So basically this is the studio space you're currently sat on a windowsill over there and
um I will probably work probably over here this is kind of where I envisage my desk being
welcome to the studio and do you know what the premium members the MTog guys have seen so much
about the space we did build Vlogs from the start to the finish of building this building this is
like a fun time it's just not going well right now doesn't it look like a cake thats just been iced
and it's been a really emotional roller coaster but we have been in here technically since around
about the first of April this year so we've been in here for a while now getting used to the space
learning how we want to use it of course when you plan a building you can only plan what you think
you're going to do in the space and how you want to use it and then it kind of evolves from there
forward so I want to show you around our studio space finally it's not 110% finished yet but I'd
say we're about 99% of the way there of course as the MTogs well know the echo still exists
and we just deal with it because we are looking at alternative plans and if we even want to implement
them because to be honest it's not really the end of the world once we've got used to it
you guys can hear a snippet of an echo checked audio right now so you can see how bad the echo
actually is in real life it's pretty bad so we do treat the audio dry it out as best as we can
and that's what we put onto YouTube but we kind of get used to it and for when I'm filming at my
desk we do have an alternative solution so at the moment we're in an echo chamber and I'm okay with
it in terms of the space if you don't know and you aren't a premium member and you haven't been with
us through the build process I'm going to show you some super cool little bits and pieces about
the design and the elements within the building itself that make it really really good as our own
photography studio but also as an office space because the team will work in here on different
days of the week to do lots of different tasks we also take meetings in here calls in here and
of course teach from in here too on one to one's so it's a real multi-purpose space the building
is in its entirety all the way back and so I thought it would take you along for a ride so
how did we start well this is in our garden it's in our garden at our private home and it was just
a grass messy space with a greenhouse on and basically part of our driveway so the building
itself is 16 meters long and my part of that is eight meters in this room and then another meter
behind me for my cupboard and toilet area that's kind of my little bit so in terms of the space in
here you can see that I've got super high vaulted ceilings which means I can put my lights at any
height I want and I'm not going to hit the top that was part number one of designing a studio
space that's really really versatile is to get as much ceiling height as you can the second
part second key element of this building in terms of how it was built for us and to be usable as a
studio and as an office space it was to have a really large wall to be able to place our
backdrops on our backdrop system is a motorised one and that's from Click Props Backdrops so it
is very very easy to change backdrops during a session in the middle of a session and after a
session without having to manually move things around or even manually pull a chain also it
looks really good for clients looks like we are knowing what we're doing which is always useful
so that's our backdrop system now you'll also notice that immediately behind me is a whiteboard
so that's for our team briefing sessions all of our team to-do lists and mind wrapping all of
that happens on that board and it's also included in some of the online courses such as Photography
for Beginners which is a super short theory packed online course and that utilises that whiteboard a
little bit so I kind of explain and draw out ideas and concepts so that people can know what's going
on another really important thing for us was of course our enormous TV so we have a big TV on
that wall don't know how big it is Dan will put it on the screen don't bother me in the slightest
this TV is not a really really expensive one but it is really high quality so it means that I can
do my in-person sale sessions for private clients with that TV in this space and it gives a really
accurate reproduction of the colour from all of our Apple computers which are calibrated with our
Datacolor Spyder Pros okay so lots of information packed into that one the next thing that's really
really important for us in here is light control so the room was designed with light control as one
of the highest priorities so you'll notice we don't have any roof lights so there's no Velux
windows up at the top and the windows that we do have are able to be covered with blackout blinds
that fall a little bit wider than the window width but still absolutely appropriate and for neatness
I did have them set into the recess rather than over the front so I lost a little bit on that
perfect Darkness Theory but I don't need to be perfectly dark I just need to control the light
and that gives me super control the front side of the building is glazed with glass so it's a three
meter wide door which is a commercial door that can open both inwards and outwards for versatility
so you can move large props tables even ponies inside and outside as needed we also have these
shutter doors on the front and that's that light control element so it gives me full control of
the amount of light that I let in on the front I can either open them just a little bit open them
a lot open them fully or I can block light from one side and let it in the other to give me really
good control so we had those shutter doors purpose built for that front section which was one of the
most important parts of the build for me so the last part of our light control is our access door
so our access door is actually a stable door and it all opens outwards so you'll notice that inside
the room itself there is nothing on the footprint other than the furniture and things that we add
so if you open any of the doors they all will not open into this space so we're not losing space on
the inside the stable door itself you can keep dogs and children safely inside whilst opening
the top for airflow you can also let additional light in from that top section if needed one of
my favourite things about this entire space is of course my little mini kitchen area literally for
me to survive all I need to live forevermore is Yorkshire Tea and hot water so I have everything
that I need in that bottom corner I have a boiling water tap which removes the need to
have a kettle or clutter on the top surface it allows me to make Cups of Tea whenever I
want without having to boil a kettle actually does work out more energy efficient and cost effective
apparently according to the manufacturer but I just want hot water to drink tea as much
as I want to and so that gives me that all the way around the building in strategic locations
which have been well thought out we have got charging Banks power Banks so at my desk I have
three double sockets in the cupboard which has got all of our charging banks in there are six
double sockets in there and then there are double sockets dotted around strategically often hidden
behind furniture just to give us enough access points for power and one of my biggest bug bears
using spaces is that there's not enough plugs so in here we definitely weren't going to let
that happen of course I also have artwork on the walls there is one gap where I don't have artwork
just yet which is right there that is because I'm waiting for the perfect picture to be able to put
onto my acrylic sample but these work great for us to just have our art on the walls but
also for clients to see our samples because every single product that is on the walls is technically
for sale so it's good to have them on show when needed and the final thing that we did in here
was we did a concrete floor so we haven't put any flooring down in here theoretically we're still on
the concrete screed floor base so this is just a screed floor poured and semi-polished now no it's
not polished concrete so we don't have a polished concrete floor because I'm working with dogs and
animals I don't want slippy floors so that legs can go everywhere and we can have injuries that's
not the plan but what we have done is we have put a seal over the top which has left it 100%
waterproof and also really really durable but it's retained the original concrete floor finish now if
I was to do it again would I do the same thing probably yes I would do the same thing with the
floor the only thing that I would do is I would leave it to cure for a lot longer and then coat it
with the waterproofer and then leave it and then move in because of the time scales how everything
fell we actually moved into the building before the sealant was applied the floor was dry but
the sealant wasn't applied and so what that's left us with is a few little marks on the floor
that we just have to live with because we didn't wait and have that level of patience so that's
the one thing probably that I do differently inside this room we've got a covered space to
the right hand side and the toilet space to the left hand side of where I'm sat right now and so
hopefully we'll put in some little clips to show you guys around but that is our studio
hopefully you're all safe and well right now and hopefully finally seeing our studio space hasn't
been too long I know I could have done this in April but we just didn't have everything ironed
out at that point so now is the time hopefully you guys are a little bit as excited as I am
about this space it's complete game changer for us and it's probably saved Dan and my marriage
I'd say because working together in the whole entirety of our house 24/7 is a little bit much
for any relationship so this gives us a safe space to be able to work and be able to leave that work
at the door when we go inside it doesn't always work like that but we like to think it does hope
you guys are safe and well and I'll see you guys next week for another Five Minute Friday