Photographing Furniture: Modern Chair

Learn how to make modern furniture look magnificent.

In this workshop, recorded LIVE, legendary product photographer Karl Taylor demonstrates the tools and techniques you need to capture fabulous furniture photos as he produces various professional-quality images of a modern chair.

Whatever their size or shape, and whatever material they're made of, items of furniture present numerous challenges for photographers. Staging, styling, composition, and of course, lighting – these are all problems you'll need to solve if you want to produce professional-quality furniture images.

In this modern chair shoot, Karl shows you how to light two very different textures at once: the rough material of the seat and the smooth polished metal of the arms.

Whether you're gearing up for your first furniture shoot, looking to refine your existing skills, or simply seeking inspiration, this photography tutorial will provide you with the tips, tools and insights you need to succeed.

In this class:

  • Lighting techniques for furniture photography
  • How to photograph multiple textures at once
  • Softbox lighting setups
  • Techniques for light and dark backgrounds

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

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Comments

  2. DefineTheLight

    Hi Karl, thanks for this. Informative and entertaining as always. Sorry I missed it live! Can I ask a quick question about the camera… I’m an H6D user still, not moved over to the X2D 100 yet. Tell me, that issue with the camera going to ‘sleep’ on you, is that simply a setting that can be adjusted to prevent that from happening, or is it a charateristic of the Hasselblad Mirrorless camera? Have to say, that would be a headache I’m not 100% sure I’d like. The H6 seems to go on forever when tethered.

    Quick note about the FLE comment earlier. I think the question would have related to an early Zeiss H/blad lens. When I had my old 500cm many moons ago, I used to have the lovely 40mm Distagon. That of course pre-dated the ability to correct for aberrations and distortion using post, instead had to be perfect in camera. Zeiss nailed it with the 40mm with a ‘Floating Lens Element’ that physically rotated to compensate for distortion caused at different focusing points. Really clever optical design. Wish I still had it to be fair… Cheers, Scott.

    1. Hi Scott,
      I’m not sure about the X2D going to sleep I’ll have to check in the main menu, I’m sure there will be an override for that. On the H6 though the problem was the battery running out on a days shoot, on the X2D shooting tethered actually fully charges the battery which is useful. Thank you for the information on the floating lens element I wasn’t aware of that as have never used those earlier lenses before on a Hasselblad. I used to use Rodenstock and Schneider lenses on my Sinar and then went straight from that and my Mamiya RZ67 to the H1 and just the H lenses. My H1 was my first Hasselblad camera back in 2005 and at the time it was using the Imacon digital 22mp back. All the best Karl.

  3. Laszlo Hajas

    Dear Karl,
    I liked this show very much. It has been very informative, interesting and super useful from the first minute till the last. I have learned a lot again. Thank you very much for this, and all the great contents you provide.
    Best
    Laszlo

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