One of the best parts of any interior design job is getting to photograph your work once it's finished.
It’s fun for all of us.
For my employees, my clients, and definitely for me.
It’s a huge feeling of accomplishment.
So, I thought I’d give you a little peek into how it works.
If you’re thinking about calling me for a project, just know that I’ll definitely want to do this at the end.
Having photos done at the end of the project are part of my Letter of Agreement. I don’t take on projects that I can’t shoot (unless it is for a very premium fee :-).
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Once we’ve booked our day (or days), we ask our client to have the room clean and ready for us.
Removing personal items like their family photos or extra stuff lying around is really nice. It makes our day easier and helps us get on with the shoot.
Best Time Of Year For Shoots
I try to do most of my photography in the fall, winter or spring, in the colder months.
First of all, this is a big physical activity, and it is hot and humid here in the Houston area. Since we are moving items in and out of the house for staging, I can’t take that summer heat.
I have done a big shoot, kitchen and bathrooms in the summer and just about died. The house was empty, I didn’t have any assitance at the time and I brought in everything from bar stools to bath soaps. The driveway was all torn up and it was such a problem hauling in and out. I wanted to get the shots before the homeowner moved in, but boy was that a hot day!
It’s also better if the homeowner’s children are back at school, in a schedule. It just makes for more predictable planning. Pets need to be rather out of the way too. Although we love to get a cute pet in a photo, sometimes they are underfoot and you can imagine it can be a problem.
We book in advance so we and our homeowners can prepare for this big finale of the project. I want it to be convenient and will try to make it as painless as possible, but it is the last necessary bit that needs to done to finish up.
I’m loading up here in my storage unit for a shoot. I have all kinds of goodies I’ve collected over the years to help add that last layer to a project.
Photo shoots are best when the homeowner leaves us to it.
One of the most important key aspects of a shoot for us is that the homeowner let us have the home to shoot without them there. It makes it so much more relaxing for me and the photographer. Some photographers I use actually require it.
I get distracted easily and these shoots require my full attention. We can work so much faster and then get done and out of the house, if we can have the shoot alone, without the homeowner.
It literally takes a lot longer if they are there, even just hanging out elsewhere in the house. It makes me super stressed too.
I just saw a luxury designer’s walk through of a project after their shoot on Youtube. She had about 5 or 6 staff people there prepping and setting everything up, not including the photographer and the videogapher. Her homeowners were not at the house and it allowed them to get everything styled for the shoot and the photographer to have more undisturbed time.
My Goals For Each Photoshoot
If the project is mostly architectural/construction, such as a bathroom or kitchen would be, I take a rather minimal approach to the styling. After all, it’s not really about the accessories here...it’s about the changes I’ve affected in the space. My accessories are there to enhance the room, not be the center of attention. Fresh flowers really go a long way.
With remodel projects, I always take before pics. As I’m starting a job, I snap these rather quickly with my phone. My goal is to show the transformation of the space and to show off special features that were installed and designed to answer the client’s needs and requests. I usually try to repeat the angle of my first set of images for a clear before and after comparison.
Furnishings projects might have need to get special shots like upholstery or windowcovering details or tabletop styling. I want to show the relationships of the furnishings to each other and the architecture.
These days different sizes of photos and videos are so important in being able to market yourself. We will often shoot verticals specifically for Instagram. Short videos are nice too.
With styling, I want the space to feel homey, but not overwhelmed with stuff.
These are homes, not boutiques with stuff to buy sitting out artfully arranged. And we all know that look can go fake really fast. I think less is best when shooting a project. And, although I say less is best, when you get all this in the vehicle(s), it’s chock full! We’re loading and hauling it, and it becomes a very long, tiring day!
I have a storage unit with all kinds of styling items. I go through that a few days prior to the shoot, to get what I’d like to use packed up to bring in on the photo day. Then if I think I need to fill in with something else, I have a little time to source that.
Of course, I’ll be buying flowers and maybe a few plants. If we’re doing a kitchen, fruit and veggies and maybe some drink making items might be purchased for the shoot too.
Photoshoots are a big investment for me!
Kitchen styling items brought in for a shoot. This was only a portion of what we brought.
For a kitchen remodel I have a few things I always take:
I use three simple, clear glass canisters with natural fillers such as coffee beans, whole wheat flour, nuts, granola, etc. I have these in my kitchen. (If it’s good enough for Ina Garten, it’s good enough for me.)
A stack of wooden and ceramic bowls and platters for fruit and veggies.
Natural-colored (or a color that works with the space) fruits and veggies, usually all of the same type. For example, artichokes, lemons or pears.
A couple of trays for oils, pepper mills, vinegars, etc.
Maybe a stack of cookbooks or a grouping of glassware
A few pretty dishtowels.
Flowers - by the buckets: tall, short, branchy, usually at some of them are white or cream.
Some cutting boards or cheese boards to stack somewhere.
A Le Crueset Dutch Oven is always striking
I usually do a coffee tray with French press of some kind.
Unless red is a purposeful color in the room somewhere, I try to stay away from red in any accessories. Red just screams at you visually.
Kitchen Remodel - Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
You see how these things are pretty generic, textural and provide a subtle softening of the space?
Kitchen - Full Remodel - Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
Bathroom Remodel - Carla Aston, Designer, Colleen Scott, Photographer
For a bathroom remodel I usually take the following:
WHITE towels - I have a stack of them I keep for photo shoots only. They are nice and fluffy and provide a spa-like look in any bathroom. I don’t usually use a colored towel. I’ve occasionally used some cream ones or agreed that the homeowner could do a beige or taupe color themselves, but I like white for photo shoots. It gives a crispness and balances the white plumbing fixtures in the room.
Flowers - again, by the bucket. I’ll do roses sometimes in bathrooms; never red, but white or cream, like my homeowner just received a dozen from her love and placed them on her vanity! :-)
I have several stainless and marble trays that are simple and not too decorative and make a nice platter for special creams, lotions, soaps and pretty bottles.
I have some wonderful large seashells I like to include in the shower sometimes. Showers can look so empty and having a seashell and a pretty back scrubber or sea sponge in there provides something personal and spa-like.
I like to do nice soaps too, either in a bowl, on a tray, or in large glass apothecary jars. I have straight glass ones for contemporary bathrooms and more curvy ones for traditional baths.
Extra baskets and maybe a stool or a small side table by a tub, if the homeowner doesn’t have one, helps fill the space.
Primary Bath - Complete Renovation, Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
Again, I don’t want to detract from the tile or the plumbing fixtures or the beautiful lighting, but want a soft, comfortable look.
Quick tip: Try not to transfer something around the room as you’re taking photos. For example, if you have only one type of flower, don’t move the vase around the room as you’re taking photos. Editors of magazines don’t like that. It’s a sure sign of staging and a fake look.
For a full room with furnishings there is always a lot to take:
Sometimes my clients have just moved in to their home, or are just getting used to their remodeled space and don’t have all their accessories or belongings sorted out. Usually the bigger items are part of the design package, art, vases, sculpture, pillows, etc., and are in place.
Flowers or plants, some coffee table books, extra trays or objects are last minute styling items usually brought in to fill out for the shoot.
With all my jobs I usually do some wide shots and then some close-ups; we try to get an assortment.
During the process, we look at the images on a computer screen and then massage them accordingly. Invariably we tweak things.
Until a space is in a flat image form, it’s really hard to see how that object in the foreground is going relate to the other objects behind it.
It takes a lot of work and time just to get one shot.
Living Room Makeover - Carla Aston, Designer, Colleen Scott Photographer
Family room makeover - Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
We always leave some flowers (and fruit if we are photographing a kitchen) for the homeowner. We really appreciate the opportunity to shoot the project and hope they are just as proud of it as we are!