Furniture photography is similar to product photography but on a larger scale. It usually requires a lot of space and effort to photograph such things because of its size.
Photos needs to look great, as these would be displayed for getting sales. You won’t get the chance to shoot furniture photos multiple times, these are not so easy to move here and there.
Companies won’t even hire you again if you don’t get it right the first time, so be very careful.
Therefore, we have compiled a list of tips and guide that will help you with your furniture photography.
First, let’s look at the camera and equipment that you might want to consider.
Cameras and Equipment
Camera You don’t need any serious camera setup for furniture photography.
You can use something as simple as smartphone or a normal digital camera to shoot photos, but we won’t recommend it if you are aiming to work on anything professional. For personal photography, it will be fine.
Regarding camera type, use either a DSLR or a Mirror less camera. Both will give similar quality photos; differences are in how they are built. Keep in mind that mirror less camera’s battery life is not as good as DSLR cameras.
What brand should you buy totally depends on personal preference. Go to any camera shop and see which camera suits you the best.
Lenses If you want to shoot lifestyle product photography, having a wide-angle lens might help. But for something like ecommerce, having a telephoto will be a good idea.
Get Some Inspiration
Now a days, competitions in online marketplace have increased significantly. Whoever can visually appeal the clients, tends to get the most traffic. So, we always recommend to check the top competitors on what they are doing, and how it benefits them.
Get some inspirations from their photographs and see if it will work for you or if you can do better than them.
Clean the Furniture before Shoot
This is the most obvious suggestion that you will get, which is to clean your furniture before shooting.
Make sure that you clean any kind of dust, scratches or any other imperfections from the furniture. Remove all the tags and properly polish each part of the furniture.
Customers tends to be very cautious when purchasing furniture products, as these would be used at least for few years and are also quite expensive.
If the product is going to be sold online then it is crucial that it looks pristine. If your products don’t look good, people wouldn’t purchase it. So, cleaning is a must.
If you are photographing used furniture then don’t hide the imperfections, you can’t fix it and it won’t be very ethical. Customers should get the product exactly how they saw it on the photos.
By not giving them what they expected, company will lose those customers. They won’t purchase products from the company again, and also the company won’t hire you to photograph for them again.
Another thing to note is that, if the company is selling new product and on a large scale, and they have given you to shoot the demo unit then it will be find to hide the imperfections.
Customers will be getting the new polished product anyways.
By not polishing, it will only harm the sales, so make sure it looks pristine.
Find a Big Location
You cannot do furniture photography in a small space. These consumes a lot of space by its own.
Try to get a big room with natural light. Furniture photos looks great in natural lighting. If you don’t have natural light than you would have to use artificial lights to compensate for it.
Place your product near the window. If the sunlight is too harsh then it will create solid shadow, in that case, you will need to use reflectors and diffusers to adjust the lighting. Use the reflector on the area where there is a harsh shadow, it will help to fade the shadow. A diffuser will help to balance the light around your product.
Using a soft box will also be a great idea, it can illuminate the complete setup with even light. Try to use a big soft box for better results.
Furniture photography lighting tips
There are various sort of lighting sources that can be used to capture furniture photography. The best lighting is the light from the natural source. Sunlight is very much helpful to show precisely the shape and design of the furniture in the photo. If you’re doing furniture studio photography then I would suggest using some soft box for better and sharp shots.
Use a White Backdrop
If you want a really clean look, use a backdrop, you need a big one for furniture photography.
You can buy a large piece of paper or use a large white cloth. Make sure your backdrop doesn’t have any creases, otherwise, it will create a shadow and have a line going behind your product.
Whatever backdrop you are using, make sure it doesn’t have wrinkles on it. You can remove wrinkles in post-processing but it may not look very natural.
For a lifestyle product photography, you have a lot of freedom when choosing backdrops. Simply, go online and look for the ones that fits your theme.
Use a Tripod for Steady Shots
Consider buying a tripod, it will surely help with the shoot. Tripod will eliminate motion blur that you might have gotten in your photos if you were shooting by holding the camera on your hands.
Tripods are used to keep the camera stand still in the perfect angle. Using tripod will give you accurate photos. You can change the angle to take different photos by using a tripod. So, it is always better to use tripod while doing furniture photography.
Don’t Use Props
Unless you are lifestyle product photography, we would recommend that you don’t use props. Everyone has different tastes. Customers may not like your choice of styling and props may distract customers from focusing on the product.
If the company is not very popular then having props may make them think that you are hiding some defects from the product. There are a lot of scammers online. So, it’s best you don’t use any props.
Get your Angles Right
Selecting the angle is a tough job in any kind of photography. You must notice the angle before you shoot. The angle shouldn’t be much narrow or wide. Even a straight angle sometimes gets bad photos.
Your furniture’s size, length should be taken under consideration. Only after calculating all these variations you will be able to select the perfect angle for your furniture’s photo.
Professional photographers can calculate all these variations and take the perfect photo of your furniture.
Try to show as many sides of the product possible. This way customers will have the chance to get a better view of the product before buying.
Shooting at straight angles will make your photo look flat. Move your camera in various angles to get a better perspective of the product. Customers will be looking at the product through photos, so if you can show them various dimensions of the product, they will surely appreciate it.
Take multiple shots in various positions. You may find something that may make the product look more interesting.
Take multiple shots
One or two shots won’t be enough to satisfy your customers. You have to take photos from different angles and views. Take at least 5 or 6 shots from same angle and select the best ones in the end. Then your customer will believe that your furniture looks good from every angle and be satisfied enough to buy it.
Use Tripod while shooting
Tripods are used to keep the camera stand still in the perfect angle. Using tripod will give you accurate photos. You can change the angle to take different clicks by using a tripod. Besides, clicking photos with your hand can often spoil it. So, it is always better to use tripod while furniture photography.
Take multiple shots
One or two shots won’t be enough to satisfy your customers. You have to take photos from different angles and views. Take at least 5 or 6 shots from one angle and select the best ones in the end. Switch the props and then take multiple clicks of your furniture. Then your customer will believe that your furniture looks good from every angle and be satisfied enough to buy it.
Make it Better in Post-Processing
Post-processing is absolutely, but keep it original. Edit the image to make small adjustments, don’t overdo anything. Edit to improve the white balance, color correction, background enhancements etc.
If you don’t know how to edit or don’t have the time, then consider outsourcing. There are a lot of professional sites that can edit the photos for you.
Consider checking out our site fixtheretouch.com, we provide a wide range of professional photo editing services. We work for a lot of international clients and we also have a great portfolio.
Another useful tip that we can give you is that, when photographing, always shoot in RAW format. This will give you greater flexibility in post-processing.
Conclusion
Furniture photography can be very tricky, but it is also very rewarding. Remember to focus on the details of the product. These details are the things that will catch the attention of the customers and will be the deciding factor of purchasing it. Take shots from multiple angles to give a better view. Some things to keep in mind are, when doing this kind of photography always remember to be ethical.
