What they do is first go to school (marketing, design, bus. admin., pick one) for years, then get on staff at the big mag, after which they sit down in endless mtgs with other similar 'creative' people with huge budgets (well, the mags have huge budgets) and decide how they can spend the loot. They then order up oodles of great stuff from NY, London, etc., throw it together in 20 ways, airbrush everything to h..., and pick a couple of best shots to feature. It's not one person just playing with accessories in a nice room.

I've worked as a director/producer on a couple of makeover shows, and basically, you build lots of layers. Think bookcase filled, chair in front of that, pillow on chair, footstool in front of that, throw on footstool, teatray on throw, fresh flowers on tea tray, and on and on. And the photographer lights the hell out of it. Things are much closer together than they would be in real life.

For print, there's a little more leeway, as the shot is static, and you can shift stuff around, depending on the angle. (Most of the accessories/furniture that are credited in the shots are on memo, and not bought by the magazine. In fact, lots of the stuff doesn't belong to the homeowner.)

But, here's a link to a photo stylist description.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photo Styling

A design instructor told us that photos are actually not a good gauge for placement of furnishings in terms of clearances and functionality, for example, as when the photographer goes to the home, things are pulled in closer together and moved around to fit the pic frame or 'make' the pic in some other way. Was also told that looking at kitchen ads, for example, are usually examples of the worst-designed kitchens, not examples of good design to study.

There is a show on hgtv called "the style dept." that shows them getting a room ready for a shoot each week. I haven't tried it, but there might be info if you googled it.

So, here's a confession. When I was little and growing up in NYC, my mother signed me up with a modeling agency. I did a lot of print ads. Anyway, we would spend a whole day at the shoot standing around while the stylists created the look they needed for the product. What you see, isn't always what you think. Time and time again they would substitute something to look like something else. In a Jello ad I did, the table at the home wasn't big enough to create the look they wanted on camera, so they went to a lumber store and bought a door and placed that over the table in the kitchen to give the illusion of a bigger table. A lot of styling is little tricks that fool the eye and doesn't translate well IRL.

This thread reminds me of an HGTV show of the past -- I can't remember the name, but it was the one where they took a mega-bucks room (like in the hundreds of thousands sometimes) and recreated it for $2,000.
There was some beautiful eye-candy there, but I always wondered - where is the fourth wall? How was that decorated? There were always only three walls, one could tell it was not in the person's home but in a studio.

They plump up food in bowls, like cereal, too. Make it look like there's looots and lots of fruit or nuts :) Apparently a lot of that goes on, but I seem to remember 'someone' was kicking up a fuss and trying to crack down on it because it was misleading advertising, lol. Even the cereal!

Wow! I think I was unclear with my question (which doesn't surprise me, sadly). I'm just looking for photos or descriptions of ways that stylists show specific items. For example, tying a sprig of eucalyptus over a bathtub faucet with a piece of raffia (or whatever, that's a bad example but I haven't quite woken up yet).

However, I like the direction this thread is going, so discuss away! (I'd still like to see photos if you have any.)

Just keep in mind that the whole point behind all of it is to feature and SELL whatever is up for sale that month.. make IT look terrific without being obvious about it. And that can depend on so many things too - don't mean to sound cynical, but sometimes it's about having promised a supplier that product X will be featured that week (to make up for something else that went badly last year) and the fact that the whole scenario looks pretty is planned strictly to enhance that product (and you may not always even know which one it is!).

interesting topic...i work in several capacities in tv and print production. depending on the budget, i am sometimes styling things.

here's my two cents worth:

as for tips, there are so many different approaches, depending on what the point of the picture is, but i will do my best to lay out the things we address no matter what.

1)the first thing i think about is color. how can i bring this color all the way through the shot? fresh flowers in colors that pick up your accent colors. books and magazines in your accent colors.

2)lighting-- accent lighting, uplights, dimmers, warm bulbs. the makeover rooms you see on tv are always lit really dramatically, with professional lights. after the crew take the lights down, the room has lost some of its pop. you can recreate this to a degree with careful attention to lighting.

3) dramatic plant (usually palm or bamboo) with uplight for shadows.

4) as someone mentioned here, layers...everything is layered in color and texture.

5) mood. props are chosen to create the overall mood of the room.in our own homes, we live in these rooms so moods/purpose of the room shifts with the needs of the family.

6) large props (such as floral arrangement, bigger is better for drama) or groups of collections cleanly placed, with no surrounding clutter.

7) reflective/glowing surfaces, but no stark white things in foreground. mirrors to reflect light from opposite window or chandelier.

8) in photo shoots and sometimes in tv, we have the luxury of selecting the shot. we have full editorial decision over what angle the viewer will see it from and where we will crop the image, so we can pick the foreground and background carefully. good shot composition has a focal point and leads the eye somewhere definite. color that leads the eye from left to right around the room, landing spots for the eye and an invitation to enter and explore (focal point, obscuring full view but leaving enough to draw eye forward).

9) photoshop a great background out of the windows. take out anything that doesn't work. change rain to sunshine in bg. etc.

What is really interesting to me is that i also spent some time as a designer for custom homes (home designs, not interior design) and the same principles were employed in that line of work. Sarah Susankah's books talk a lot about the ideas of light and focal points, but with a practical bent.

i find it so amazing that i can see exactly what to do for others or on set, but in my own home, it takes me years to make up my mind about a darn wall color. perhaps that goes to purpose-- at work i know what the point of the shot is, but at home, the point of the room is always changing and i need it to be so much more than perfect at one moment. i also think i get used to seeing things at home and overlook all of the tings that would horrify me if i saw them on set. maybe that is why seeing pictures of our rooms can be so helpful. furniture placement is always the killer for me.

it's so much easier on a set, when you have been preparing for one shot for two weeks and you can clear everything that doesn't work out of the room. and you have a talented crew who can make anything you dream up happen!

Zuzus, I don't know if this will hit the mark or not with your question, but I thought you might find this to be an interesting blog article on the same general topic.

HTH~

Here is a link that might be useful: Cote de Texas' magazine feature on her home

Here are two of my favorite books on the subject:

Christi Carter's "Art of Accessorizing" published by Meredith

"Accents on Accessories" by the editors of Southern Accents published by Oxmoor House

Both offer excellent ideas on tablescapes etc.

Hope this helps! One of my FAV decor topics!! Thanks for mentioning it here! :)

Jan

lol, still not sure what you mean, ZuZus :) Martha Stewart reigns there, I think. Her photo stylists are excellent. Esp in the recipe department!!

Oh zuzu, you ask a question and the thread takes on a life of its own! Sorry. I am guessing your question is more about accessorizing? Then yes, Christi Carter's book is excellant. Has a few "recipes" for accessorizing. If you ask me though, we should let teacats talk, because she does it beautifully throughout her home! A real talent!

This is all very helpful -- thanks everyone!

kmcg85 -- Most kind of you to say that nice comment! Honestly I do just play with things until my mind says "yesssss ..... thats IT!"

Really -- I do have to say that I believe that cattknap's knack and talent for vignettes is truly gifted -- I literally study her home pictures ..... do consider bumping up the thread on her home ....