Antique/Reclaimed Wood Furniture

[o hey tyler]

I was contracted by a local reclaimed wood wholesaler as well as craftsman to shoot photographs of the tables he makes, and some of the general antiques they have around the shop.

This place is amazing, because all of the wood has a story... and you can almost see it in the age of the grain. Everything there is absolutely beautiful... With a price tag to fit the beauty.

I used two bodies for this shoot. Shooting primes, it's easier for me to have two bodies on me to make for less lens changes. However, it probably eats up my time a bit to plug the sync cord/transmitter onto the other camera. I managed my time well and did the majority of the strobed shots on the 5D2, and used the 5D for walking around with a speedlight on camera.

The main things that I wanted to accent or highlight were:

1. The grain of the wood, it's age and distress
2. The paint, and colorful accents. They use "milk paint" which is natural and sustainable... But also provides a "worn" look after drying.
3. The styling of the legs, which varies from table to table.

I only have a few shots online right now. I haven't revealed all of them to the client yet. I will have pull back shots of the whole tables as well when showing them.



A detail shot of one of the leg stylings, as well as the paint. The table top comes from a 300 year old Sailor's house from Bath, ME... About 15 minutes away. I lit this shot with an AB800 camera right, with a 430EX off to the left for a bit of fill.



This is a pretty neat sign that was kind of placed off to the side in the shop. It's the name of the reclaimed wood wholesaler's business. I loved the grain on this one as well.
This was just shot with a 430EX on top of one of my cameras.



The owners wife wanted me to get a shot of this love seat. I got a few, but I liked this one the best. As well as the BASKETS AND THINGS!
This was shot with a 430EX II on camera.



Some home wares that look similar to Fiestaware, but have a slightly different design sense. I actually quite like these, even as a Fiesta Ware owner myself.
This was shot with an AB800 thru an umbrella off to the left and filled with a 430ex on the right.



This is a detail shot of the wood that's painted with Milk Paint. This is a table top of a fairly large dining table. The paint/wood texture is what really drew me in.
This was with a similar setup as the last shot in terms of lighting.

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[o hey tyler]

I should have known it would get 0 replies in this forum.

[mjhoward]

They're pretty solid. No 2 & 3 are standing out most to me. For no.2, the color is nice, the grain and ridges in the wood have good presence and depth to them, and to me, the it is interesting subject matter. Those old time rustic pieces are always eye catching and interesting to me anyway. They've always got a lot of character and you can pretty much print them up and hang them anywhere. No. 3 I like mainly because of the way it's lit. At first it looks like a slight vignette was added, but on closer inspection, the shadows under the sofa indicate maybe you had a high light close to the wall and the 'vignette' is where less light spilled? Either way, it's nice. I could see that being printed and hanged somewhere like an old diner or barber shop.

[o hey tyler]

They're pretty solid. No 2 & 3 are standing out most to me. For no.2, the color is nice, the grain and ridges in the wood have good presence and depth to them, and to me, the it is interesting subject matter. Those old time rustic pieces are always eye catching and interesting to me anyway. They've always got a lot of character and you can pretty much print them up and hang them anywhere. No. 3 I like mainly because of the way it's lit. At first it looks like a slight vignette was added, but on closer inspection, the shadows under the sofa indicate maybe you had a high light close to the wall and the 'vignette' is where less light spilled? Either way, it's nice. I could see that being printed and hanged somewhere like an old diner or barber shop.

Thanks MJ. I appreciate the feedback. I like #3 the best as well. I actually just lit this with a straight bounce flash off the ceiling, ISO 800, f/2.5. To be honest, I don't remember the particulars of the shot enough to tell you why the light fell that particular way. It may have been a support brace across the middle of the room that cast a slight shadow. There were actually White christmas lights just a fraction of an inch outside the frame which I would have liked to include, but the space didn't permit for such.

[mjhoward]

BTW, I think the crop/framing of No.3 is perfect. I would maaaybe clone out the white board on the right just for symmetry. To me that edit would make a nice print.

[o hey tyler]

BTW, I think the crop/framing of No.3 is perfect. I would maaaybe clone out the white board on the right just for symmetry. To me that edit would make a nice print.

Dude you read my mind. After I put all my gear away and the shop was closing, I was like "****, I should have moved that white board out of the way."

Well, chances are (if all things go well on Saturday), I'll have a job there. So lots more photos will be taken, and I'll DEFINITELY retake that one. Mark my words! In the meanwhile, I could give 'er a whirl at cloning. "I don't always edit pixels, but when I do, I use Adobe Photoshop."

[vipgraphx]

I hesitate to reply but I will. I also like taking shots of subjects with wood. Wood in itself has so much character with the many varieties you can always capture different textures. My favorite is number 2. I like how everything is in focus and the lighting is spot on. The colors are nice and rich and for not doing any processing its a great photo with lots of detail. For some strange reason I like those the square joints or knobs what ever they are. I like how they cast no shadow.

#1 I would have preferred to have the corner edge in focus as well to see more detail.

#3 is also nice I like the colors and agree about the white board on the right side but you have already addressed that. Maybe next time you can reshoot without that board. I would also prefer to see it without the basket of bottles on the seat but that is just me. I see where it ties in with the sign though. This actually looks like it would be a great place to do a portrait shoot I don't know why but it does. You may also try to clone out the smug on the wall.

number 4 and 5 don't really do anything for me not to say that its wrong or right and if you are paid to take pictures of items in the store you accomplished that. The picture with the dishes bugs me that every shelf has color except for the clear glass cups. From a composition side I would have put some color in that row and give that row some life.

[o hey tyler]

I hesitate to reply but I will.

Why? I'd love to hear your feedback.

I also like taking shots of subjects with wood. Wood in itself has so much character with the many varieties you can always capture different textures. My favorite is number 2. I like how everything is in focus and the lighting is spot on. The colors are nice and rich and for not doing any processing its a great photo with lots of detail. For some strange reason I like those the square joints or knobs what ever they are. I like how they cast no shadow.

Thank you! The reason that the knobs cast no shadow is because I used a High ISO to expose for some of the ambient, as well as a pretty slow shutter speed. I used flash to make the wood really pop, and dragged the shutter at a high ISO to minimize the shadows around the knobs.

#1 I would have preferred to have the corner edge in focus as well to see more detail.

I agree. I was using a 50mm f/2.5 macro as opposed to my 50mm f/1.4 which have vastly different close focusing distances. I was closer than I normally would have been with the 50 1.4, and I didn't take into account that I should have used somewhere between f/5.6 - f/8. I'll definitely be watching for that the next time.

#3 is also nice I like the colors and agree about the white board on the right side but you have already addressed that. Maybe next time you can reshoot without that board. I would also prefer to see it without the basket of bottles on the seat but that is just me. I see where it ties in with the sign though. This actually looks like it would be a great place to do a portrait shoot I don't know why but it does. You may also try to clone out the smug on the wall.

I think I have a photo without the bottles on the seat, but I think they managed to be just in the bottom of the frame. I'll have to revisit that image and see if it's worthy. I'll post it up tomorrow if it is. I think it would be a great place for a portrait shoot as well. They had a bunch of nice furniture arrangements that would be suitable for portraiture. I'm unsure of what smug you mean though...? Are you talking about the ladle? I kinda thought that was neat how well it matched with the wall.

number 4 and 5 don't really do anything for me not to say that its wrong or right and if you are paid to take pictures of items in the store you accomplished that. The picture with the dishes bugs me that every shelf has color except for the clear glass cups. From a composition side I would have put some color in that row and give that row some life.

Yeah, I see what you mean about the one clear shelf of dishes. Maybe if I get a job there, I can work with different arrangements. She was getting ready to close down shop and head home by the time I was clicking those last few frames.

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

[Rotanimod]

I like 2 and 3 quite a bit.

[KenC]

Interesting set. They show what you wanted them to show. The last one seems a bit dark to me. There are no areas so dark you can't see detail, so I think it might improve from just bringing up the highlights a bit. It also looks a little tilted to the left. The dark area along the bottom is not straight, so it may be difficult to say what is "tilted" but it just looks that way because that area is thicker on the right than in the center.

[o hey tyler]

Interesting set. They show what you wanted them to show. The last one seems a bit dark to me. There are no areas so dark you can't see detail, so I think it might improve from just bringing up the highlights a bit. It also looks a little tilted to the left. The dark area along the bottom is not straight, so it may be difficult to say what is "tilted" but it just looks that way because that area is thicker on the right than in the center.

Thanks for the feedback. The last one was originally underexposed, but I brought it up in post by 1/3 of a stop to make the exposure proper. That's roughly the tonality and darkness of the wood/paint. As for the tilt, it's all hand painted. I think I got the center line in the wood level... As I used that for reference rather than the paint. I figured it would be straighter. I think the tilt you see on the paint is just from the rustic hand painted feel it gives off... But thank you for bringing it to my attention regardless. I'll have to take more photos around the tables to find which one looks the most uniform and straight to my eyes.

[tirediron]

Nice set; can't really add anything other than to say that I agree with the general concensus.

[o hey tyler]

Thanks John. What do you think about throwing a graduated neutral density filter over the last photo in post on the left side? Might make it a bit more even. I'll play around with it. I've also got to upload the loveseat without the Milk jugs too.

[tirediron]

Hmmm, to be honest, I think I would prefer to try and re-shoot that one if I could; I think it's got potential for a great shot. The G-ND filter might help. Have you tried curves adjustment by channel?

[o hey tyler]

Hmmm, to be honest, I think I would prefer to try and re-shoot that one if I could; I think it's got potential for a great shot. The G-ND filter might help. Have you tried curves adjustment by channel?

No I haven't. Good idea. The table is in an unfortunate location, tons of window light to the left and it's up against a wall. Maybe I can re-shoot later in the day sometime without so much competing light. I was using a CPL to try and cut down on the glare, but it just wasn't getting rid of all of it.