Photo Tips

Understand Studio Lighting: How to Build a Barbie-Sized Studio

Me Ra Koh

I used to always be afraid of studio lighting.  The big stands, umbrellas, boxes and endless plugs turned me off.  But the more I got into photography, the more I realized how important it was to have an awareness of your light source and the direction of light.  Whether you are shooting in studio or working with the big old sun, lighting is every thing!

This photography exercise was inspired by Pascaline.  She got a new Barbie for Christmas, and she loved all the “studio” looking shots of her Barbie on the packaging.  I told her that she could do a photo shoot of her own Barbies and get the same look.  It’s just a matter of setting up the right type of studio lighting.  And before you knew it, Brian was looking for a cardboard box, black construction paper, and desk lamps.  We set off to build a Barbie-sized studio to understand lighting.  I started punching holes in the black construction paper with Pascaline.  And the rest is history!

Found an awesome How To from Me Ra Koh on Building a Barbie-Sized Studio to Understand Studio Lighting

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  1. Sara says:

    great suggestion! Except with my daughter it will probably be Woody, Jessie, and Buzz from Toy Story instead, since those are her faves.

  2. Jamie says:

    Wow, great job Pascaline!!! What ever you choose to do in life one thing is certain, you will totally know how to ROCK taking great pictures!

  3. Sarah C says:

    Enjoyed the 2nd Barbie standing on the side with her hand paused in a wave. : )

  4. dawn beirnes says:

    Pascaline is going to be one great photographer! I think this is a wonderful idea, and I am going to hunt up my grandsons cars….guess I’ll be shooting a car show!

  5. Luciliam says:

    Great idea!! I myself will love to play with this, too!

  6. Me Ra Koh says:

    LOVE IT!! CAR SHOWS, Woody, and I even got awesome photos of Buzz getting his own photo shoot today! Most importantly, have FUN with this and notice the subtle impact of light from when it shines in one direction versus another.

    And send me your photo shoot set ups! I totally want to share!

    xoxo,
    m

  7. Erika says:

    MeRa, you and Brian are amazing parents! This is such an awesome & inspiring post!

  8. BenSpark says:

    I LOVE this. My Daughter is 3 1/2 and we take photos together. I think this would be a great way for Daddy and Eva to play dolls together and both get something out of it. I mean there is only so much fake tea one can drink. 🙂

    I look forward to meeting you at EVO Conference.

  9. […] learning is the best means of learning for kinesthetic learners. So when Me Ra first mentioned this exercise to us, a light bulb moment went off in my homeschooling brain. An unexpected group lesson on the […]

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  11. […] and basic to very technical), and to just experiment and have fun. Next, Kristin directed me to Mera Koh’s blog post on creating a “Barbie studio” to experiment with various lighting techniques. Here are some photographs from my […]

  12. […] is what happens when Me Ra Koh asks you to build your own light studio and then do a video blog about […]