NZPhotographer Issue 59, September 2022

THE DIY HOME STUDIO WITH
EMMA MONAGHAN
Emma Monaghan is well known on the Kapiti Coast for
her Pop-in Portraits and her successful photography
business. She started taking photos when her children
were small, which soon turned into a passion and
career change. After studying photography, she
set up her own home studio in order to be able to
balance a career and childcare.
She uses a wall in her guest room as her portrait
photography space, along with a large softbox
umbrella for light. There isn’t enough natural light
from the windows in the room yet by using a Bowen’s
Gemini light and the large white backdrop, Emma’s
portraits are well-lit, crisp and clean. Emma’s guest
bedroom has doubled as a home studio for the last
four years and has also been used for private newborn
shoots, and family and business portraits. The space is
versatile in that Emma has kept it simple so that she can
add or subtract from the backdrop.
Using a clean, clear backdrop facilitates easy
photoshopping of textures or logos onto client photos
when needed. Popping a white seat in front of the
white backdrop also removes any distraction from
the subject itself. The focus is not on props, instead the
colour in the clothing, the eyes and the skin of Emma’s
subjects become the vibrant focal points for photos.
In addition to baby and family portraits, in a space
like this, it is easy to capture clean business portraits,
where the person is the focal point, rather than what
they are standing in front of.
www.emmamonaghan.co.nz
64 September 2022 NZPhotographer