Have you ever perused a home design magazine or a beautiful Instagram feed with a perfect person in their perfect home doing their perfect hobby and wondered - why can I not live like that? Well, do not get down on yourself, we are here to let you know that no one lives like that. Those photographs are posed and the work to get that perfect shot is sometimes complicated and a bit over the top.
Having just finished one such shoot only an hour ago, we thought it would be fun to give you a behind the scenes look into the styling of a professional photoshoot.
We were contacted by a Japanese home living and lifestyle magazine a few weeks ago. They were interested in interviewing Shannon, shooting the 4 various divided yards and outdoor spaces at the ADU, as well as the connection from indoors to the out. This required not only staging 1 room but the entire property!
The photographer makes note of kitchen and food items she can use as props for the session while the editor, Megumi, checks her shot list with areas around the property. Shannon patiently waiting to be directed in outfit #1.
As part of the lifestyle images, they wanted to capture how Shannon used her patio. Other than reading and eating, her water color paintings seemed to be the preferred hobby to highlight. The step stool is the photographer's tool for hovering above and getting that perfect angle. In this take, she wanted a POV, so tucked in behind Shannon while she worked. Nana is in the foreground directing Shannon on how much happiness to exude on a scale of 1-10. This is happiness level 5 and outfit #2.
Harsh mid-day lighting can be a photographers worst nightmare. Even in the shadows, there was too much contrast, so we grabbed Anna's reflective car visors to act as on the fly bounce cards. Nana assists while Megumi directs the shot. Shannon in outfit #3.
When animals are brought into the mix of a photo shoot it can become even more complicated, for this shot Shannon had to crawl into the coop to capture the chicken. Because of course, Portland, chickens!
Of course everyone works in their garden in a hand embroidered white linen dress, photo shoots can be deceiving. In this behind the scenes moment the photographer has Shannon posing with her freshly picked tomatoes while the art director and editor supervise via their ipad.
Even though this is shot in July, it had to be styled thematically to look and feel cooler for a fall publication. Fingers crossed for beautiful photos in the magazine!