An essential and continuous task for the My Furniture creative team is to produce lifestyle photography for the website, social media and advertising purposes. Often this is done in-house at our Nottingham photography studio and showroom, (as we have designed and built many sets specifically for this purpose) but sometimes we choose to shoot on location to add variety and feature interesting architectural details, interior finishes and vistas. On this occasion we were planning a 2021 Christmas Photoshoot and decided to find a new setting, with an open fire or log burner, to indicate warmth, comfort and season.
Sourcing interiors for photoshoots can be a tricky process as there are many factors to consider. Style, size, location, budget, availability of the location, photographers, stylist and crew, access, parking and many other logistical considerations need to be carefully planned and booked well in advance. Even with all these elements in place, the photoshoot is still at the mercy of the weather, the path of the sun and available daylight hours. Several agencies specialise in locations for film and photography with some breath-taking and fascinating interiors, unfortunately, the majority of suitable locations are in London and the surrounding counties, which is not always practical as we are based in Nottingham. This time we were fortunate that a friend of My Furniture agreed for us to use his spectacular home for the two-day photoshoot. The property is a recently converted farmhouse, comprising a considerably extended main building with double-height ceilings, several outbuildings, a beautiful natural swimming pool and impressive oak framed gazebo. The location was a peaceful rural setting, conveniently located on the outskirts of Nottingham.
When planning the shoot, we decided that rather than dress the space with traditional Christmas decorations we would opt for a non-Christmas specific, seasonal feel, with a table set for a festive party, a glowing log burner, candles, twinkling lights, chunky-knit soft furnishings and a cosy inviting atmosphere. We chose furniture with brass frames to add a glamourous sparkle and pale upholstery fabrics for an upmarket elegant look. Products used include Alveare Tub Chair and Alveare Footstool (both in brass finish with chalk velvet upholstery fabric), Rippon Coffee Tables, Rippon Console Table and Rippon Side Table (all in a polished brass finish), Veil Brass Table Light and Veil Brass Floor Light, Cassie Large Corner Sofa and Frankfurt Dining Chairs (all upholstered in Chalk velvet with Brushed Brass Bases), Otton Brass Shelf Unit, Como Black Extending Dining Table, Moray Chalk Rug and Bailey Rug Large.
Generally, when shooting on location you are utilising someone’s home, fully furnished and dressed with artwork, accessories and personal belongings. It is expected that the interior is left after the photoshoot is completed, exactly as it was found. This is quite a challenge. Photographs and video need to be created to record the exact positioning of all items. verything needs carefully moving into another area (or into storage if other areas aren’t available) and then painstakingly returned into the original positions once the shoot has finished and the property has been emptied and cleaned.
We arrived early morning and the crew set to work emptying the space, unboxing, building and installing our products whilst the creative team organised accessories and photographic equipment.
As previously mentioned, weather conditions are unpredictable and do not always work in your favour when photographing. Often a bright sunny day is desired to fill the interior with light, creating contrast, highlighting textures and casting a flattering warm tone. We were however shooting in September, planning to create the feel of a typical British December and needed a softer, more overcast light. Ironically, on this occasion, the sun was flooding in through the huge expanse of windows and glass doors. We had anticipated this potential problem and arrived prepared with all manner of diffusers and reflectors and successfully managed to control the light.
By lunchtime of day one, the space had been emptied, everything was in place we were ready to start shooting. The double-height ceilings and hall-like space made it ideal for drone filming, we were able to create smooth overhead tracking shots and ‘Steadicam’ type shots following a model walk through the set. We produced around half an hour of footage which was edited into a one-minute promotional film.
The next task was photography. The team were asked to move freely around the space capturing atmospheric close-up shots with a warm natural feel. A shallow depth of field was chosen to create the blurred-out background effects, helping to separate the elements and focus on specific details. Around 300 photographs were taken, which were refined to the best 30 then processed and retouched accordingly. You will notice that in the ‘behind the scenes shots that the outside is in full bloom with clear skies and that the final images appear to have snow-covered vistas – the green views ruined the illusion of winter, so we chose to add frosty effects in post-production.
The shooting was completed mid-afternoon on day two. Then all hands were on deck to move out, pack up, clean and reinstall the homeowner’s furniture and accessories.
To view all the pieces from the shoot, head to my-furniture.com, where you find a vast array of dining, bedroom and living room furniture, as well as gorgeous home accessories for the finishing touches.
For sales and product enquiries, contact us at customerservice@my-furniture.co.uk or telephone: 0800 092 1636.
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Alveare
Footstool, chalk with brass finish
Alveare
Tub chair, chalk with brass finish
Bailey
Hand tufted 100% wool rug
Cassie
Large corner sofa, chalk with brushed brass base
Como
Extending dining table, black
Frankfurt
Dining chair, chalk with brass base
Moray
Hand tufted 100% wool rug
Otto
Brass shelf unit
Pipe Candle Holder
Tubular iron pipes, brass finish
Rippon
Brass and glass coffee table, mirrored base
Rippon
Brass and glass console table, mirrored base
Rippon
Brass and glass side table, mirrored base
Veil
Table light, frosted glass, brass finish
