Thread: Red Oak box with Ash Burl veneer lid

Very nice box and worth the time put into it.
Curious how this was photographed? The background and shadows make the images look like a Sketchup design

Thanks for the kind comment FW. Well spotted about the photography. Disappointing that people see it as artificial.

I photographed the box in the morning sun sitting it on white corflutes. But I could see the join of the vertical and horizontal corflutes, and as well, the two corflutes were different colours because of different angles of light.

My youngest daughter used to be a professional photographer and very much in demand for photo touch up by the building industry eg., think MBA Annual Awards, photos of their houses.

She put me on to a guy she used overseas for many years. CutOutQuick. He cut out the box and original shadow and put it on a white background. Does it in a couple of hours for under $1.00 per photo. First time I have used him, lots quicker for me than learning and using Photoshop ( but I did try, unsuccessfully)

Love the box, but agree the pure white background made me do a double take and makes the box look a bit like a render / computer generated at first glance

Great result, Joe. Glad you didn't throw the tray out.😁.

Photoshop does thousands of things you'll never need to do. Lightroom is much easier to use and does the thinks you'll want to do all the time.

Hi Joe,

I love this sort of unadorned quietly stylish box. It puts focus on the beautiful timbers rather than the build techniques. Magic.

I like 10mm walls but as you know it’s difficult to find quality hinges to fit. Years ago Ian Hawthorne in Northern Ireland used to sell 6mm wide hinges of a standard similar to his current Neat hinges, i.e. very high quality. He no longer sells these which is a shame. I still have half a dozen pairs which are under armed guard 24 hours a day

+1 for Alex’s suggestion of Lightroom. Much cheaper than PShop and still very good. My own preference for background is wide medium weight card which can form a gentle concave curve top to bottom. Or velvet fabric, again draped with a concave curve.

Best regards,

Brian

Thanks Brian, photgraphed another box today using an off-white sheet taken out of the linen closet. Looks much more realistic.

That looks better Dengy.
I also used draped cloth. I find that darker background colours look nice too - seems to bring the warmth of the timber out
Happy to post some pics here but dont want to disrespect this wonderful box thread

Awesome in every way.
Beautiful craftsmanship.
I gather those (very nice) hinges have an inbuilt stop.
Pigskin makes beautiful lining IMO, complemented your timbers beautifully.

From here I like the photos as they are. We're all different

Bravo

Love the box, love the top. Could you detail the work you put into the top? Veneered ply? Did you set the top in first and then added the border? Obviously, with solid stock one cannot make the top panel as tight as you have due to movement. That's what I am trying to explore...how to get a top panel to run flush to the sides as you did. Did I mention that I love the box? My style.