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January 12, 2009
Creating Inspiration, Part 1
Hola B-to-B’s! December was crazy busy: Two big photo shoots to get organized, prepping for my little one's first X-mas…oh, and the little things, like dog-walking, eating, showering, housekeeping and sleeping. Whew, I’m exhausted all over again. But more like that exhilarating, delirious kind of on-the-run exhaustion—exciting but when you look back, you can’t believe you got it all done. Probably exactly how you feel planning a wedding!
Ever wonder what work goes into the pages you are ripping out for inspiration? Me, too! This issue, I had a two-day registry shoot (with all the coolest and least costly updates for the living room, bath and kitchen) and a one-day tabletop shoot. Fine. No biggie. Piece of cake. The only kicker was they were back-to-back: Registry on Wed/Thurs and tabletop on Friday. Seriously, ladies, what was I thinking when I agreed to those dates!
Call time is 9am, pretty standard. Mary Cate and Morgan, two of the artistas that design our fab pages were there to style and thank my lucky stars, to help unpack the 40-something boxes of product. This photo shows about, oh, four boxes worth. Not my favorite part of the job. Ever.
Okay, make that 40-something plus one. Photog David Lazarus and his best pal, Stanley, greet the UPS man with another delivery for the shoot. He must have treats in his pocket for such a warm welcome.
First shot up: an eco-friendly table that is gorgeous and NOT green. In color, that is. Wait, rewind. It would help if you knew what the shoot was about! It’s a round up to show your inner-hostess four different ways to dress the dining table: Eco-conscious, modern, classic and flirty-fun.
Who says it’s not your grandma’s china? Traditional Spode china (on right) dates back to the 18th century and is still one of the most popular for brides. I mixed it with rattan chargers from Williams-Sonoma and fun topiary place card holders from Ballard Designs to give it a more relaxed feel.
Colored glassware from Lenox and Gorham are perfect for the more whimsical bride. Notice there is no china on this table? That’s because it never arrived! This was the beginning of a round of urgent calls between the PR company and the china company. While I was playing phone tag, I jumped online to see where I could buy the dishes myself if push came to shove. And return them, of course! I don’t make that kind of dinero.
Black and gold were a huge trend at Tabletop Market this year so a mod tablescape was a must. Are you beginning to understand what 40-something +1 boxes looks like?
Morgan and Mary Cate tack up wallpaper for the first shot. Did you think we had people to do it for us? Right!
Elegant recycled flatware doesn’t really exist. And plastic is not an option with your finest wares so I went with chopsticks—reusable and made from a sustainable material. I tried to incorporate these cool, rechargeable “candles” from Candela but in the end, they didn’t work. You really never know until you’re onset and can see all the products together.
Poor flameless candles with the rock sculptures from VivaTerra that also didn’t make the cut. I’m telling you, it’s a ruthless biz. Okay, not really. Most companies really understand and I try my best not to call something in unless I’m going to use it.
Mary Cate and I headed to the prop table to set up the next shot. With one day to shoot four full-page composed (meaning not individual silhouettes of each product) shots, things have to keep moving.
Shoots are def a jeans or workout pants kind-of-environment. Here, Mary Cate cops a squat (I’m a sucker for Pretty Woman lines!) and checks out product next to the camera.
You would never know it, but every dish has to be turned just right to catch the perfect lighting. That is a lot of what the art directors are on set to do.
My favorite setting…so bizarre because I’ve never been drawn to this pattern. Play with your tables and don’t be afraid to mix and match. You never know what you’ll like in the end.
This looks like a good place to end for today. Check out Part 2 of the photoshoot to find out what happened to that missing box of dishes, why you should always handle a glass vase with care, and to see how this long day finally ended. Cheers!
Posted by Aimée at 5:58 p.m.
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