Camera Settings for Studio Photography: It Really Is That Simple

“Wait, What Camera Settings Should I Use?”

Imagine this: your dream client is standing, dressed, posed, and ready to go. You’ve just rolled out the perfect color backdrop and powered on the strobes. You go to take that first test shot, and half the photo is pitch black. Or worse, it’s a total whiteout. 

You nervously mutter, 'just one sec… test shot,' as panic sets in.
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If that sounds familiar, don’t worry. We’ve all been there. 

Studio photography can feel like a technical minefield when you’re starting out, but once you understand a few core principles, it’s actually one of the most controlled, repeatable environments to shoot in. No surprise shadows. No shifting sunlight. Just you, your subject, and your lights.

You've found the first stage of our studio series, It Really Is That Simple, Where we break down "complicated" studio photography concepts into simple to understand ideas that anyone can do.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know, from shutter speed and aperture to lighting techniques and how to sync a digital camera to strobes, so that you can walk into your next studio session confident you will take clean, consistent photos. Whether you're photographing people, products, or pets (yes, we’ve done all three), these tips will help you set up and shoot smarter.

Why Studio Photography Is (Secretly) Easier

Here’s the thing that nobody tells you: once you get a handle on the basics, studio work is a cheat code. Literally. Unlike natural light, it doesn’t change every ten minutes. Your shadows stay where you put them. Your exposure is consistent across every frame. And honestly? That kind of predictability is what makes mastering camera settings so much easier indoors.

In our studio at BLNK, whether we’re shooting a clean e-commerce set or a moody headshot with warm-toned edge lights, we know exactly what kind of light we’re working with—and that lets us dial in our settings before we even pick up the camera. Think of the studio as a controlled experiment where you’re the mad scientist and the light obeys your every command (or at least… most of the time).

Camera Settings Breakdown for Studio Shoots

Let’s start with the big three - shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. These are your foundational settings, and they behave differently depending on whether you’re using strobes or continuous lighting.

First up, shutter speed. In a studio using flash or strobes, shutter speed isn’t what controls your exposure—your flash/strobe power does all the heavy lifting. 

Let me say that one again for the people in the back, in a studio, shutter speed does NOT control your exposure. 

Most cameras have a maximum sync speed between 1/160 and 1/250. Go any faster, and you’ll start to see that dreaded black bar creeping across your image (aka your shutter curtain).

We usually sit at 1/160 or 1/200. It’s safe, reliable, and works with most triggers. If you’re using continuous lighting, though, like LEDs or fluorescents, you can treat it more like natural light. In that case, a slower shutter (1/60–1/125) might be necessary, especially if you're not working with a high-powered setup. You will need to watch out for motion blur though. And honestly, if you're renting a studio and they have strobes available, you're going to get 10x more control and better results with strobes.

Aperture is where you get to be creative. Want everything sharp from front to back? f/8 or even f/11 will get you there. Want a shallow depth of field for that creamy background blur or dramatic fall off from your subjects' eyes to ears? Go down to f/1.4 or f/2.8. Just keep in mind that going too wide can make it hard to keep your product or subject fully in focus, especially on full-frame cameras.

ISO in the studio should live at 100. Maybe 200, tops. There's just no reason to introduce noise when you're working in a space where you control the light. If your image is too dark at ISO 100, turn up the light, not the ISO.

Finally, white balance. Don’t leave it on auto unless you want to spend the rest of your life color-correcting later. Set your white balance manually based on your light source. Daylight-balanced strobes or LEDs typically sit around 5500K. If you’re mixing light sources, things get trickier… but that’s a topic for another day.

Lighting Techniques and Syncing to a Strobe

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Lighting is where the studio becomes your playground. Once you know your gear, you can sculpt light the way a painter uses a brush. Every wondered why we call the studio BLNK? A photo studio is a "Blank" Canvas, you, the photographer create everything.

We primarily work with strobes, our go to is a simple Godox DP400IIIs and the occasional White Lightning for rim or fill. Strobes give you power and control. They are so strong that typically they block out any ambient light, and freeze all motion.

The catch? You have to understand sync. Like we mentioned earlier, your shutter speed should be no faster than your camera’s sync speed, usually around 1/160. Some techniques and strobes allow for High Speed Sync (HSS) but that's pretty advanced and something you probably won't need for your first studio session.

Using constant lighting? Things are a bit more forgiving. You can see what you're getting in real-time, which makes it great for beginners or video/photo hybrids. But keep in mind: continuous lights often aren’t as powerful as strobes, which means slower shutter speeds and potentially more ambient light contamination. And you likely won’t be able to achieve that super-sharp look that studio photography is known for. 

Softboxes, umbrellas, reflectors, V-flats—these are your light-shaping tools. A softbox creates even, diffused light. A bare bulb gives hard, dramatic shadows. A V-flat or 5-in-1 can bounce or block light depending on its position.

Tip from the trenches: Try to avoid pointing your key light straight at your subject. You’ll end up with a deer-in-the-headlights look. Angle it 45 degrees, then feather it across your subject to avoid hotspots. Your highlights (and subject) will thank you.

Lens and Camera Choices For Studio Photography

Let’s talk glass. We are firm believers that your gear isn't as important in a studio as say, a concert, or sunset portraits where the light is dim. Rather, the focal length is important.

We love the 24–70mm f/2.8 for its flexibility. It’s sharp, fast, and lets you go from wide to tight shots without switching lenses. If you're shooting portraits, the 85mm f/1.8 is a workhorse. It gives beautiful compression and separation, even in tighter studio spaces.

For product photography, a macro lens like the 100mm f/2.8 is gold. It lets you get close and stay sharp. And if you’re shooting on a crop sensor, remember that your 50mm acts more like an 80mm—great for compression, but tighter than you’d expect.

Full-frame cameras give you better low-light performance and more dynamic range, sure. But honestly? You can get professional results with a crop sensor and good technique. We’ve used both at BLNK, and the biggest difference is usually how wide or tight your framing looks—not necessarily the quality of the shot. We see photographers use crop sensors for their sessions almost weekly and at the end of the day, unless you're shooting a big campaign (that likely has a big budget) you don't need anything fancy.

Go-To Studio Photography Settings Cheat Sheet

Need a place to start? Here are a few of our go-to camera settings for common studio setups:

Strobes: 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 100, white balance at 5500K
Constant Lights: 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400+ (similar to being on location)
Natural Light: 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (use a tripod to help with motion blur)

These aren’t hard rules, just solid starting points. Tweak them based on your lighting setup, creative goals, and subject. We always like to say, rules are meant to be broken. But to effectively break the rules of photography, you need to know the rules. 

Bonus Tips From Our Team

We’ve shot a lot of weird stuff in the studio from hot coffee, album cover art, super reflective sunglasses, even a few groups of people so big that they don’t fit on the backdrop. And with every session, we pick up a few tricks that help us avoid the most common headaches.

Turn off Auto ISO

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Seriously. You don’t need your camera second-guessing your exposure when you already control the light. Especially when shooting a controlled space like a studio. Modeling lights, if the lights you are using even have them, are way darker than you final images will look.

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Use a gray card

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‍It’s boring, we know. But it’ll save your colors—especially if you’re batching edits later. This is something that, admittedly, we were a little late to the game in using, but it has become crucial to our workflow.

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Shoot Tethered If You Can

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‍Seeing your images large on a screen while you shoot helps spot mistakes early. Plus, it helps your clients see the images as they come in which can help the overall client experience. If you don't have a computer that you can shoot tethered with but your camera has WiFI capabilites, we have been big fans of the app Cascable. ‍

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Create lighting diagrams

Once you dial in the perfect setup for a look, record it. Position of lights, camera settings, and distance from backdrop. Next time, you’ll thank yourself.

And if you’re working with a team—models, stylists, clients—build in buffer time. There’s nothing worse than scrambling to fix exposure while someone’s staring at you, waiting. The more you can prepare before people walk in, the smoother things go. There's a few tools to that you can use to 'test' out lighting diagrams before ever stepping foot inside a studio, the diagram below I created with set.a.light by Elixxier. You can always use old pen and paper scribble to get to point across and remember what you did.

Get In, Get Set, Shoot

Studio photography doesn’t have to be intimidating. With the right camera settings and a bit of prep, you’ll go from fumbling test shots to confidently capturing clean, intentional images every time.

And hey, you’re not alone in the learning curve. We’ve all had a few facepalm moments in the studio—just ask about the time that we set up for the biggest shoot of our careers up to that point, with 10 people waiting for us… and our camera wouldn’t turn on. Completely broken. Yeah...

If you’re just getting started or want to experiment with lighting setups, come shoot at BLNK Studios. We’ve got everything you need, and the coffee’s not bad either. You can check out our rentals, get hands-on with our gear, or even just shoot me a text message if you’re feeling stuck.

Hit us up. We’re here to help you shoot smarter, not harder.