Replies

1. 
   Rob Brown | Nov 02, 2009 05:21pm | #1

   First of all, you need patience. Tons of it, if you're not a super whiz with cameras, lighting, etc.

   I have a 10' wide roll of white paper attached to the ceiling of my studio. When needed I pull it down to cover enough of the floor. This is the part where I am still learning...I have a couple of medium sized lights (specifically for photography) that all have the same temperature (very important - for me 5000 degrees Kelvin) light bulb. I play around and take a bunch of shots until I am happy. I find I have to pay special attention to lighting the background paper as well as the piece.

   Check out a camera specialty store. They can help with gear as well as tips on lighting. I find the lighting very tricky. You can make some lights if you know what you're doing. You can also make a background drape out of a large drop sheet that has been painted.

   ___________________
   Rob Brown
   http://www.equinoxinteriors.ca
2. 
   boilerbay | Nov 02, 2009 06:17pm | #2

   A seamless background - try Savage.

   For more artsy, a very large (say 12 x14 -- 16 x 20 better) painter's canvas drop cloth or muslin, dyed. The more splatters, the better, hung, with draped folds down to behind piece and rumpled out to sides. Keep adding different paint layers (rolled/sponged) over the years, always somewhat lighter toward center. It will change and grow with "mystique" and is also good for portraits.

   Do a google on "making a canvas backdrop" and you'll find a ton of info.

   Boiler

   attached: McGuire photography background - ignore bikers

   
1. 
   Jfrostjr | Nov 05, 2009 05:24pm | #9

   I use a lighting set-up I learned from Michael Fortune. Just pieces of white foam-core taped together. Ordinary 100 watt bulbs inside. One semi-cylindrical reflector on each side and the rectangular one on top. I use a $50 roll of photo, backdrop paper. I suspend the lights from the garage ceiling with a system of pulleys. Of course the car goes out when I shoot.The first time you use it you will have to create a "custom white balance". I hope your camera has this facility.I like the subtle shadow effect where the legs contact the paper.It helps show that the furniture is not just floating in space,Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
   in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman

   
1. 
   cwalvoord | Nov 05, 2009 09:55pm | #11

   Frosty,
   Could you give us a pic of the "working sides" of your light setup? I too have been developing a lighting setup for taking pictures of my work and would be interested in seeing the arrangement of the bulb(s) inside. It looks like a nice, simple setup.
   Thanks
   Chris

3. 
   RMillard | Nov 02, 2009 06:20pm | #3

   The quest to become good at photography, is a subject that pretty much fills my day.  There have been several discussion on the subject, so a search will yield some information.

   The more or less standard background, is paper, which is available in a rainbow of colors. I used to use a light gray, but on some excellent advise, I went to a darker shade of gray (Dove gray from Savage). I just tape it to the wall and roll it out so there is a gentle curve at the floor.

    The light is the tricky part. Until I can afford to step up to a professional strobe system, I have to get by with continuous lighting. I use the daylight balanced compact florescent bulbs set in front of white cloth stretched over a PVC pipe frame. I also made a soft box out of foamcore and a shower curtain. All low tech stuff, but surprisingly effective.

   I use to think the key was to flood the scene with light, but actually the photos look much better if the piece is lit and the background is somewhat darker. To achieve this, heavy black cloth is hung from the ceiling to selectively block light from hitting the background. My shop space is so limited, that it is fairly difficult for me to adequately separate the background from subject and still have enough room in front of the subject so I can use a lens that won't hopelessly distort the piece.

   Rob Millard
   http://www.americanfederalperiod.com

   
1. 
   | Nov 15, 2009 03:14am | #18

   Rob,

   As with all of your work, the photo is beautiful. I also love that table. It would be great if you could write an article for FWW on building one. Keep up the good work, It gives guys like me something to aspire to.

   Bob, Tupper Lake, NY

4. 
   RickL | Nov 02, 2009 07:46pm | #4

   Grey would be one of the best choices for backdrops for furniture.

   http://www.backdropsource.com/Productinfo.asp?id=1240&pname=storm-gray-background-paper

5. 
   troys | Nov 03, 2009 08:59am | #5

   I would second the suggestion of a light grey background paper, white paper can flair back into the lens and the grey looks a bit more elegant. Seamless paper comes in 9 and 12 foot widths. The 9 foot width is good for furniture the size of chairs and small tables the 12 foot will work for dresser size items. If you are photographing larger furniture you can use painted canvas. Of course now you need lighting:)

   Good luck

   Troy

1. 
   Timberwerks | Nov 03, 2009 11:59pm | #6

   I agree with gray background. For this table, I think gray would have been a better choice but the photogragher on site where this was photgraphed only had white. I think the canvas background sounds like a great idea as well.Timberwerks Studio Blog 

   Timberwerks On Twitter

    

    

   
1. 
   troys | Nov 04, 2009 06:18am | #7

   Hey Timberwerks unfortunately I don't have any digital samples of furniture that I shot when I was a professional photographer all of the furniture I photographed on canvas was done on film (about 15 years ago)I would have some of the photos scanned but the furniture I photographed (factory built mass production pieces) was so ugly I would not want to post the pictures :) Your furniture looks great by the way.Troy

2. 
   [email protected] | Nov 12, 2009 12:59am | #12

   thanks-I got a lot of good information from you and others. will try to find the lighting book on Amazon. the foam core...is it just a box made from foam with some sort of cloth on the front to soften the light?

1. 
   troys | Nov 12, 2009 09:30am | #13

   Foam core is a paper product like cardboard but with a paper outside and a foam center it usually is 1/4 inch thick if your making a light box use the foam core that is black on one side and black on the other. The best foam core is called Gatorboard if I remember right. Good luckTroy

1. 
   boilerbay | Nov 12, 2009 05:33pm | #14

   When I used it back in the day, Gatorboard is a plasticized surface foam core and is very tough where as traditional foam core is paper surfaced. Foam core also comes in black on both sides to block light or scrim it. Traditional yellows significantly over time. Enough to create a color cast. Gatorboard is much heavier, and harder to cut. Would not use either close to hot lights. Gatorboard melts and foam core ignites.
   Don't ask.

   Edited 11/12/2009 9:34 am by boilerbay

1. 
   troys | Nov 13, 2009 02:53am | #15

   Been there:) after that I only used foam core for some homemade softboxes for strobes not hot lights. Troy

2. 
   RalphBarker | Nov 13, 2009 08:34pm | #16

   The idea behind a softbox, whether commercial or homemade, is to reflect as much light from the strobe as possible onto the diffusion fabric at the front. The lighted fabric then becomes the actual light source for the images. Thus, the sides of the "box" should be angled such that the light is bounced to the front. Cut the sides as trapezoids, then fit the rectangular back panel to the resulting opening.Depending on the opacity of the fabric being used, an intermediate diffuser may also be needed to eliminate the "hot spot" in the center of the front fabric panel. Ideally, the front panel fabric should be less opaque than bedsheet fabric, but more than curtain sheers. The inside surface of the foamcore can also be covered with crumpled, then re-flattened aluminum foil to gain more light output. Doing so also solves the problem of the foamcore yellowing over time. Spray aerosol adhesive on the foamcore, then apply the foil like wallpaper.

6. 
   Rob Brown | Nov 05, 2009 05:03pm | #8

   I have had the problem of my white paper flaring up, or of it turning interesting colours. I will look into the grey.

   Is there a website or book out there that someone could recommend on this topic (furniture photography). Being barely an amateur photographer it's hard to get the little things right, let alone the big things. Sometimes when I do get it right, I have no idea what I did.

   ___________________
   Rob Brown
   http://www.equinoxinteriors.ca
1. 
   RalphBarker | Nov 05, 2009 09:14pm | #10

   Perhaps the best general book on photographic lighting is "Light, Science and Magic" by Hunter and Fuqua from Focal Press. It is not furniture-specific, but will teach you about lighting different types of surfaces and the importance of where the lights are placed in relation to the camera position.

7. 
   dmdnk | Nov 15, 2009 02:12am | #17

   I bought a 12' wide roll of paper backdrop from a photo store.  I thought it would be a good idea to use a neutral color so I chose a tan paper.  Big mistake!  Since most of the finishes I did were some shade of brown there was not enough contrast between furniture and background.  Especially if I later wanted to extract a portion of the photo in photoshop.....

1. 
   gofigure | Jan 25, 2010 08:32pm | #19

   Try vinyl flooring, matte finish, marbled gray (no brown). And the only way I know for a non professional photographer to produce good lighting is to photograph outside. Sunlight. Early morning and late afternoon can create a nice mood. And take as many shots as you can stomach sift through.

8. 
   mvflaim | Jan 25, 2010 09:33pm | #20

   I went the opposite route and just hired a local photographer to come over and take shots of my furniture. He was part time photographer and charged $60.00 an hour and took nearly a fifty photos in two hours time. As far as I'm concerned he was worth every penny.

   He showed up at my house and pulled out about $8000 worth of camera equipment from his car and was able to take photos I would never be able to do myself. A man has to know his limitations and I know nothing of cameras nor photography equipment. The photographer was as proud of his craft as I am of woodworking. There is no way I'm spending the time and money learning photography just to take a few shots of my furniture. Plus, I made a new friend.

9. 
   zolton | Jan 26, 2010 11:38am | #21

   For what it's worth, it's
   For what it's worth, it's easy and cheap to make a very flattering mottled gray background out of inexpensive fabric, not canvas. Some of the troubles associated with background paper are keeping it clean and unwrinkled - and lighting it properly. A lot of these are solved with a mottled background.

   Buy some 50/50 cotton and polyester blend fabric from a fabric store, in a wide width. Sew a pipe pocket into one end so you can hang it from a pipe in your shop or basement, and then run it through a washing machine. Remove it from the washing machine while still wet, and then dunk it into a tub of water in order to make it even wetter. Lay it out flat on a lawn.

   Mix up some black or gray fabric dye and dunk a paintbrush into it. Using your wrist, flap the brush at the fabric to create spatter marks; you can also run the bristles over your fingers to get them to flip the dye onto the fabric. The water-soaked fabric allows the dye to spread out into interesting, overlapping circles - some dark and some light; some large and some small. It helps to use a couple of different, though very similar, colors. It breaks up the monotony of having only one color.

   Leave the fabric to dry and then pack it up into a duffel bag. Doing so creates wrinkles that add to the texture of the background. Most of them disappear or show as out-of-focus elements when you put furniture on it.

   I made two backgrounds like this about 15 years ago, and I'm still using the gray one every week when I photograph student-athletes at a local college for their media guides. It has served me well and only cost $15 or so to make. I suspend it from a bungee-corded PVC plastic pipe frame that breaks down quickly and easily, rendering it very portable.

   Zolton

1. 
   zolton | Jan 27, 2010 08:01am | #22

   Just replying to my own post to see if I do, in fact, receive notification that there was a subsequent post. Zolton, you're a handsome devil!

2. 
   flairwoodworks | Jan 27, 2010 01:37pm | #23

   Sounds interesting, Zolton. I saved a copy for later reference.

1. 
   antoncermak | Mar 29, 2012 06:40am | #24

   I will defenetly take some of clue from your site for my   home renovation.

   miami website designers 

10. 
    gatordoc | Apr 25, 2012 05:54pm | #25

    adding my 5 candlepower (52.85 lumens?)

    I too have struggled with shooting my own furniture.  One of the most helpfuls sites (IMHO) is Robert Millards on photographing furniture (see his post above). Lot of good information on his site here: americanfederalperiod.com/photography%201.html or Google Robert Millard Federal Period (beautiful furniture lives there too!)

    I have played around with backdrops and finally settled on Savage Dove Grey.  I tried the speckled paint on canvas approach but found the backdrop too busy for furniture, although I like the look for people portraits.  I have a 9 foot wide roll attached to the ceiling of my shop using simple pipe fixtures, two floor flanges, two right angles and thee pipes, cheap, easy, and effective.  The next step will be to come up with an easy way to roll and unroll the paper without getting out my ladder!

    There's also some useful information here on the FWW site, just search "photograph" sitewide. 

    Finally, I think the biggest single improvement I made was adding more light!  Pour on the light and your photos will be sharper.

    Steve

    PS subject line was calculated assuming candlepower was actually mean spherical candlepower, of course.