Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam-based Still Life/Product photographer Lee Starnes has recently completed a project with Totem Road, a sustainable furniture company whose products are all manufactured in Vietnam by a family-owned business near Saigon. Lee was referred to Totem Road by another client that he had worked with in the past while also shooting furniture.
Lee’s aesthetic in his commercial product photography is often “less is more.” He also likes to utilize light and space to give the products room to breathe.
I often find that when I see product photography, it feels busy and overworked. With Totem Road’s coastal, beachy aesthetic, the brief lent itself to that clean minimalism that I love so much. For this project, we wanted the work to reflect that laid-back vibe. We wanted to create that feeling of morning light, that moment of quiet when you first wake up, when the world is still quiet — that moment of peace. We also had this thought of doing something simple, but doing it well: to strip things back and let the pieces speak for themselves.
The crew went through a month of pre-production, building sets, finalizing creative, and finalizing shot lists. Lee is big on preplanning, all the way down to the little details. This is what ensured everything was as efficient as possible during the shoot day and that everyone was on the same page.
We shot these all in a studio here in Ho Chi Minh City where the furniture is manufactured. This is no secret though as Totem Road is transparent with where things are produced. We were working in a purpose-built studio for furniture.
The photoshoot took place over two days. The energy on set was very easygoing, as the crew had done so much work in pre-production. It allowed the team to really focus on the details and tweak little things here and there. Lee was joined on set by his first assistant, and a handful of production assistants to keep the shoot moving efficiently. The client, including the owner and their designer, were also on location for the shoot. The creative direction for the project was shared between the client, Lee and his team.
Intention and knowing why we do what we do always motivate me in projects. Totem Road’s focus on sustainability is something that hits home for me. We live in a time when things are so disposable, so I was excited to work with a brand that embraced making something that lasts. It’s this culmination of where people come from, their stories, and why they do what they do that allows our team to create something compelling. That ability to break bread and collaborate to make something special. It’s probably one of my favorite parts about being a photographer — hearing stories, gathering insights into so many different industries, seeing behind the curtain, and getting an inside look into things perhaps I may have never thought about if not for the camera.
At the end of the second day, Lee and his team were dialing the lighting in for some of the detail shots and had turned off one of their fill lights to check for density in the shadows. After taking the test shot, the resulting image felt far more dynamic.
Creatively, I personally love it when happenstance situations result in a slight tweak that makes all the difference. Instead of staying with our original plan, we went with our gut and ended up with some of our favorite details of the shoot. Because of all the pre-production, we were creatively aligned so we knew immediately this was the way to go without having to worry about the slight shift from our original plans.
Lee says that the challenge any time he shoots is to try and push himself to create something special and novel for his clients. The main constraint of this project, like so many, was time. But Lee and his team knew this going into the shoot and mitigated the constraint with thorough preplanning.
I truly believe the best work comes out of collaboration, which is like watching a dance when it all comes down to it. Put the hard work during pre-production and shoots go swimmingly. It was a pleasure working with the Totem Road team because they came into the project with laser focus and were big on preplanning, which was music to my ears. Often, shoots are last minute creative shifts and a myriad of other changes that can happen, and we adapt and execute to the best of our ability. The beauty of this project is that it all went according to plan, and we even had time to play with a few things so we could have some fun ideas for the next time we shoot.
See more of Lee’s work on his website.
Credits
Creative Director: Francesco Feliziani
First Assistant: Andy Tran
Further Reading
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