The art of photography is innovative, precise, and takes serious patience. Whether it's paying close attention to every last detail or mastering the art of angling, composition, and lighting, our photographers here at Smokingpipes employ their experience and creativity to capture the nuances and details of pipe smoking, from the accessories and the tobacco to the pipes themselves.

I recently chatted with two of our talented photographers on the marketing team — Katie Ranalli, Senior Photographer and Layout Specialist, and Nicole Weed, Brand Photographer — to get their insider's perspective on what goes into the process of pipe photography.

These two professionals are the creative talents behind the array of images you'll find in Smokingpipes' emails, social media, and here on our Daily Reader. The innovation and technical wizardry in making our products look stunning in photos is no easy task. Katie and Nicole provided several helpful and surprising tips about the process. Let's get into some of their insights for photos to be proud of, and for those who aren't photographically inclined, an inside look at the mystical art behind the craft of pipe photography.

Plan Your Setup

In formulating professional-quality photos, the first aspect to consider is the backgrounds. It's important to plan ahead and gather any props necessary to establish an arrangement that makes your subject (the pipe) stand out in the best way possible. Composition is an important part of planning for pipe photoshoots; props and backgrounds should be strategically placed with visual weight and emphasis in mind to feature the subject properly.

"When we are selecting items to use in sets, we look at the overall theme of the pipe we are shooting and the brand's feel," says Katie, "The overall aesthetic you're curating is important." Establishing complementary aesthetic characteristics of a brand and paying close attention to the thematic details of pipes helps to capture photos that are pleasing to the eye and also in line with the brand's defining characteristics.

For example, a Peterson pipe might involve rustic, traditional props. For many artisan pipes, perhaps the pipes should carry the majority of the responsibility, with simpler props and backgrounds, such as natural additions like greenery to make one-of-a-kind creations visually appealing.

Both Katie and Nicole often incorporate tobacco and pouches into their photos to add to the overall ambiance of the pipe-smoking experience. One should consider additional props and accessories that make sense for a personal aesthetic. Think of items that pair well with both the pipes, and with aspects of your personal lifestyle that can tie in well, such as coffee, whiskey, or the outdoors.

"It's also important to select a good range of shapes to showcase the variety if you're shooting several for one brand," says Nicole. For the hobbyist, if you're a Dunhill aficionado with various shapes to represent, for example, getting the most variety in a pipe photo will help make your photo more eye-catching and better indicate the scale of a pipe collection.

"Pipes aren't easy to photograph. They come in all different shapes and sizes, so angling your pipe and your camera when taking photos is crucial to keep in mind. The tobacco chamber needs to be showing partially to really capture the shape since so many pipes are quite close in appearance," says Nicole. "Vertical pipes are tricky to shoot because of how they're shaped, so those can be harder to angle and figure out for perspectives when shooting."

Trial and error is a huge aspect of pipe photography, and often the rough photo can indicate what should be altered in another round of photos or in the editing phase.

Nailing the Lighting

One of the toughest aspects of photography is lighting. When it comes to pipe photography, lighting needs vary depending on the type of pipe. The materials, finishes, and stains all must be taken into consideration when composing the image.

"Meerschaum pipes are difficult because they have so much detail and because they're white," says Nicole. Altering the lighting to accommodate each pipe takes some practice, whether by moving to a well-lit natural space, or manipulating lighting with artificial lights, such as ring lights or even the lighting fixtures found at home. The resulting images, however, make the effort worth it.

Smooth pipes require different lighting than rusticated or sandblasted. "I think I've had the most challenges to face when shooting sandblasted pipes. If you don't get the lighting right, they can look flat and you won't be able to see the grain that makes them visually unique," says Katie. The stain of a pipe also impacts how it will appear in a raw image. "Darker pipes, such as Peterson's Heritage finish, are challenging to capture since they can look black in photos. In that case, we need to manipulate the lighting to showcase the hue properly."

Natural lighting, in particular, can be a strong choice for pipe photography, especially for social media posts, to capture the lifestyle aspects of the art of pipes and pipe smoking. Taking your pipe along with you on a trip or outside into the woods on a hiking trail can present new opportunities for photo backgrounds with natural sunshine highlighting the subject.

When shooting multiple pipes at once, be sure to adjust the lighting to emphasize each selection in the most visually stimulating way possible. This can be difficult to achieve when including various pipes with different finishes, such as two smooths and two sandblasted pieces. Thus, the experimentation and adjustments will continue until finding a balance that works for both.

Helpful Pointers When Taking Photos

• Make sure the entire pipe is in focus, including the end of the stem, with the top of the tobacco chamber of the bowl showing.
• Clean the pipes prior to shooting with a non-abrasive cloth to remove dust and debris. Dust is especially noticeable in photos.
• The foreground and background should be clear of any debris.
• For those who are new to pipe photography, our experts recommend shooting with a white background behind the pipe, especially for darker-toned pieces. This strategy will help in the editing process.
• Utilizing a dark or textured background can make lighter-toned selections stand out more.
• There are multiple ways to position a pipe in a set. It might be laid pipe flat and shot from above, or standing upright and shot parallel.
• Try not to position the pipe at an angle without the full shape in view; otherwise, the pipe is likely to look flat.
• For social media photos, a square orientation is recommended, following the general size guideline of 1800 x 1800 pixels, which is the Instagram standard. "That plays a role in where we will put our props. Make sure to leave the pipe in the center so it remains the main subject of the photo," says Nicole.

The Art of Editing

Editing takes considerable time and energy, as well as skills utilizing Photoshop and other editing platforms to achieve an exemplary final result. Nicole and Katie have provided some key tips to help take your pipe photos to the next level with some editing tweaks.

First and foremost, any particles or dust that weren't removed prior to shooting should be edited out. You'll want your selection to look its very best, so this step is crucial to achieving that goal. "I like to use the spot healing brush or the stamp tool to do that," says Nicole.

Be sure to sharpen the image to ensure that the pipe or set of pipes are all in focus and are the focal point of the photo. "One function we use a lot is the sponge tool to help avoid too much saturation, particularly to desaturate the stem if there are reflective colors. We use that feature for props as well," says Nicole.

"Between any bright and colorful hues and silver accents, light can reflect off of silver on pipes, throwing off the color and balance. We also like to burn the stem in so that it looks better in the photo," says Nicole. Burning is the tool that helps darken specific areas of a photo to create shadows and enhance the contrast.

Similar to manipulating the lighting to best showcase the pipe, adjusting the brightness and contrast on a photo can help in the editing process. "Brighten your photo if it's a little dark, and don't be afraid to use contrast. Adding hue and saturation to the photo sometimes helps as well, so just bumping up the saturation can make a big difference," says Nicole.

"For Natural pipes, getting the temperature right is essential so it doesn't look bright orange or red in photos," says Katie.

As for editing backgrounds, sometimes there might be things outside of your set that you don't want to be seen in the final product, such as the table holding the pipe and props. "If the background ends, clone-stamp the background to lengthen it to fit into a particular orientation," says Katie.

"In some cases, merging two photos together is a helpful way to get the best result," says Katie. "Focus Stacking is the method we use when we are playing with depth-of-field, and we want all the products to be in focus, but the camera is limited and doesn't have the ability to get everything focused equally," says Nicole. "We focus on the foreground where a product might be and then the background where the other product is and take both of these images into Photoshop. From there, we combine them to achieve the photo we want to share."

As you can see, pipe photography is not a quick and easy activity. However, it can be a rewarding one, and figuring out what works for your photos is an ever-evolving process that can be an engaging hobby for those who are interested.

When it comes to personal pipe photography, a large part of the experience is curating your personal aesthetic with props, backgrounds, and pipes that result in photos that both stand out and capture the beauty within the pipe while showcasing your personality and what makes them unique to you.

If you're wondering how to find inspiration, it can come in a variety of places. "Pipes with a strong story or overall theme inspire us the most. It makes the experience more fun and exciting as we are building sets for releases," say Katie and Nicole.

These professional photographers continue to dazzle us with their skills. We hope these tips are helpful to anyone getting into pipes and wanting to share their finds with the world with stunning visuals. Let us know in the comments if there's more you'd like to know about pipe photography in the future.