How We Style for Photoshoots
Photoshoots are always a celebratory moment at DMB Design. They represent the culmination of a ton of hard work from every member of the design team. The final styling is uniquely important to our design process and philosophy; our definition of “full-service” design isn’t complete until the physical space matches the vision we’ve created over the months of the design process. Photoshoots offer an opportunity to appreciate the rooms of a project through new eyes, both for the client and myself. They take a lot of very careful planning, starting far earlier in the design process than you might expect. My conceptual process begins like many good things: with a good old fashioned sketchbook.
I find that I do my best work when I segment the space I’m planning to style into multiple zones or vignettes. I like to map out individual shots centered around a single area of the room. I hand draw these spaces in the notebook in as much detail as possible, and begin a styling game plan once the space is broken into the necessary quadrants. Above you’ll see the coffee bar from our Farro Lake house with the original sketch. As you can tell, much of the final plan stays true to these early concepts. I create multiple styling concepts for every section so I can make adjustments based on the preferences of the client and the needs of the room. I determine which accessories belong in each vignette, and draw sketches for the eventual layout.
Once I’ve fully visualized the needs of the space, the ordering begins. I always make sure to procure more than we actually need to complete the space. Sometimes I order online, sometimes I’ll organically look through stores and wait for inspiration. The search for the right collection of accessories often begins informally, months in advance. Often I’ll grab a piece that speaks to me spontaneously for a project long before the space is completed. The necessity of styling each vignette multiple ways always provides a variety of paths to take, so I never order with the intention of keeping every piece.
Once we get closer to the a styling date and I’m sure I have everything I need, I gather all my acquisitions into one space to further develop my styling plan mentally. I arrange all of my chosen items of decor on the large table in our studio and decide, zone by zone where all the accessories should be placed. Photos are taken for reference, and the decor is then separated into bins by the intended space to ensure that everything goes smoothly on the big day. This is a crucial step for my mental organization. My team and I often spend hours readying the physical space for the photographer, and any decisions that can be made before entering the physical space represent extra time that can be used to evaluate the need for any final adjustments.
After I select the decor I plan to bring I make sure that the different vision boards centered around the accessory plan for each vignette for the are set up and ready design team to follow so that they can understand my vision for the room. I want every member of the team to understand the ins and outs to facilitate a smooth execution of the creative vision. I always want to make sure that as much of the proposed plan for the room is finalized before the day of the shoot, however the definitive iteration of the room won’t be set untilI’m actually in the space with all of the design elements. This is sometimes the case because I’ll have multiple plans in mind for the client to choose from. One of the reasons our styling day is so important is it allows the client to recognize the impact that even small changes can affect upon a home. We never use all the decor selected for a space, but we also never take everything home. My personal goal for styling is to make a client fall in love with their home and feel pride in the transformation that their room has undergone.
