Having been in the furniture or product business for the past five years or so, there is little doubt that you might have seen some trends changes regarding big studio photoshoots. Before, these shoots took weeks of planning, were booked at pricey five figure costs, and took several days of setups. Now, brands have been doing these studio photoshoots at a much lower cost and within a smaller timeframe. They are using 3d product rendering services. 3D rendering might sound intimidating and futuristic, but it is no longer a cutting edge concept. It’s been around for a while. Now it is the norm for businesses to incorporate 3D rendering and forgo the cost of using traditional photography.
What is 3D Product Rendering?
To cut right to the chase, 3D rendering services consist of hiring a designer that will create a digital model of your product, and simulate a photoshoot in a digital environment. The designer will go through the regular process of a photoshoot, adding elements of the product, and other details to create the final image. The end product is a 3D image that is so realistic you will not be able to tell it is not a real photo. These images are generated through the use of software. Instead of booking a studio, hiring a photographer, models, and other logistics complicated to a photoshoot, you just have to have a computer and hire the right people. And you will end with the same stunning visuals. That is 3D rendering.
The Real Cost Difference (And Why It Matters)
The interesting part comes next. The cost of hiring a professional photographer is between $2,000 and $10,000 a day. To get 50 product images for your catalog, you will most likely have to hire for multiple days, travel to multiple locations, use props, do finishings and styling and you’re locked into the angle and finish of the products you photographed.
When it comes to 3D visualization of furniture, you have to pay for the model creation up front. After that though, you can get a virtually unlimited number of images. Different angles, environments, and colors all from the same digital model. That is, the cost per image goes way down after the initial picture is created.
The most important part, however, is that you can make changes. Want to see how your sofa looks in three colors without physically making three sofas? It can be done in hours, not weeks.
When 3D Furniture Rendering Makes the Most Sense
To be honest, 3D rendering isn’t for everyone. It works most effectively when you have multiple product variations. For instance, if you manufacture the same chair in 12 colors, 3D visualization of furniture saves you from photographing each one individually. It is one model, twelve render passes.
Visual consistency is important for online sales and needs good imagery. There are hundreds of images and hundreds of different shots needed for eCommerce—multiple angles, lifestyle shots, detail views. At that scale, traditional product photography becomes very draining. Control and consistency are of the utmost importance, and that is where 3D visualization of furniture work comes into play.
You are consistently launching new designs. With the constant innovation, 3D furniture renders can provide visualization of new designs before the manufacturing process, which is important for a seasonal product line shift. This can also be a great help for showing customers the advanced products before sinking a ton of money into prototypes.
Having the ability to have environmental flexibility is important. If you want to see how your furniture appears in a trendy newcomer construction, a modern cottage, and a classic loft, then product 3D rendering services are the best option. You are not locked into the one studio background that you booked.
Your products are better off in the hands of others. With things like elaborate designs, 3D furniture rendering can better showcase things like the architecture, intricate wood joinery, and detailed upholstery than photography of any kid. Perfect control of the lighting helps showcase and highlight every detail to reflect light in the way that you want.
The Quality Question (It’s Better Than You Think)
When I first heard about furniture 3D rendering, I had the same thought everyone else has when they hear about the service: “Won’t it look fake?”
Not anymore. The technology has come so far that 3D Visualizers often work with advanced rendering engines like V-ray or Arnold, which have the capability to simulate real-world physics. Clients are often unable to tell whether the images are photographs or renders, and that’s no exaggeration. 3D visualization specialists experience the real-time work of physics, correct light bounces, material reflection, and natural shadows.
It is much easier to spot the difference between an amateur and Professional 3D Rendering, however, with professional 3D visualization furniture work being the exception as it is often mistaken for high-end photography.
How 3D Furniture Rendering Services Actually Work
If you’re thinking about hiring someone for 3D rendering furniture, here’s what the process typically looks like:
Stage One: Modeling. The 3D artist builds a precise digital model of the product. This is the foundation for the work that follows, and it takes considerable time and attention to detail.
Stage Two: Texturing and Detailing. This is where they add realness to the model, be it in the wood grain of walnut, the shade of the upholstery, or the sheen of the metal hardware.
Stage three is setting up extra details about the scene, arranging the camera and adjusting the camera, then adding the expected artificial lighting, just like what a photographer would do. And just like everything in the previous steps, it is carefully calculated.
Stage four. All the previous details and information collated by the artist, the computer is tasked with rendering the information and creating the picture. Each render may take, depending on the detail and information in the scene, as little as a couple minutes, or in some cases, several hours.
Stage five is where the information on the image is already processed and details, such as tweaking any final details adjusting for the background. Perhaps a selective desaturation for a paler, moodier image. This is post processing.
Typically, a final product for these steps would take anywhere from a week to perhaps three weeks only, based on their level of detail, resulting in a product in mind. When you take into account a product line and scale, the timeline would be more extended. Always keep in mind that even for the longer timelines, it is for the extra detailing, on intricate designs of the assets, and for the line of products, you’re creating reusable assets.
The Business Advantage is The Sustainable Edge
it provides, even though I believe that not a lot of people are talking about it.
I notice a little change in behavioral of the brands on the marketing side they take when their products and also their product imagery and as a direct consequence, treat their products differently than when they are marketing their 3D product their products are most they treat their products better. This is what I call the business advantage.
I understand how brands treat their products when marketing their products. But once they switched to 3D product rendering services, I notice a little change in marketing behavior of the brands when they switched to it.
It certainly is an advantage which traditional photography is not able to achieve.
What is Photorealism?
Is it really possible to sell with 3D renders? Absolutely yes. The largest ecommerce platforms and furniture businesses. are already selling photorealistic 3D renders. High-end brands use photorealistic 3D renders not because they’re cheaper. 3D renders allow brands to control every variable and get a uniform appearance across all products. Some brands use a mix of both tactics lifestyle photography and photorealistic 3D renders for catalog work and lifestyle images and their marketing Easily.
Finding The Best 3D Furniture Rendering Company
Not all 3D visualization furniture services are created equal. Some key things to look are:
Portfolio. Focus on past work. Is the photorealistic 3D render of furniture convincing? Is there a variety of different product categories? Does their style with your brand?
Experience. A studio specializing in furniture design and 3D rendering will know your specific needs better than a generalist.
Communication. Having people who ask good questions to get to the real heart of the problem will allow a good outcome to be more likely.
Revision restrictions. Make sure you know how many revision rounds are included and backwards are before you join.
Time management. Good render furniture companies will tell you exactly when you will have the finished assets and not ghost you in the middle of the project.
Read Also: Product 3D Rendering: A Strategic Advantage for Furniture Manufacturers & Wholesalers
The Bottom Line
Services that assist in 3D furniture rendering have demonstrated that they are no longer an experimental and futuristic form of technology but rather a cost-effective alternative to previous forms of product photography and provide even greater flexibility and practical benefits.
The decision to invest in 3D product rendering may be one of the smartest that your business will make this year if you are frequently launching a myriad of new designs and variations or needing new images for your products.
The potential of furniture 3D rendering that looks great is becoming the norm in the industry and the old and now outdated methods that are expensive and justifiably slow and inflexible are becoming harder to point to.