Styled Shoot

If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball (please tell me you’ve seen the movie), or if you can design a room you can design a photoshoot. In all seriousness, regardless of the location, a lot of the same basic principles apply. I was recently hired to design and stage a fall photoshoot for a photographer in our area, Liz Mollica (check out her website here ). This is a bit different for me as I’ve never staged one before. The key difference between staging a home and this photoshoot is that I had one shot. In a home, I like to get in and feel the place out. I look around and ideas start pouring in. The trick is, I really need to be in the space for that to happen. With this shoot I had to show up with preplanned materials and start staging on scene which is definitely out of my comfort zone. Good thing I love a challenge.

Is this the official way you’re supposed to design? I honestly have no idea. I’m in the middle of my design certification this fall so I guess I’ll let you know at the end. This is what works for me though and it’s what I like. You may like something completely different and that’s cool too. These are the tips and tricks I personally apply to make a space come together (are you even a designer if you don’t use the word “space” 87 times?).

Color Scheme

When looking for a color scheme, I try to look for colors as well as materials that mesh well. For this shoot, I had two different schemes in mind. One was vibrant with typical fall colors. It incorporated apples, red plaid and bright mums. The other was more muted. It used cinderella pumpkins and blush tones to make a soft, elegant look. After polling the same two people I ask everything (my mom and best friend of course), I decided I couldn’t pick and would offer both. That’s where picking transitional pieces came into play. More on that later.

Vibrant Colors

I’m not sure how everyone else’s brain work but for me I get a certain picture in my head of what I want something to look like. From there, I try and think of pieces that will achieve that look. The vibrant, classic, fall colored shoot needed a few things for it to feel “fall-ey” enough for me. In my head I pictured red plaids, bright mums, lanterns, old crates, apples and pumpkins AKA all things picturesque fall in New England. I started getting these pieces together one by one to see what would fit together and what looked off. I went with the bright colors I had pictured and anchored them with neutrals that fit the bill - wood, metal and natural elements such as hay. The bright colors popped and achieved the desired look while me anchors pulled it all together for a cohesive look. If you know me and my preferred design style, I don’t use bright colors, or colors at all for that matter. It was different selecting bright orange pumpkins and red mums. I kept the objective in mind though and was able to pull off a great setup because of it!

Muted Colors

The look I wanted to capture here was a bit more contemporary. it wasn’t the typical reds and oranges of fall, but something a bit softer instead. I still pictured the same worn wood and antique metal but this time I envisioned it with unique cinderella pumpkins, a blush throw blanket and peachy hued mums. Lots of creamy whites were used to soften the blushes and peaches further.

Layering + Texture

I applied the same techniques here as I do in my interior design life. I started with my backdrop. In this case it was a vintage truck with woods behind it. At home it may be a mantle or a living room wall. From there I start bringing in the heavy hitters, the big pieces I know I’m going to use. Here it was the hay and wooden crates. I make sure they’re different from my back drop. Where the truck was silver, I knew not to jump to metal/silvery staging props just yet. Hay and wood added a softer more natural element to contrast the cool silver truck.

Next, I brought in some medium range props. These were things I was fairly certain I wanted to use but wasn’t sure how or where yet. For these I added even more texture by bringing in smooth glass vintage crocks, some lanterns and a throw blanket (red plaid for vibrant and a softer one with pinks for the more muted shoot). Up until this point, the layers remained the same between both shoots. Both shoots had the same base layers, where we changed a handful of things in the final step is what gave us two totally different looks. At this step I also added antique metal pails to fill in where I’d need mums and add further dimension.

The final layer included mums, more pumpkins and other specific pieces I wanted to create each look (example being bright red lanterns for the vibrant shoot). These were all pieces I felt fit with my vibe but didn’t know if or how I’d use them. This is where I layered in color pops on my neutral palate. Using a variety of materials of all different textures was the key to layering here. The neutral rhythm kept it pulled together.

Transitional Pieces

As I mentioned above, I added in the colors and finishing touches on the last step to achieve a certain vibe. That means I used great transitional pieces to start so I could go seamlessly from a vibrant scheme to a more muted one without changing everything I had already setup. I implore you to use a similar technique at home. Use basic pieces you LOVE that can move with you from season to season. For this shoot it was hay, wooden crates, metal pales, ceramic crocks. You (probably?) won’t be using hay in your home, but pieces like open shelving, some great neutral frames and candlesticks or a pair of tobacco baskets would all be examples of items you would have year round and would use your final layer to dress these items up from holiday to holiday or season to season.

Adding in movement

In any design, I like to add in live pieces. For this it was lots of living plants and super cute kids. Shoutout to my BFF Cait for letting my steal her 4 adorable girls for the muted shoot. Oh and for bailing me out and bringing the throw with the pinks, extra lanterns and more wooden crates without even having to be asked. If you don’t have yourself a Cait, I HIGHLY recommend one. They’re the best kind of friend. I thew my boys in for the vibrant shoot because they’re vibrant all right. In my home, my kids are in the shot a good amount and I always have plants in every room. It’s totally preference but I like to keep it real, keep it fluid and keep it lively.

Finished Product

Liz will be shooting with these setups this upcoming weekend. If you’re interested in booking, please click here to set something up while she still has openings! I know where my family will be getting our fall pictures done!