Today was photoshoot day for a kitchen project in a new construction home that was just completed.  This is one of the kitchens that we modified on the builders plans to give my clients the kitchen they really wanted.

Click HERE for the before and after plans for this kitchen and the finish selection planning.

The clients have been in the home for almost a year now, but there were a few items that were  delayed like the pendant lights for the island and the custom counter stools.

Now that everything has arrived, it was time to photograph.

Getting good photos is a time consuming and often expensive process. Every room that is being photographed needs editing and styling props to support and enhance the photos.

Planning the photos

Rooms that look lovely in real life, sometimes are cluttered or lackluster in photos.  A 2D image is a very different visual than a 3D experience of a space.

I love the planning and styling for a photoshoot. I always have a shot list of what I want to capture - sometimes this is a physical list if I am shooting multiple rooms and want to be sure I don’t forget something, sometimes it is just in my head:)

My go-to styling items in general are

• flowers and plants,

• food,

• trays,

• candles,

• and books. 

For kitchens in particular, I also like to use bread boards for the warm texture in contrast to all the hard and glossy surfaces.  Wooden spoons, dishes, pitchers, and kitchen towels are common styling items to add color contrast.

I planned the shots and angles I wanted to capture for this project and planned the styling items for those shots

• mugs and trays and some fruit and baked goods for the coffee station area

• cookbooks, wooden bowls, and blue dishes for the glass doored cabinets

• a pitcher of flowers and a bowl of fruit for the island

• soap dispenser, wooden bread boards, caddy and wooden utensils, a container of cut herbs, and a dishtowel for the work counter

Shopping for styling props

For this photo shoot, I shopped at Home Goods and my own prop closet and home for items to use.  And I purchased armloads of flowers and some fruit at Trader Joes.

Everything was laid out on my dining room table to make sure I had all I needed (and then some!), and then was packed into boxes and bags and loaded into the car.

Much schlepping is involved in a photoshoot - it is definitely a workout!

Styling and photographing

Furniture and props are adjusted and moved to places they may not normally be for the sake of  the composition of the photo. Magazine photos are rarely indicative of how the room actually is arranged in real life.

I moved almost everything off the counters and some of the glassware out of the cabinet to style for the photos. The phone, toaster, paper towel holder, napkin holder, assorted glassware, and personal photos and cards (you know, the stuff people actually USE in a kitchen?!) were all carefully relocated to the dining room table out of the shot.

Here are the resulting photos.

We specially designed this coffee bar area to mimic the look of a built in hutch with glass doors on the upper cabinets and corbel brackets under them.

The cabinetry was topped with trim all the way to the 9’ ceilings for a gracious look and no dust-collector awkward gap above the cabinets.

The warm cherry stained island houses a microwave on the work side and has an overhang for counter seating on the opposite side and one end - a perfect perch for a casual meal or to visit with the cook.

The saddle seat custom counter stools were worth the wait.  Not only are they super comfy, they are covered in a performance fabric that repels any spills.  The legs are stained in a custom color to match the cabinetry, and the nailhead detailing and footrest are a warm brass to mimic the accents in the lighting and cabinet hardware.

Hard working quartz countertops are a warm toned marble-look, and pale taupe subway tile on the backsplash is laid in a running bond pattern with a herringbone layout to accent the stove and hood area.

Editing

Post production photo editing is important too. All these images have been edited in some way - often to remove distractions like ceiling speakers or outlets, but sometimes to correct perspective or exposure.

While I was there, I took a few shots of the bathrooms we worked on as well. These were trickier to photograph because neither have windows for natural light and turning on lights creates sharp shadows that ruin the shot. The last two images have a light on and you can see the offending shadows.

These photos don’t really do the bathrooms justice. 

Even though my camera has night mode, which automatically lengthens the exposure time for low light, I need to go back with some specialized lighting and a remote shutter to capture them properly, but these are a good sneak preview.

The guest bath vanity is tucked under a sloped ceiling so we specified a round tilting mirror flanked by sconces so that it would serve guests of varying heights. The floor is marble-look porcelain subway tile laid in a herringbone pattern.

The primary bath has ample storage in a tall cabinet at the end of the vanity.  The shower was designed with a broad accent stripe of diamond patterned mosaic marble tile for a luxurious touch.  The same mosaic lines the storage niche over the built-in bench.

I learned a few things at this, my first solo photo session.

The process takes more time than I expected. I spent two hours on site to get these photos and I should have spent a bit longer. I need to spend the time to review the photos more carefully for each shot so I can tweak placement.

While not a bad first attempt, there are small things I would modify about almost all of these photos?! Life is all about learning and improving!

But most importantly, our lovely clients are thoroughly enjoying their new home and I’m happy to be able to capture some of the mood here in photographs.