Furniture Photography

[AlanM]

March 14, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Hey All,
Ive been asked to take shots for a local custom furniture store, tables, units, chairs etc.. There are 2 situations where I’ll be taking the shots, a large warehouse where the furniture is stored and the homes of the people who buy the furniture. I’ve done lots of different types of photography but have to admit that furniture photography is entirely alien to me. They will be looking to have copies for emailing to clients, putting on their website and also to print for a catalog/magazine or newspaper.
Can anyone advise me on what lighting set-up’s etc I will need for this? Also does anyone have any ideas on pricing for this type of work?
I have a trial to take 2-3 pictures to begin with and if it goes well there may be a lot more work in it for me.
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply

[jb7]

March 14, 2008 at 12:57 pm

There would appear to be a convention in catalogue pictures for furniture
to set pieces against a white background-

Interior shots, whether in real interiors or room sets,
should really be discussed fully with the clients, or whoever might be responsible for the art direction-

The more you put in, the more chance that somebody will find some of it distasteful-

Look around the web, and you’ll find lots of examples-

http://www.bebitalia.it/collezioni/bebitalia-scelta.asp?lingua=en&ID_Collezione=1&ID_Tipologia=1

http://vitra.com/products/designer/charles_ray_eames/ea_117_ea_119/default.asp?lang=gb_en

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10120078

http://ligne-roset.com/

http://www.knoll.com/knoll_home.jsp

[AlanM]

March 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Thanks JB7, as always a wealth of help and information.
I had looked and seen a lot of single items and room set-ups on white backgrounds, but unfortunately Ive been told this morning that its not really going to be possible to stage the sets, most of them will be in the customers homes having been sold already and Im required to take pictures on location, without making major re-arrangements. I would normally just set up the scene and put the camera on the tripod, dialling in the manual settings, but from what I’ve read this morning people seem to use extensive light set-ups, 7-8 lights with varying softboxes and barndoors. I dont mind setting all this up, but wonder if there is an easier more mobile option as these will be expensive homes and time is quite limited. Maybe 1-2hrs for 3-4 pieces.
Thanks again for the info.

[jb7]

March 14, 2008 at 1:50 pm

To some extent, pictures of furniture are a bit like portraits-
its usually better to put some distance between you and the subject
so that the perspective is flattened-

If one end of a piece of furniture seems disproportionately larger than the other,
well, that’s not going to look very good-

Going into someone’s house for the first time isn’t an ideal way to come up with a picture,
and you’ll have to take what you get-

I’m not sure you’ll need the amount of lights you mention,
but you will need some-
particularly if you’re going to balance interior lighting with a view to the exterior-

And as always, you’ll get much better pictures if the furniture looks good to begin with-

j

[AlanM]

March 14, 2008 at 1:55 pm

Thanks again Jb7, I was hoping to just use 2 lights with softboxes, maybe bring along 1 with a barndoor just in case.
It is pretty decent looking furniture, though a lot of it is high sheen which is no doubt going to cause some interesting problems, apart from that its strong coloured leather against dark wood chairs, solid wood tables and units, not much in the line of glass or mirrors thankfully.
Appreciate the input..

[BM]

March 14, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Have a look at the work of Ashley Morrisson:

personal gallery on pI: https://www.photographyireland.net/album_personal.php?user_id=951

others: http://www.ampimage.com/

http://www.ashleymorrison.com/