity of the light on the strobe. Or you can change a modifier towards more directional light by putting a grid, or even using a snoot. However, it might still get you an undesired result. The easiest fix in this case is to have your model dress in darker outfits. Just look at how the perception of the model changes as she is dressed in black. Keeping in mind this lighting trick will hopefully boost your performance as the photographer and help create better quality results. Tune in to David Bergman’s 2 minute quick tip videos on Adorama TV channel. This photographer never disappoints!

Stage Hill 7. And everything you need to know.

You will not be able to avoid this stage without getting wet. Why? Because, ladies and gentlemen, we have a pool installed in there and little sprinklers spreading this liquid (clean water) love from above. Besides, the stage is all black. See, got you hooked already.

#Stage_Hill7

Dimensions

This stage is a stretched rectangle, going 37 feet by 20 feet in dimension. The height is the same as you would expect at any hill stage – about 12 feet.

Windows

Even though there are windows on photos, the stage was still missing the pool by the time photos were taken. As of now, the pool is right in front of windows, thus creating a bit different setup. We promise to update photos as soon as possible. Please keep in mind, that windows can be blacked out resulting in complete darkness, thus – it is a black out stage by design.

Electricity

You get 40 amps. For video production it might not be enough. In that case please consult with us first to discuss options.

Looks

Being a black out stage by design, this stage is intended to provide only one look – its absence. Also, keeping in mind that there is water sprinkling from ceiling. So the number of looks you can come up with will literally shower on your head.

Equipment

As any of our stages, Hill 7 comes with 3x strobe lights, 3x preinstalled paper seamless backdrops – white, black, grey, make up station with 2x chairs, and other amenities.

Perks

Although the water pool is not that deep, you can still blow up your learn-to-swim yellow rubber duck and make a heck of the #Photooftheday to remember.

ARTWORK PHOTOGRAPHY: 5 quick tips with David Bergman

Photographer David Bergman has launched amazing series of two minutes youtube clips that cover various interesting topics and how-to’s in photography. David goes live every Monday at 11am EST on Adorama TV, so make sure to tune in. In this article, we we will explore 5 quick tips for photographing an artwork. You can view the video version of this tutorial as well on Adarama TV.

Remove the glass

Usually the artwork is hung behind the protective screen to preserve its fragile nature. When photographing the artwork however, that protective screen causes nasty reflections popping in your frame all the time, regardless of what angle you are shooting at. To avoid this misfortune remove the glass completely.

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Use shade

David suggests us to bring the artwork outside and place it in the shade. He reasons that to get an even lighting across the artwork you need a good even, indirect ambient light that one can get under the shade. Placing the subject under direct sunlight will have a negative impact as it will create spotlights and shadows on the subject. If shooting inside the studio, use a big soft modifier like 7′ PLM umbrella to produce soft even light on the subject.

Shoot flat and straight

Make sure to position your camera at the 90 degree level to avoid any undesired tilting on photos. Ever noticed the photo looking like it’s leaning outwards? We do not want that. So level your camera at the same height as your artwork and have the lens looking perpendicular to the subject.

Settings

David shares his preferred camera settings for shooting Artwork. He has ISO at 100 to preserve the quality of the picture without introducing any artifacts. His F stop is at f8, – the sweepstakes’s spot for many lenses to deliver most sharpness to the frame. His lens is at 50mm. Zooming wider than 50 will creative a lens distortion making subject perceived wider that it is. You want to avoid that as well. In this example David shoots in raw format. His white balance is neutral. He also uses a grey card to calibrate the white balance later in post production. Do not use any flash. It will destroy your even lighting otherwise.

Use a tripod

Last, but not least. Depending on the level of available brightness you might need to set your shutter speed to very low like, 1/5, 1/2, 1 or even longer. At those speeds, it is impossible not to introduce blur and shake if you shoot handheld. Use a steady tripod instead. it will also help you to maintain the best position possible. In this episode David even uses a remote control so he could step away from the camera and make sure everything stay still. Sharp crisp images are guaranteed.

Cosplay from Shenay

Samus and Spider Gwen are two cosplays depicted by photographer Omar the Blue and played by Shenay Steller.

Who are these fictional heroes?

Cosplay from Shenay -wrongron, Wrong Ron, test shoot, stage Art 4, shot at FD Photo Studio, shenay, Rental Studio, Photoshop, Photoshoot, Photography Studio, photography services, photographer, Model, Los Angeles, FD photo studio, fashion, DTLA, Cosplay, blog, !done

According to Wikipedia,

“Samus Aran is the protagonist of the Metroid science fiction action-adventure game series by Nintendo. She was introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid.”

And Spider Gwen is

“an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that began February 2015. The series revolves around the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, an alternate Earth that debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 as part of the 2014–2015 Spider-Man storyline “Spider-Verse“. Spider-Gwen explores a universe where Gwen Stacy was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, forcing her into a career as the Spider-Woman of her world, Earth 65.”

Stage Art 4, used for this shoot, is notorious for the high-key white industrial design. It has also been recently adorned with wooden floor section and a wall veneer as well as portable blinds, made of dark wood slats. The latest upgrade the stage received was a nice looking cozy egg like chair and a STAR illuminating across its shape! As any of our stages, Art 4 comes equipped with 3 strobe lights and modifiers as well as backdrop paper of black, white and grey color. Take a look at Stage Art 4 HERE for its availability and pricing!

Serenegetee clothing from around the world

#TravelMore is one of few hashtags that the clothing brand called Serenegetee actively promotes on Instagram, as a part of their vision – clothing made from fabrics all around the world. Layering beautiful bright ambient light to highlight cherished authenticity of clothes, this session was a harmonious spectacle.

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A preview of Brand’s mission goes as follows:

“Serengetee started in 2012 after Jeff and Ryan met on Semester at Sea, a study abroad program that circumnavigates the globe by ship. While traveling, we began exploring markets and collecting fabric from countries in Africa, Asia, and Central America. We wanted to find a way to use these fabrics to make positive change in the world; we wanted to become the first brand centered around fabric. So with zero fashion experience, we used the last pennies in our pockets and started cutting, sewing, and shipping pocket tees from our dorm room.”

Continue reading about Serengetee on their WEBSITE and follow on INSTAGRAM for daily adventures!

This session’s crew comprised of:

Photographer – Derrick Freske |INSTAGRAM|

Models – Laura Elizabeth |INATAGRAM|, Arnie Watkins |INSTAGRAM|

The crew has chosen Stage A due to its size and affordability. Nevertheless, this Stage provides outstanding natural lighting conditions where there is a direct sunlight in the morning through north and east-facing windows, and beautifully soft indirect light as the day goes on. Equipped with all of the same great gear that’s included with all of our studios – strobes, light modifiers, radio trigger, and paper backdrops – it’s a wonderful place to be able to achieve different looks all in the same place. Visit Stage A on our website to learn more.

Fitness sensation Anna Fit

NQ #bikini #competitor, Masters 35+ overall champion ‘Grand Prix’ 2017 and Masters 35+ ‘Iron Games’ 2017, Anna is nothing short of perfect body. Organizing a dual photoshoot in two stages, the fitness model took advantage of mysterious darkness our stage B provides. And later, in stage D, Anna modeled in life style genre, shining in beautiful natural light.

Fitness sensation Anna Fit -wrongron, Wrong Ron, stage D, shot at FD Photo Studio, Rental Studio, Photoshop, Photoshoot, photography services, photographer, Photo Studio, Los Angeles, FD photo studio, DTLA, blog, Anna Fit, !Dv2, !done

Few words about the photoshoot:

“This photoshoot was a celebration of my win in a bodybulding contest. To remember this shape and also refresh my portfolio and social media account with fresh pictures.”

Follow Anna on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK

Stage D is one of the most spacious and most affordable spaces we currently offer. Suitable for both large and small production teams, this stage is on always on a high demand. Lighting conditions are of supreme quality. If working with natural light, towards the sunset the studio gets plenty of great, warm light through large south-west facing frosted windows. There are three strobe lights always available within the stage. Have a look at our calendar for availability, prices and contacts on our WEBSITE.

Stage Hill 6. And everything you need to know.

Following premiere series of our new Hill stages, today we will go in detail with Hill 6. This stage is the most minimal in perception allowing artists to create from the scratch.

#Stage_Hill6

Dimensions

Size matters. The stage is a bit bigger than Hill 5 , going 36 feet by 24 feet in dimension. The height is the same as you would expect at any hill stage – about 12 feet.

Windows

There are two wide windows facing North East and North West, giving this stage much more flexibility in working with ambient light.

Electricity

This stage is also more powerful on electrical terms – 70 amps are available for you, which is enough for a medium size video production and any size photo production (dare to prove otherwise? Tell us how, first.)

Looks

Pictures say it all. But words embellish even further. Since Hill 6 in some sense in similar to Hill5, in the previous article we described the looks of these stages perfectly.

Equipmnet

As any of our stages, Hill 6 comes with 3x strobe lights, 3x preinstalled paper seamless backdrops – white, black, grey, make up station with 2x chairs, and other amenities.

Perks

Less is more. With this stage we intend to keep things simple. And let you surprise us with what one can make of it.

Isela Mendez and two photographers

Gorgeous model Isela Mendez has had an interesting crew setup for her photoshoot – she had 2 photographers shooting. Peculiar as it is, this approach actually provided a chance of comparison of styles between two photographers, as well as equipment they used.

The first photographer goes by name Ocularis.

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Few words from Isela about her experience at FD:

“This was our first time shooting at your studio. It was everything we expected and more. The staff was extremely friendly from the moment we checked in. The studio provided a changing station, vanity for makeup touch-ups with a lot of lighting, a speaker that was Bluetooth compatible to play music throughout the photoshoot and we were given the privacy we needed with no interruptions. Thank you FD Photo Studio for providing an amazing experience for us. “

The second photographer, or a community of photographers, goes by name RETROSPEKT

The model for the shoot, Isela Mendez, is on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK for you to follow.

Stage Art 1, a long-time FD Photo Studio favorite, was used for this shoot. With the high-key white industrial design that FD is notorious for, Stage Art 1 is a clean setting that can be manipulated to fit all kinds of projects. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning.

Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.