Wrong forum? Nah...
Wrong website. You want BASEMENT GLAMOUR... this is GARAGE GLAMOUR.
OK, I can't offer any big picture ideas but I can throw in some tidbits.
First, you're looking at less than 13' from you, flat against the wall to the face of the backdrop... the model will have to be a few feet closer at least so your lens to subject distance is gonna be short, 8-10' at best. Full length shots are gonna be wide angle. I guess what I'm trying to say is, think about what you want to do with this studio space and that will help guide you in your choices. With that kind of space, assuming we're taliking glamour, you're looking at headshots, close 3/4 shots and artsy, wide angle, full height shots. Which ain't a bad thing it's just a limitation to keep in mind as you go.
The small space has advantages, you can go with low powered strobes and save money. A couple of 400ws monolight strobes will turn that whole room white. Hot lights work fine, they have pros and cons that you can probably divine from posts in the Tech Forum. I like strobes, they're just easier to manage and they definitely last a long, long time... except JTL's I've heard they are like disposable strobes.
I've used seamless paper on a carpeted floor by laying down two 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" plywood and covering that with a 10' wide sheet of linoleum roll flooring... not quite as good as hardwood but close.
You're going to need supports... light stands, c-stands... whatever you can get a good deal on at first. You can upgrade later if you get serious about it. You'll need a way to hang a backdrop or seamless paper. You can put eyebolts in the ceiling joists and hang a crossbar from chains or you can put the bar on stands. An overhead suspension of some sort will make the space easier to work in.
A 10' piece of 1" emt conduit from Home depot makes a good, cheap crossbar.
You'll need 'grip' too. Clamps... just start collecting them, anything from a clothespin on up to wide span frame clamps. Those orange pony clamps in small and medium sizes are indispensable. Bogen superclamps are awesome but spendy. Ultimately you'll want C-stands with arms. they're just a lot more versatile in terms of positioning lights and flags and stuff.
You'll need a reflector or two; big sheets of fom-core are useful but wear out fast, 1/2" gator-foam is better. Get some black and some white.
A 4'x6' frame (make it with PVC) with a sheet of white ripstop nylon stretched over it is really useful as a scrim to diffuse light and make your light source effectively bigger.
An umbrella on your keylight is a good way to start, worry about softboxes later... the scrim will do most of what a softbox will... some of it much better.
That's all I've got for now... but there's plenty more. Keep asking, sometimes the post just hits at the wrong time and gets buried. Put it in the tech forum and you'll probably get more responses.
Good luck.
Chip
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