A studio listing photograph is taken with a wide lens, from the one corner where the room looks biggest, on a day when nothing was in it. It tells you almost nothing about what a shoot day in that room will feel like.
These are the questions worth asking first, roughly in the order that they will ruin your day if the answer is wrong.
1. Clear floor and ceiling height, not square footage
Total floor area includes the pillar in the middle, the kitchen and the bit behind the door. What you actually need is the largest rectangle you can shoot into, and how high it goes.
- Shooting full length on a boom needs height, and low ceilings put the light in shot
- Longer lenses need distance between camera and subject, which eats floor length
- A seamless backdrop needs a clear run of wall plus space to curve the paper
- Columns and radiators reduce a room far more than the listing suggests
Ask for the clear shooting dimensions and the ceiling height as numbers. A studio that knows its own room will have them ready.
2. What dry hire actually includes
Dry hire means different things in different buildings. It normally means the room without crew, but whether it includes lighting varies, and the facilities vary far more than anyone expects.
| Ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Lighting and grip | Some dry hire includes a basic kit, some includes nothing. Confirm before assuming you can travel light. |
| Kitchen and breakout | A ten hour day with a full crew and nowhere to sit is a long day. |
| Changing and private restrooms | Talent should not be changing behind a clothes rail. |
| Backdrop paper | Usually charged separately, and usually charged for damage. Ask the rate up front. |
| Overtime | What happens if the shoot runs past the booked window. |
| Wifi and power | Tethered capture, laptops, chargers and continuous lighting all need sockets in sensible places. |
For reference, dry hire at our own studio includes daylight or full blackout, the kitchen, a breakout area, changing facilities and private restrooms. Lighting is a separate list, and backdrop paper is charged at £7.00 plus VAT per metre if it is marked or damaged. Whether or not you shoot with us, those are the line items to ask any studio about.
3. How the kit and the people get in
This is the question that separates a calm nine in the morning from a bad one. A crew of eight and a rail of samples arriving at a building with no lift and no parking is a genuinely difficult start.
- Is there a goods lift, and what are its dimensions
- Is there parking, and is it on site or a permit away
- How far is the nearest station, in walking minutes rather than in miles
- Where does a van actually stop to unload
Ours is on Eagle Wharf Road in London N1, with a goods lift and parking on site, a few minutes from Old Street and Hoxton. That combination is more useful on a shoot day than any amount of extra floor space.
4. Daylight, blackout, or both
A room with big windows is lovely until you need consistent output at nine in the morning and again at four in the afternoon. A room with no windows is controllable and exhausting to spend twelve hours in.
The useful answer is both: daylight when you want it, full blackout when you need repeatability. If a studio only offers one, know which one you are getting and whether your shot list survives it.
5. Who else is in the building that day
Shared buildings mean shared lifts, shared parking and sometimes shared noise. If you are recording sound, ask directly. If you are shooting to a tight schedule, ask whether the load in bay is booked by anyone else at the same time.
The short version
- Clear shooting dimensions and ceiling height, as numbers
- A written list of what dry hire includes and excludes
- Lift, parking, and the walk from the station
- Daylight, blackout, or both
- Kitchen, changing and restrooms
- Backdrop and overtime charges
- Who else is in the building
Any studio worth booking will answer all seven without hesitating.
The Motherlight team
Written from the studio floor at Holborn Studios in Shoreditch, where we shoot ecommerce, campaign and product work for fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.