How a Visual Language Translates: From Aime Leon Dore to Thuma Product Photographer
When Style Becomes the Bridge Between Fashion and Bedding Photography
I'm a Brooklyn-based product photographer who's learned that a signature look doesn't belong to one brand or one industry. It travels.
The visual language I developed while working with Aime Leon Dore — clean, honest, grounded in natural light — became the reason Thuma brought me on as their Thuma product photographer. They didn't want a furniture shooter who'd shot furniture for twenty years. They wanted the vibe.
This post breaks down how that transition happened, what it means to shoot high-end bedding and soft good photography alongside large-scale furniture product photography, and why clean, real imagery matters more than ever when customers are making thousand-dollar purchase decisions in the age of AI-generated nonsense.
The Call: "We Want What You Did for Aime"
Thuma reached out after seeing my work as an NYC bedding & soft good photographer on past projects. They weren't looking for catalog-style product shots on white. They wanted the same grounded, editorial feel I'd brought to apparel and lifestyle goods — just applied to bed frames, mattresses, and shelving.
That's the power of a consistent visual identity. When you define a look that prioritizes authenticity, texture, and thoughtful composition, it resonates across categories. Furniture isn't fashion, but the principles that make a linen shirt photograph beautifully are the same ones that make a walnut bookshelf feel tangible and trustworthy.
Bedding Photography: The Art of Simplicity and Intricate Styling
We started with bedding photographer work: sheets, duvets, pillows, throws. Soft goods are deceptively difficult. Fabric needs to drape naturally, wrinkles have to feel intentional, and every fold communicates care or carelessness.
I approached Thuma's bedding and soft good photography the same way I'd approached garment styling for years: with precision and restraint. We styled each linen set to highlight texture and weight, using natural light to let fibers speak for themselves. No forced fluff. No artificial perfection.
Every image required intricate micro-adjustments — the way a duvet folds at the corner, how a pillowcase catches afternoon light, where shadow falls to suggest depth without obscuring detail. It's the kind of work that looks effortless but takes hours of deliberate styling.
The result? Images that feel real. Tangible. The kind of photography that makes someone trust they're buying quality, not just looking at a render.
Scaling Up: High-End, High-Volume Furniture Product Photography
Once the soft goods system was dialed in, we moved to the hard goods: bed frames, nightstands, shelving units, mattresses. This was furniture product photographer territory, but with the same editorial sensibility.
Thuma produces furniture at scale, which meant we needed to deliver high volume product photography without sacrificing the high end photography aesthetic they'd hired us for. That's a tension most studios can't navigate — volume usually means shortcuts, and shortcuts kill craft.
We built systems. Tethered workflows. Lighting setups that could adapt across SKUs while maintaining a unified look. Color-calibrated environments that let wood tones and fabric hues stay true across dozens of shots per day.
The work leaned into the same strengths that made the Aime Leon Dore aesthetic successful: natural light as a foundation, purposeful composition, and respect for the product. A bookshelf isn't styled with props for the sake of props. It's photographed to show grain, joinery, and proportion — the details that matter when someone's deciding whether to spend $1,200 on furniture they can't touch in person.
Why Real Photography Matters Now More Than Ever
Here's the thing: we're living in an era where brands can generate product images with AI. Renderings that look "good enough" at a glance, but collapse under scrutiny. No texture. No weight. No soul.
When a customer is making a big purchase decision — a bed frame, a mattress, a modular shelving system — they need to trust what they're seeing. They need to believe the wood is real, the linen is soft, and the brand respects them enough to show the product honestly.
That's what high volume photography done right delivers. It's not just about shooting fast; it's about maintaining integrity at scale. Every image in a catalog should feel like it was made by the same hand, guided by the same principles, built on the same foundation of craft.
AI can't do that. Renderings can't do that. Only a team that understands light, texture, and the value of real materials can create imagery that earns trust and drives conversions.
The Process: What High-End Bedding & Soft Good Photography Actually Looks Like
For anyone considering hiring a bedding photographer or furniture product photographer, here's what the process looked like with Thuma:
Pre-Production: We started with mood boards, lighting tests, and sample shoots. Thuma's creative team and I aligned on the look before we touched a single SKU at volume.
Styling Precision: Every piece of bedding was steamed, folded, and adjusted frame by frame. Every piece of furniture was positioned to highlight craftsmanship. Nothing was rushed.
Natural Light Foundation: I shoot tethered, using natural light as the base and shaping it with diffusion and bounce. That keeps tones honest and grain visible, which is critical for wood furniture and natural linen.
Consistency Systems: Color cards, folder structures, and preset workflows ensured that images shot across multiple days matched perfectly. That's how you deliver high volume product photography that still feels premium.
Post-Production Standards: Retouching was minimal and intentional. The goal was to enhance, not fabricate. Dust removal, yes. Fantasy sheen, no.
What This Means for Your Brand
If you're building a furniture, home goods, or bedding brand and you're tired of sterile catalog shots or AI-generated images that feel hollow, you need a photographer who can translate vision across mediums.
The same principles that made Aime Leon Dore's product photography feel grounded and editorial can elevate how your bed frames, shelving, and linens appear to customers. You're not just hiring someone to take pictures. You're hiring someone to define a visual identity that builds trust and drives purchase decisions.
Whether you need a NYC bedding & soft good photographer for intricate textile work or a furniture product photographer who can handle large-scale, high-volume shoots without sacrificing quality, the right team makes all the difference.
FAQ: What You're Actually Hiring
Q: Can you handle both soft goods and hard goods in one shoot?
A: Yes. The lighting and styling systems I use are designed to adapt across product types while maintaining a unified look. Linens in the morning, furniture in the afternoon.
Q: What does "high volume" mean in practice?
A: For Thuma, we shot dozens of SKUs across multiple product lines over compressed timelines. High volume means speed, but it's speed built on systems — not compromises.
Q: How do you keep images consistent across a large catalog?
A: Tethered shooting, color calibration, preset workflows, and a disciplined lighting approach. Every shot is part of a system, not a one-off.
Q: Do you shoot in-studio or on location?
A: Both. My Brooklyn studio is set up for controlled, high-volume work, but I regularly shoot on location across NYC when the space adds value to the imagery.
Q: How do you price large-scale projects?
A: Project-based. I factor in shoot days, SKU counts, crew needs, styling time, retouching, and licensing. Send your scope and I'll send back a detailed, transparent quote.
If you're ready to elevate your furniture or bedding brand with photography that translates vision into trust, let's talk. Real products deserve real photography. And customers making big decisions deserve imagery that's honest, beautiful, and true.
