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Making a Home Picture Perfect

How Decorators Create a Photo Worthy Space

When you’re watching HGTV, or looking at magazines, you don’t usually get to see all the behind the scenes stuff, everything that has to be done to get that perfect picture look.
So, I thought I’d share a peek into what went on behind the scenes at our last photo shoot.

First of all, when it comes to getting great pics of a job, there’s a lot of styling that takes place.
Items that work for living in the space often don’t photograph well.
And, sometimes a neutral room that looks relaxing and calm in real life, needs some color for pictures.
TIP ALERT – The reason this little arrangement looks so good is because of the varying textures and colors. For texture you have the green plant, sea grass mat, glass table top, wood table and fabrics in the background. For color you have the neutrals in the woods, the green plant and then the blue and orange fabrics in the background.
You need to mix it up in a space.

So, prior to any photo shoot I always go in and assess the situation.
I snap a few pics on my phone and analyze them. It’s important to see how things look through the lens of a camera (or an iPhone as the case may be).
Like this table below – It’s great for the homeowners to put their drink down on, but it doesn’t photograph well as is. For the photo, I needed to add a couple of books.

Then I remove all of the personal items that client’s have in the space, no family photos, and no sentimental tchotchkes. I usually remove some of the accessories too and simplify. Otherwise the room ends up looking cluttered in the pictures.

Next, I always like to add some life with flowers, fruit, etc.
I keep in mind the colors of the room and choose flowers and fruit that will look good with them.
In this case, the pop of green and yellow from the flowers and fruit look great against the blue in the window treatments.
TIP ALERT – If you want to have a large bowl of fruit but don’t want to pay for pounds of fruit you may not eat, you can add some bunched up tissue, or I use bunched up plastic wrap (so you can’t see it), under the fruit in the bowl. Just be sure to arrange the fruit so you can’t see what’s underneath.

Then I make sure that everything is PERFECT.
Every surface needs to be dust free. Every rug, piece of furniture and accessory needs to be in exactly the right spot.
Inevitably, items always get overlooked, until we look at the camera screen!

Above, the top shelf was empty and I didn’t like how the colorful plates looked. (After at the end)

Above, one of the plates in the cabinet is moved over and the mat in front of the sink needs to be moved.
TIP ALERT – You can use clear bumpers, the kind that you stick on under a glass top table. You attach them to the shelf right next to the plate, or in front of the plate, wherever the plate is moving. The bumper will stop it from moving and you won’t see it on the glass shelf.

There are always things that have to be fixed with good old Photoshop too!
Like the artwork below, it’s actually on order.
TIP ALERT – To keep artwork perfectly straight, all the time, I use removable adhesive putty. I put two little bits on the bottom corners of the piece, hold the bottom out from the wall, put my level on the side of the art and then press the bottom into place. You can find it at Staples.