Hawkins Furniture is a company we’ve worked with before. Hawkins makes world class rustic furniture that celebrates the character of the wood. He creates pieces from slabs and reclaimed material such as flooring or old bowling ally lanes. When creating rustic furniture product photography, I highlight the beauty of the materials it is created from. The photos celebrate the individual variations in the pieces, the character of the wood and the warmth it brings to any space.
Speed is of the Essence
Many of the finishes are high gloss and that creates an entire set of difficulties with glare and reflection. Solving those issues requires careful positioning of light sources as well as proper use of a circular polarizing filter. I balance that effort with the need to photograph all the desired pieces in the allotted window of time.
Multiple Angles
One of the main pieces we were there to photograph was this beautiful and totally unique mesquite table. Hawkins made the base from a large (and extremely heavy) mesquite stump paired with a large mesquite log and crotch.
There is no way one photo could do a piece like this justice. Instead we start by capturing a photo to show the entire table in context and then drill in on details.
We Love Repeat Customers
We’ve photographed for Hawkins Furniture before. The first time Josh and I spent an entire day at his shop documenting numerous pieces. It was his first time cataloging much of his work. This shoot was much smaller in scope. I worked alone to photography a few items that were unique in Hawkins portfolio of furniture. While I was there I photographed the other items in his shop before they were delivered to the customers.
Rustic Behind the Scenes Photography
I also stepped away from photographing the furniture to capture some photos of Hawkins and his staff working on incomplete pieces.