NZPhotographer Issue 59, September 2022

Creative Studio Spaces
by Fairlie Atkinson
What is in a space? Many budding photographers start out thinking that a studio is a necessary
part of setting up their portrait/family photography business. But that’s not quite true; it all depends
on what you’re aiming to do. For some photographers, like portrait photographer Karolina Stus, her
custom-built studio was a labour of love and is an integral part of her business. At the other end of
the spectrum, documentary photographer Lianna Nielsen uses the space in her home to document
what’s in front of her. And then there is Emma Monaghan, who has used a room, and a wall in her
home to create a successful portrait business. These photographers demonstrate the spectrum
of spaces from high-end purpose-built, all the way through to using the space in your home to
document and create beautiful images whilst building successful businesses.
THE UNSTAGED HOME STUDIO WITH
LIANNA OF BLACK SAND STUDIO
As an award-winning documentary family
photographer, Lianna’s preferred studio is always the
home. This includes her personal home studio where
she undertakes the hardest project ever: creating an
external memory of the chaos of raising three girls
under the age of four (including twins). It is not pretty,
the light is often hideous, and the ever-shifting visual
clutter (thanks toddlers) makes it difficult to achieve
the clean background photographers usually strive
for. But actually, the story is often in the mess and the
imperfect, and though it makes Lianna cringe as a
mother, she documents it all as honestly as she can.
Through these photographs, her children will be able to
view the reality of their early days, and one day Lianna
will be able to look back and reconstruct some clarity
in the blur that is her sleep-deprived memory. Liana
believes that if she captures her story honestly, it means
she can be authentic in encouraging her clients to do
the same. Then, little details that don’t seem important
in the moment will remain in the photographs and
suddenly gain meaning in years to come.
blacksand.studio
62 September 2022 NZPhotographer