In the last few years alone, arts and crafts have seen a remarkable resurgence in popularity. It seems the proliferation of mass-produced, standardised technology such as the omnipresent iphone has led to an increased desire for people to assert their individuality through crafted items and bespoke goods, not to mention create extra revenue streams during recession. In an increasingly busy, noisy and confusingly #Hashtagged world, picking up a needle and thread or whittling some wood may also be the quickest path to a little inner peace.
Reflecting this surge in arts and crafts popularity, online marketplaces such as Notonthehighstreet.com and Etsy.com have grown exponentially, with the latter’s registered members rising from 1 million in Summer of 2008 to more than 54 million at the start of this year. The boon for photography is that these sites have a set of visual standards they apply to online uploads, so an emphasis is placed on (at least semi-) professional imagery. Whilst some makers may attempt to DIY their photography, many private individuals and businesses choose to outsource this aspect of the work to professionals, in an effort to reflect the care and attention they’ve put into creating their products.
At Photography Firm, we’ve gradually become inundated with commissions in recent years and now specialise in producing crafts imagery for a range of clients, from private makers to boutique businesses and book publishers. We shoot embroidery, sewing, knitting, crochet and a host of general craft. If that sounds in any way limiting, bear in mind there’s myriad applications for each of these mediums, bounded only by the imagination. Long before Jurassic World hit cinemas (though admittedly long after Jurassic Park…), we were exciting and terrifying the public with the monstrous creations at the heart of Jurassic Towel Origami, and since we know you’re not going to bin your handset but you still want to show your wild side, Techno Cozies should help you add a little fuzzy flair to your iphone. We think the key to our success in this field is that unlike many “shoot and ship” photo-houses, we’re comprised of passionate creatives who not only have the experience and technical prowess to use the equipment, but a genuine interest in styling and design. Where many packshot and post production houses have standardised their output as much as those factory lines the craft-folk are rallying against, we still approach each new project as a creative challenge into which we can inject some originality and inventiveness.
Product photography can be a repetitive process but our team love what we do and get satisfaction from putting our stamp on the work, whilst meeting a client’s brief and exceeding their expectations. The business frequently calls for the typical white backdrop, cut-out packshot, but where possible, we want to introduce as much care, imagination and individuality into our images as our clients have into their designs and it’s that approach which has seen us growing more and more successful in this field. We’re passionate about design and composition, and that passion has found a great counterpart in the art and craft photography world.
This is just a small selection of our work – our archives are vast so please do let us know if you’re looking for something specific and we will do our best to source additional examples.