Secrets Stylists Won’t Tell You… Behind the Camera

Have you ever felt jealous of a house you have seen in a magazine, a book, or even one for sale? If you haven’t, then pat yourself on the back, because most of us probably have at some point. There are a lot of secrets stylists don’t tell you, and it’s kind of unfair.

Maybe it’s been a hard day with the kids running everywhere and toys flying in every direction. Or maybe it’s the perfectly made beds or the cup of coffee that someone else had the time to linger over.

Getting jealous over those photos is a little like being jealous of the the model who has been shaped, smoothed, and erased via the magic of photoshop. Is there some level of reality to those photos? Yes, though not always with the models! Sometimes it’s just her face that is real and even that has been doctored.

Thankfully, homes tend to be less modified, but sometimes our biggest struggle is the expensive items (sometimes brought in for the shoot), the cleanliness (who doesn’t clean up when a camera crew is coming), and the sense of perfection (completely overrated!)

Life is messy and while I have make an enormous effort to keep “chaos” in my photos, there is definitely some staging, or “styling” as I prefer to call it. Now that I have shifted my focus towards real estate, there is almost a demand to strip the owners from the property to make room for buyers to visualize themselves there. But, I still like a little life in there.

No, I can’t really include Nerf bullets in every corner, rings on the counter from a great glass of cold chocolate milk, or shoes thrown haphazardly after a nerve wracking light saber duel that was narrowly avoided just moments before dinner.

But I can continue my campaign to reduce “house guilt” that my clients face so often. Let it go… life isn’t perfect and while it is a ton of fun to find inspiration in others’ homes and to release our creativity on our own, the moments when life is messy are usually the best ones!

Here is a little Behind The Scenes Peek of how I spent a morning prepping for a photo shoot while the kids were at school… the only time my home is ever this quiet! This was originally posted privately for e-mail subscribers, but so many of my friends and family have struggled with House Guilt that I wanted to make it available to everyone.