Furniture photos?

SquarePeg · Mar 26, 2019

Hi. As most of you know I have no intention of "going pro" and don't want to turn something I love into a job. A friend of a friend has a custom design furniture/cabinetry business and is looking for someone to take photos for his "portfolio". Mostly they will be used on Facebook and his website for potential clients to look at. My friend recommended me to him and he is interested in working with me.

Not sure I want to take this on - although it would be local and probably not very time consuming, it would still be another commitment in what has become a very busy life lately. What is involved with this type of photography? For those that know my skill level - is this something I'm capable of? I have the right lenses and some lights. Wouldn't mind earning some money to pay for my GAS habit...

Designer · Mar 26, 2019

Hey there.

I have done something very similar. A good friend of mine turns wooden objects in his workshop, and wanted photographs of everything so he could have a record and publish the photos on a website. I did this in two tranches, mostly because he is constantly making new ones. The first group (well over a hundred bowls and urns) I transported to my house so I could use my own light tent setup. That was a tremendous amount of work, not only in transporting them, but also in photographing each piece, side view and top view.

The second group (also over one hundred pieces) he wanted me to do the photography in his workshop. So there I was, no light tent, no flash, no backdrop, sawdust all over the place, and fluorescent lighting. I did the best I could, and the results were not exactly terrible, but it satisfied my friend. The first group I was offered my choice of pieces, and I took a large wooden bowl, and when I gave him the files, he offered me another piece. The second group I took a small urn and my wife didn't like it so she suggested I exchange it, but I just returned it.

I will say that this project could be very time consuming, and if your time isn't valuable, then perhaps you can make a go of it. When I did the bowls, it took several days, including labeling each photograph with the species of wood and the size. Frankly, I am not anticipating doing any more of them.

Yes, you're capable of producing acceptable results, but I hope you don't spend hours in editing.

tirediron · Mar 26, 2019

I have no doubt you can produce the desired results, so that's off the table. This kind of work can be tricky, ESPECIALLY if it's very glossy furniture. Reflections can be very challenging to control. Assuming that all the pieces are different and not huge, say, night-table to hall table size, I would expect to dedicate an hour per piece initially, and once you get a workflow dialed in, then maybe 15-20 minutes per piece. Once you get it figured out, post should be a matter of 2-3 minutes. Colour correct, clone out any minor issues, crop, done.

Derrel · Mar 26, 2019

YOU could most likely do this, yes. I think you could pull this off.

Soocom1 · Mar 26, 2019

One of the first set of photographs I did for product sales I shot a Minolta x370. Then eventually graduated to my now stolen Minolts 7D.
The camera IMO is not the core of the work. The lighting is as others have stated.
Direct lighting is the real issue along with the afore mentioned glossy reflection.

To handle that I wound up with some white sheets and lights pointed toward them, and the reflective light (now heavily defused) OVER, not ON the object.

The real trick is to defuse the shadows and allow full detail of the product.

soft reflectors work very well here, and some good LED pointed at white pillow sheets work very well.

I would STRONGLY suggest a book from B&N or other book store or Amazon or wherever on photo lighting. No need for uber fancy. The intent is defused light.

Dave442 · Mar 26, 2019

Furniture in often shown in a simulated location that matches the style of the furniture (rustic, modern, etc) or just a white background. Cabinetry is a bit more complicated as it is often sitting on a shop floor in sections when ready to go out - and that doesn't look anything like the final installation.

As they are local it is definitely worthwhile meeting up with them. See if it is something you can work into your schedule, if they have a location to shoot the pieces, etc. Like tirediron noted, your initial time will be much longer per piece vs later on. I'm sure you can provide the images they are looking for.