I have most of my equipment but I have a few things I am not sure about. My studio will be about 100sq ft. What color should the walls be? Dark to absorb light or light to reflect? Also, I do not know what kind of lighting to get, with my space being so small do I need a whole light kit? Or just one light, and what kind of light and where online can I find one. I will be working with a digital camera. Any help would be extremely useful thank you.

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Dark walls with a white bord in the back or a gray bord it you want backround!

I would suggest a couple different colors, you're not going to want a dark color if you're taking a picture of a dark dog, or a light with a light dog. I would say a pull down mat would work good.

Don't bother with a studio, make monthy appointments at pet stores, training fasilities etc..... you be sure happy you did. Put a great piture in front of the store to advertise you business. Also pay nothing to the shops as they will no doubt make more profits from your work. Get mobile baby.

If you know anyone who has a current Mac computer, you can use IWeb to create a website showing your recent photographs. Set up an .mac account [$99 per year] and publish your IWeb webpage(s). Acquire from Vistaprint.com a colorful business card by selecting from their many templates a suitable one that meets your needs. Make sure to list the URL of your website along with a telephone answering device. Do not place your home address or anything personal such as a cellphone on this businesscard. Then when you receive the finished business card, pass it around to various pet stores and the like to solicit business. When you receive a major photography assignment, visit your local professional camera store and "rent" the necessary camera equipment to fulfill this assignment. Instead of renting a studio, take pet pictures at local parks and beaches and for indoor shots, go to the client's residence or office to set up a photo shooting environment which consists of a set of lights, reflective screens, background drapery, etc. Good luck!

Your studio walls should be painted 18% gray, this way you will not get any color casts or reflections in your photos. If you don't want to go gray use white. Since you will be shooting animals they have a tendency of sometimes having "accidents" unless you have a lot of money to buy on background paper I would consider something water proof for where the animal will be sitting. Check a local flooring store for linoleum and get a couple of different colors to match the animal and your backdrops. You can still use different color paper backdrops or muslin but keep them away where they would get "dirty". Below are some links on where to buy some lights, I have a set of these lights that I purchased for transporting and ease. They are pretty good and should serve your purpose. You would like to have two lights one as "Main Light" and the other as your "Fill Light" using a 1:3 ratio. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/402654-REG/Impact__2_Monolight_Kit_.html Here are some paper backdrops to look at: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/1395/Other_Backgrounds_Paper_Savage_.html Here is the whole list: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/category/1175/Studio_Equipment_Background_Materials_Equipment.html Hope this helps, Kevin