Living in New York City, my square footage is limited. I don't have a studio, so I keep all my equipment at home. I store some of it in a closet, and I keep some of it in a small wooden hutch in the living room. But that hutch is getting really full, and more and more stuff is ending up on top of it, or next to it. It's crowding my apartment.

So I'm looking for something new in which I can store stands, tripods, lights, cameras, lenses, reflectors, etc. Preferably, it won't look too ugly in my living room, and items will be easily accessible without having to take everything out like I do now (to get to the items in the back).

Anyone have any suggestions? Something with some combination of drawers, cabinets, and shelves perhaps? I have room for something wide, but not tall. Even just a recommendation of where I should look would be great.

Thanks.

David

My studio is TINY! I use two vintage medical cabinets to hold some stuff. But I do not have any lights. I use all natural light, as you can see my studio has plenty...


You can also see that vintage shoe bag hanging next to one table, very handy, it holds clamps and other odds and ends including laundry stuff. My washer/dryer are behind the curtain!

Sell it all, buy a ( second ) car and rent equipment as needed

Buy a car? I did mention I live in New York City, right?

I do rent equipment as needed. I don't own that much equipment. Just enough that my hutch overfloweth.

I would go to NJ to iKea and get a nice big wardrobe or other storage closet to replace the hutch... something with adjustable shelves. Or you might have luck at a Home Depot store, with something intended for tool storage...

When I lived in NY I only had essential basics and I rented everything else. If you shoot a lot of studio stuff, you might look into a shared space with other photogs...?

A practical "tool" for organizing & storing some studio goods may be the "Studio Wall", a product created by Gary Regester in Silver Plume Colorado------http://www.plumeltd.com/plumetools.htm

Raymond, in Colorado

David,

Sorry, I overlooked the New York part.
Can't drive a car, can't park a car and can't leave a car overnight because someone will "borrow" it, right?

My bad.....

Peter

I know ikea was mentioned already, but I agree... Take a trip to ikea and have them deliver whatever you can't carry home. They have tons of cheap and efficient storage ideas.

As far as Ikea is concerned - and I don't want to get too personal - but we recently bought large "boxes on wheels" that fit perfectly under our bed...
We didn't use that space before because it was not easily accessible, but now it's great.
Of course I don't use this space to store equipment since i do have a studio, but you should be able to fit a lot under there if it's not in use already.

Peter

Like Peter said, the under-the-bed trick works for me too. I also have a light stand bag that I just stand up vertically in my closet. Keeps my stands, tripod and softboxes organized and out of sight.

Try some place like Lowes or Home Depot.
They should have storage cabinets similar to this.

http://estatestorage.com/products.asp

Fred

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I have all my Camera's and lenses stuffed into a Pelican 1510.

My four monolights, reflectors, extension cords, and other related materials stuffed into a Pelican 1650.

My six lightstands, three soft boxes, three umbrellas, and various items are in an SKB hardshell golf bag case - not exactly pretty but very functional.





If you find the pelican cases unsightly you could put a blanket over them and use them as a side table. I regularly use my 1510 as a foot stool when sitting in my favorite chair.

I used to assist a photog who used the skb golf case for his stands/softboxes. They are tough and cheap. I used one for a bit, but now use small bogen stands that fit in my pelican 1650 rolling case.

Now, my strobes, packs, stands, and PW all fit in ONE case. I can attach the softboxes and rings to a tripod holder on my camera backpack, so I'm all self-contained and ready to go in one trip from the car to the shoot location.

I make my assistants store all of my equipment in their studio apartments...

Actually I own very little equipment, and rent as much as possible. I don't have a lot of room, and rental is usually a small part of the entire shoot, money wise.

What little I do have goes on the commercial wire shelving used in commercial kitchens. Got them from Costco for $75 per 5 shelf unit.