Shooting furniture

Woodwork · October 14, 2009

Hello - I am trying to take better shots of furniture to display on our custom furniture web site. Since we focus on natural grain finish instead of paint, it is important to show the details in the wood. I don't have a lot of fancy accessories for my camera (I am brand new to the world outside of point and shoot!), and know that lighting is really important, but I am having trouble with the following:
1) clarity (everything tends to look fuzzy since the pieces are larger scale)
2) glare on the furniture (I've tried backlighting, side lighting...beginner lighting kit)
3) detail on the wood grain
Any tips on lens types, focusing, lighting? Sorry for the broad question, I am just trying to make sure my partner's work is shown for the masterpieces they are!

pathfinder · October 14, 2009

Light tent perhaps?

A light tent will create soft, diffuse, wrap around light that will help keep the lighting contrast ratios within bounds. Small light tents are often used for glass, watches or jewelry. Large light tents are used for cars.

They do not have to be expensive - some supports and some white scrim of cotton sheeting or nylon scrim will work. Try googling "light tents" and all sorts of ideas will pop up. I mad mine out of poly water piping and an old white sheet.

I used it for the lighting in this photo

Miguel Delinquento · October 14, 2009

Hire a photographer
Since furniture making, rather than photography, is the prime focus of your business, I would recommend you hire a local photographer to produce the marketing shots.
Often you can trade your products for shots. I've done this for artisans and have accepted jewelry in exchange for catalog images.
If this is not possible, then consider purchasing or borrowing a closeup ring light and a DSLR. It will produce glare-free, well-lit closeups that emphasize grain and color.
Some examples fron nature:

M

Woodwork · October 15, 2009

Thank you!
Thanks, Pathfinder and Miguel. I will look into light tents.
We've definitely considered hiring a professional - but both the cost of the work and rate at which we produce pieces (i.e. how flexible we need the photographer to be to get the work done quickly/on demand) we didn't think that was feasible for every piece, so we're trying to see what we can do...
Thanks, again - if you think of anything else, please let us know!

pathfinder · October 15, 2009

You might try using north light - like a large window open to skylight - some folks use garage doors as they are large, and if they are not facing the sun will yield nice, soft light. Use a tripod for your point and shoot, shoot with the timer rather than punching the shutter.

Consider a reflector or two to help the shadows left by the window light. These tips should offer some help.

A DSLR produces nicer files, less noisier than a P&S, but lighting is really the key here - softer, warmer, more even lighting will help you capture the image you are wanting. A good tripod helps make P&Ss a lot better also!

Don Kondra · October 15, 2009

More info please....

It would help to know what kind of camera and lights you are using now.

Can you show an example of your shots ?

Lighting is the key and the ability to shoot at f 11ish doesn't hurt either

Cheers, Don

Woodwork · October 18, 2009

Don Kondra wrote:

More info please....

It would help to know what kind of camera and lights you are using now.

Can you show an example of your shots ?

Lighting is the key and the ability to shoot at f 11ish doesn't hurt either

Cheers, Don

Thanks, Don. I checked out your site - beautiful work!
Our site is HeirloomWoodworks.com
I have only taken the first couple of shots in the portfolio section - the others were taken by other people, but we photoshopped the background out.
I do agree it is about the lighting - the best shots of my husband's work are not on the site since we didn't have the white background (cloth) up, but were taken when the pieces were just sitting outside in natural light. But when we shoot outside it is really hard to control the background and the type of light there is (most of the shots are in the Bay Area and one day can be foggy, one day sunny). Perhaps if we could figure out an easy background setup for outdoors (right now we hang the white cloth from a rod from wall to wall by the ceiling, then roll it down. We were going to switch to paper since it's hard to keep the cloth clean.
We are using the Nikon D90 DLSR with a 50/1.8 lens, no flash. I definitely think I should use a tripod in the future...
We bought a 'starter' light kit that has 3 lights on stands (sorry, can't recall the name) with diffusers. We use one behind the cloth facing out to the furniture, then the other 2 on either side. We can't seem to get rid of the glare and shadows, so not sure if we just need more of lights and/or are directing them the wrong way.

By the way, thanks to everyone here for the fast responses/suggestions. This is a great community of really helpful and generous artists! We are completely new to photography (vs. wooodworking) so appreciate the patience you all have with my amateur questions!

Don Kondra · October 18, 2009

Okay, first of all a tripod is a must to achieve the best image quality.

You didn't say what type or power the lights are or what kind of diffusers ?

Rather than be at the mercy of the weather I would suggest you make room in the shop to hang a backdrop and control the lighting.

If the shot of the Amboyna entrance table is yours I would suggest you change it to a 3/4 profile which will show the shape and proportion of the piece.

Sure, the top is a selling feature but that should be secondary in the presentation.

The general public is going to look at the visual shape of the table first, then they may consider the woods used.

But let's get back to your lighting for now and see if we can make it work for you...

Cheers, Don

time2smile · October 18, 2009

Try a polorizing filter for the glare. If your lights are triggered with optic slaves than your preflash may be effecting the shot. Turn your FV lock on Pencil F3 to FV lock, then use the button under the focus assist lamp to set the preflash (make sure your meter setting is long enouf that the lock does not shut off). This will prevent a prefash from firing.

Good luck

Don Kondra · October 20, 2009

You know, I've read the "use a polarizing filter" so many times I decided to try it.

Doesn't work.

All it does is reduce the amount of light, the hot spots/shine are still there.

The answer, I have been told, is to polarize the lights and the lens.

More stuff to buy and try

Cheers, Don

time2smile · October 20, 2009

Don Kondra wrote:

You know, I've read the "use a polarizing filter" so many times I decided to try it.

Doesn't work.

All it does is reduce the amount of light, the hot spots/shine are still there.

The answer, I have been told, is to polarize the lights and the lens.

More stuff to buy and try

Cheers, Don

Heres a idea, try to rubberband one side of a pair of polorizing sunglasses to a speedlight, if the glare is better than that may be the way to go. If it doesn't work you wount be out the bucks.

JohnBiggs · October 29, 2009

time2smile wrote:

Heres a idea, try to rubberband one side of a pair of polorizing sunglasses to a speedlight, if the glare is better than that may be the way to go. If it doesn't work you wount be out the bucks.

I've heard on a podcast that you just get a polarizing gel.

Shooting furniture

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