Jan Willem/Kaisar Kolektif publish "Studies Of The Floating World"

When Rotterdam tattoo artist Jan Willem and Kaisar Kolektif published "Studies Of The Floating World," they needed images that matched the weight of the work — a limited-edition illustrated book with serious craft behind it, shot to reflect that. This is exactly the kind of product photography assignment I find most interesting.

The book itself is beautiful: dark cover, gold detail, the kind of object that rewards close attention. We shot it across a range of setups — on leather, on wood, in hands, open and closed — building a gallery that showed the book as both a physical artefact and an artwork to be looked at. The tattoo-influenced illustrations inside demanded images that didn't sanitise them, so we leaned into the contrast and the mood.

Product photography for an art publication is a different challenge from commercial product work. The goal isn't to make something look clean and buyable — it's to make it look significant. That requires a particular approach to light and composition, and a willingness to let the subject set the terms rather than imposing a house style over it.

I'm a Rotterdam-based brand and product photographer working with artists, makers, and independent publishers across the Netherlands. If you're releasing something worth documenting — a book, a product, a collection — I'd love to talk about how to shoot it.