research

typical techniques include high key, low key and using a white or black background
studio essentials are a tripod, camera, lights,

High key is a lighting style that uses lots of bright light to reduce shadows so that the subject looks almost 2D, but it is also used to convey happiness, honesty, or innocence (the technique is used for small children and babies very often). Low key uses very few lights and a dark background, it revels in shadow; in a film (movie) photography etc context it is usually used to suggest sadness, fear and horror; for a photo in itself, it can just be far more intriguing than a High key photo. Soft and hard lights refer to the shadow the lights cast - for soft lighting there would normally be several lights with some type of umbrella and cast gradual shadows, while a hard light will have nothing in front of it to soften the light, so will cast abrupt shadows which pick out the features in detail.
A white background is an essential, even if it is not needed in every photo shoot, it a basic, like a tripod, you need it there in case you do need/want to use it. 

All studios have and use backgrounds - whether black, white or colour - they are essential to a studio photograph as there will always be some kind of background. A plain green, blue or white background can be changed to a different colour or more complicated background than one plain colour - such as scenery - digitally using Photoshop or another similar program. A plain background distracts from the subject far less than a busy background.



I have 2 ideas for my project, but given the time constraints, only one is feasible. The first, and favorite idea, is a masks based projects.

The second, slightly harder to carry out idea, is a picture that's all one colour; the subjects skin, hair, dress, background etc

http://photo.net/learn/studio/primer
http://www.software-cinema.com/page/13/tinkertubes
http://www.illustratedphotography.com/basic-photography/hard-and-soft-light