You can book a space directly on our website. 

1. Select which studio will best suit your needs. We have the Pro Studio One with a white cyclorama in half the studio, and a black area in the other half, along with other backgrounds and equipment to support your shoot. Or we have our Daylight Studio Two which is a smaller and simpler space which also offers the option of using natural light for your shoot. See ‘which studio should I use?’ for more helpful tips or click on the links to read more about our spaces.
2. Select the date and time (arrival time and exit time) of your shoot to check availability, and if the space is available you can continue with the booking.
3. Select any additional equipment or support you may need and add these to the booking –you can find these alongside your booking window.
4. Read and agree to the terms and conditions of hire;
5. Complete your booking with full payment to secure your studio hire
6. You will receive an automated confirmation of your booking with some additional notes about gaining access etc
7. Here is a video showing you the process if you need a hand.

If you have any questions at all you can contact us and we can do the booking for you via email. Your booking will be finalised once your invoice is paid in full.

We understand that many creative have full time jobs and are only available after-hours or on weekends for their shoots. We try to accommodate our community by offering 24/7 access to approved hirers with a few conditions:

• A representative of the crew (hirer/ photographer/producer) must book in a studio induction before the shoot date if no one in the team has used the space or had a previous induction. You can do this by contacting the studio manager to book in a 15-minute tour
• The studio induction will familarise you with the space, show youwhere the light switches and power points are, explain the aircon/heating and show you where to find the after-hours access keys as well as showing you the alarm system and lock up procedure. You will also be shows the gear that comes with your studio hire and get a chance to ask any questions or get extra support for your shoot.
• We do have security cameras to make sure you have gained access and to make sure your shoot is running smoothly. Don’t worry, we don’t have time to check all the camera footage and typically turn the cameras off when we know you are settled, but this gives us peace of mind that all is going well. We can also see when you have locked up but it’s nice if you can send us a text message to say everything is locked up and secure.

Yes your booking starts when you arrive and start setting up, and ends when you have packed up, tidied the space for the next booking, and left. PLEASE ensure you have allowed enough time for all of the set up and pack down. IMPORTANT: others are able to book the space after your end time and we don’t want shoots to clash –the last thing you want is someone waiting while you finish shooting and packing up before they can get on with their own shoot.

We ask that you allow plenty of time for a relaxed shoot. Others are able to book the studios immediately after your booking –we don’t build in a buffer time as we hope that you have allowed sufficient time for your shoot. If your shoot runs overtime and no one else is booked in, we require you to make a booking on-site to book in your extra time. Please note that if this is in the Pro Studio there is a 2-hour minimum so your extra time will cost a lot more than if you book sufficient time from the start. Of course we do understand that it can be hard to anticipate how long you may need, and often things don’t go according to plan. If you are unable to book online at the time please contact us to discuss an invoice for the extra time.

Yes! The community of professionals at Cog Creative is very supportive for emerging professionals and beginners alike. We all started somewhere and we all need assistance sometimes (often) too. You are able to book an assistant at a few stages of your shoot:

1. You can book a call to discuss your shoot before your booking to get advice
2. You can book a Cog Creative to set up your required lighting package (flash or LED) before you arrive. We will require an example image to get an idea of the style/look you are after, and we can work with you to plan the lighting setup and have it ready to go for you when you arrive. Please note that lighting is an extra cost on top of your studio time–we have plenty of lighting and a variety of modifiers (softboxes etc) to help support your vision
3. Or you can book an assistant for the duration of your shoot. We will assign a suitably experienced support person to be on hand to help with lighting equipment and to be available as required.

We have hosted lots of larger shoots in our boutique space. The studio is bigger than it looks. If you have a large crew (5+) and a ‘cast of thousands’involved in the shoot, we request that you book out BOTH studio spaces so that we can accommodate you –you can use the Daylight Studio forequipment storage and props etc, and make sure that another shoot doesn’t have to compete with space and facilities. We have a package deal for booking the entire space, including makeup & change room, the annexe to the Daylight Studio, plus the meeting room as a break-out space / room for production team members to work. Our resident creatives can work around most shoots BUT if your shoot involves sound recording we do need advance notice so that resident photographers can plan to work quietly and avoid meetings etc on that day.

Our kitchen has a coffee machine and kettle that are available for you to use. Please bring your own milk, and if you have a large crew please bring a bag of your favourite coffee beans and some teabags. We have mugs and glasses -please wash and dry them at the end of your shoot. We have a fridge that you are welcome to use, but there is limited space. If you need lots of fridge space please let us know in advance.