How do I setup a home photography studio?

I want to start taking pictures of my family and friends inside my home. Lighting and background are obviously the most essential items I need, but I see so many options that I don't know where to start.

Any recommendations or examples of do-it-yourself home studios? If you have one of these setup at your home, I'd love to see a picture of it. If it's possible to do this on a budget, that'd be a nice thing to know also.

Thanks!

You can get lighting equipment online for a good price. I got my set here: bhphotovideo.com. It cost me about $100 and it came with 2 large lamps, sockets, bulbs and stands. I already had acquired 2 smaller units elsewhere. For a background, I usually use a king size sheet. I use a spare bedroom in my apartment and when I'm done, I store everything in a trunk when it's not in use. I don't need my equipment getting knocked over and it's not hard to set up. Setting up the "studio" every time sort of gets me in the right frame of mind to concentrate on my shoot as well. You can definitely get something that will suite your needs on a limited budget. Good luck.

Start by buying a home... you can get a pretty decent one for just over $100,000.00 - you're looking for a studio in your home, not a bedroom, bath, kitchen, etc.

if you can get a second floor for that price, by all means do so then remove the flooring in the area where you will want to hang your studio light boxes (you need no less than a 10 foot ceiling to accommodate them but more is better... I like 16 feet to give lighting room).

Probably the best place to set up a studio would be in a two car garage - opps... the price of your home just went up.

You'll need to have it heated (shooting family members with hard nipples because of the cold is kind of kinky but, if you're into that, run with it) so you can provide some comfort level... even a wood stove in the area would ease the chill. I usually set some newspapers on fire back in a corner somewhere and have someone nearby with a fire extinguisher.

Oh... were you serious?

Get a portable lighting studio from Novatron or one of those manufacturers... setting up lights for home photography isn't difficult but setting up a room is expensive and it makes the room useless for anything other than photography. http://www.novatron.com/ is a good place to start spending your hard earned cash.