Photographing Furniture

Documenting work is critical. How important? That’s tough to say. I remember Gary Knox Bennet sharing, with his furniture and at the level he worked at, that his work was involved in a contest of “who could take the best picture” with other furnituremakers from around the world. I’m not working at that level and there’s no competition involved with my photography.

There are makers who do incredible work, with a backlog of orders, who do not photograph. But I believe it’s more common to photograph and share, or photograph and add to a portfolio, because it helps lead to more work.

I am an amatuer photographer who shoots his own work. What follows here is my setup and approach. Professionals have a better setup. And better lighting, better backdrops, and better cameras. Add that to more knowledge, experience, and skill, and professional photography is worth the cost. I’ve (happily) paid for their skills in the past. That changed as I worked on Backwoods Chairmakers. Traveling and shooting at different locations forced me to improve or embarass myself. Failure’s a strong motivator. The intense training also improved my photography within my own shop. Now I shoot all my own furniture.

My hope here is that the information helps another woodworker with their approach to photography. It’s not to claim I’m a great photographer (or that these are great images). Or that you should follow my lead. It’s only to share how I photograph my furniture. If you’re looking for great photography and storytelling, check out Siosi Design.

There’s a little photography jargon below, but it doesn’t go very deep.

Why I Photograph Furniture:

First reason: I enjoy picking up my camera.

Second reason (& most pressing for my business): It provides something to share, either through instagram, or on my website, or here on Substack. I need to share my work (via shows, gallery, or online) in order to put things in front of potential customers or to share information with other woodworkers. I predominately share online, where photos are the medium. They create the portfolio and body of work. In simple terms; good photos attract interest. Bad ones do the opposite.

Camera:

I shoot with a Canon 5D Classic. It’s the original DSLR from 2005. It’s 20 year old technology. The camera’s target was to match Canon Film cameras. The 5D is a full frame camera and records 12.7 megapixels

My backup is a Canon Rebel 3ti. It’s a crop sensor. In most ways, it’s a better camera than the 5D. It records 18 megapixels and does much better with crisp details.

Both are cheap on the secondary market. I keep them with me in the shop.

Why these cameras? I like the image as it comes from the 5D. I do minimal editing (I don’t use photoshop or lightroom….someday, but not yet). My editing happens with the built in iphone photo editor. It’s enough to brighten a dark image, or crop out some clutter around the perimeter. The photo editor is limited, but it works perfectly well if I take a good image.

The 5D captures low light settings well. It captures shadows. It also doesn’t look “perfect” and I appreciate it. There’s a handmade quality to my furniture. I’d like the photo image to reflect that.

[Here’s what I mean…just look at IKEA’s furniture photography. Those images are AI perfect. I’d like to achieve the opposite of this. The 5D is ideal.]

Why not use your iphone? Good question. One I don’t have a perfect answer to. The phone camera is better than the 5D. It shoots better in low light. It has better dynamic range. The colors are more vibrant.

Here’s why I prefer the camera. The 5D gives a distinct look. That’s about it. I can achieve something different with it than I can when I shoot with the phone camera.

*Last note about the cell phone camera. It’s always in my back pocket. Sometimes it can capture an image better than 5D (fast movement in low lighting is one area the phone succeeds where my camera fails). Most furniture pictures are taken upon a tripod, so fast movement isn’t a concern.

Another reason I love the 5D. The photos come out with a slightly green tint (like many film cameras). I like that. I’m not looking to edit that out.

The white walls of the shop are an odd green.