We’re excited to share more about our photoshoot for The Nest magazine. The shoot actually took place months earlier, and at the time we had to keep the project under wraps. Now we can finally reveal a handful of behind-the-scenes photos from that wild day of posing, puppy wrangling, and organized chaos.
Unlike our earlier Do-It-Yourself magazine shoot, which spanned several days from 9am to 3pm, this one was a single 13-hour day—8am to 9pm. It never felt long, though; the hours flew by. We grabbed a few behind-the-scenes shots to show what it’s like when a professional crew—hair and make-up, wardrobe stylist and assistant, photographer and two assistants, creative director, prop stylist and assistant, and a videographer—takes over your home to style and shoot every room.
Color was the main direction for this feature, since it was timed for spring, so the stylists dressed us in bright clothing and added plenty of accessories to elevate our everyday look for the cover. Two of the three people responsible for making us look cover-ready are pictured below, working to get the right palette and energy.
Even after we’d cleaned the house top to bottom, the crew’s setup took over every room. Our bedroom became the hub for wardrobe, hair, and make-up supplies, and every other space filled up with food for the crew, lighting, and computer equipment.
Sometimes the controlled chaos looked beautiful—stacks of pillows and carefully chosen props brought spring-like pops of color to each room.
The prop stylist and assistant paid attention to every small detail, bringing everything from laundry detergent for a laundry shelf to olive oil for the kitchen counter. It’s always fascinating to watch professionals rework a space for the camera—swapping pillows, adding a splash of orange or dark green, and generally transforming rooms so they read well in photographs. If you’re comfortable with people moving things around, it’s entertaining to see what choices a pro decorator makes.
There was also a lot of heavy, expensive equipment in every corner to capture each room in perfect light—umbrella flashes, clamps, tripods, gaffer’s tape, and even snacks on the kitchen counter. Here the photographer checks shots on a tripod-mounted computer setup.
The videographer filmed a house tour while the photographer worked in other rooms. We sometimes paused the video to do still shots, which is why the tour ran long and some rooms—like the sunroom—ended up shot later than planned.
The sunroom was considered a key shot that day. The team rearranged furniture, turned the daybed to face the sliding doors, and even used an elevated position in our driveway to achieve the right perspective. The goal was to make the scene read as springtime, even though it was actually autumn outside—shooting into the sunroom hid the fall foliage and created the seasonal feel they wanted.
The team also printed a sample sunroom cover mock-up so they could visualize how the layout and copy would work on the finished cover.
We loved the sunroom shot and were a bit disappointed not to see it in the final magazine. Burger looked adorable on a floor pillow, safely held in place by his leash during the shoot. Fortunately, the team used one of our own photos of the sunroom with green trees for the story, so it all worked out.
The equipment didn’t stay inside; lights and flashes were placed outside among the azaleas to properly illuminate interior shots. It’s a reminder that so much of what reads as effortless in glossy features involves careful, sometimes surprising, technical setups.
We found chairs on the porch, cameras in unexpected spots like the bathtub, and other odd placements that made the day amusing and memorable.
Because shooting ran into the evening, the crew recreated sunlight with powerful lights well after dark. From now on, whenever we see a brightly lit kitchen feature, we’ll wonder whether the sun was actually shining that day.
One of our favorite memories is this photo of us wearing the small wireless mics—our jokingly named “butt mics”—taken near the end of the day. By hour 13 we were exhausted but relieved: the house was intact, the shots looked great, and we managed to deliver the video tour without falling apart.
We’re grateful to the team at The Nest for the glossy feature and the fun video tour. It was a pleasure to host their crew, and the experience gave us a whole new appreciation for the work that goes into producing magazine-quality home photography. For us, the day ended with happy exhaustion and a bunch of unforgettable behind-the-scenes moments.