When we finish a project, there’s always a moment when the house isn’t quite ours anymore. We lay the finishing touches, the client moves in, we say our goodbyes, and their life takes over. However, there will be an inevitable day when we’re back again for a visit. This time, with a photographer, a stylist, and an entourage in tow to take on an impossible job: to capture the entire essence of the home in a single photographic frame. 

 

Styling interiors for photoshoots is an entirely different exercise from styling a space for everyday living. The real-life space evokes all the senses while offering practical functionality for the family that lives there. In contrast, a photo is tasked with capturing it all in a two-dimensional plane wrapped in aesthetics that will delight any onlooker. Photoshoots take a lot of work. And I’ve learned over the years that the experience can feel both thrilling and vulnerable for everyone involved.

 

Get ready for your close-up. 

 

Behind the Scenes of an Interior Design Photoshoot

On photoshoot day, the house becomes a hot set. There’s usually a stylist we’ve hired, a photographer with their assistant, our Austin interior design team at the ready to shuffle furniture, and the clients hovering nearby, taking it all in. For the homeowners, it’s equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking. They feel like hosts, responsible for offering coffee while simultaneously watching strangers rearrange their beloved furniture. 

 

There’s a sense of judgment in the air that we have to navigate together. It can feel personal to watch discussions about your possessions. What stays, what gets cut, and what needs to be moved an inch to the left because it looks better through the lens. But this process isn’t a critique of how our clients live, or how our design team arranged the space. Instead, it is a necessary part of the photographic process. 

 

Styling for day-to-day living and styling for a camera are two entirely different art forms.

 

Why Rooms Look Different Through a Camera Lens

Contrary to our belief, a photograph isn’t an accurate representation of reality or how we experience the real world. When we are in a space, our eyes are carried through the room. We move around, notice details, and feel the atmosphere. The camera, however, is mercilessly flat. It sees only one angle. So to give a room life on the page, we often have to create scenes that feel unnatural in real life.

 

Maybe a chair gets pulled into the middle of the room. Perhaps a dining room table is graced with a massive floral bouquet. Or the coffee table gets stripped of your well-loved stack of novels, because clutter doesn’t translate well in print. The result isn’t necessarily a lie, but it isn’t the whole truth either. It’s a staged performance. We’re dressing the home up for its close-up, and there will be a flair for the dramatic. 

 

Playing to the Publication

If we’re shooting with the goal of publication, the performance gets even more specific. Different magazines want different things. For example, a spread in House Beautiful will look very different from one in Architectural Digest, even if it features the same home. Some editors dislike cut flowers, insisting they look funereal, while others crave layered accessories and overflowing arrangements. Some publications are known for stripped-down, gallery-like minimalism, while others celebrate color and personality.

 

However, there is one universal styling rule that really upsets homeowners: no personal family photos allowed. Editors can’t publish rooms with gallery walls of family photos, and these items won’t resonate with a readership the way they resonate with you. So we tuck away anything too personal and replace it with more “neutral” styling. The result is an edited version of the home, curated not just for beauty but for brand alignment.

 

Styling Interiors for Photoshoots Means Sharing the Creative Vision

Even as the designer, I feel the tension. Up until this point, I’ve viewed the project through my eyes and those of my client. However, on photoshoot day, I must share that vision with the photographer, the stylist, and ultimately the magazine’s editorial team. It can be challenging to watch my interpretation shift into something else.

 

The reality is that photographing a project is part of the business. The finished images are how we share our work, attract future clients, and keep our design studio alive. The point, of course, is always to create homes that enrich our clients’ lives. But the photographs? They’re the tools that allow us to keep doing the work we love.

 

One Home, Many Versions

Our Calcasieu project is a perfect example. We first photographed it without a stylist, capturing a more pared-back, honest version. Later, we restyled the home with more color and vibrancy for a second shoot. Then, The New York Times came in, photographing it again through their journalistic lens, highlighting the client’s personal story.

Each version of the home looks dramatically different, and yet each is beautiful in its own way. The same walls, the same furniture, the same family home come across in three unique interpretations depending on the purpose.

 

So, Do Interior Photoshoots Show the “Real” Space?

So, which is “real”? The lived-in home with daily messes piled on counters and table tops, or the polished photoshoot with everything placed just so? In my opinion, both are just as authentic.

 

Homes shift and transform depending on how they’re being used. Sometimes they’re for living, sometimes for sharing, sometimes for showcasing and publishing. None is more valid than the other. They’re just different art forms telling different stories.

 

As I remind my clients, there’s no need to feel judged when your favorite photo is taken down on photoshoot day or when piles of toys are stashed out of frame. Your home is beautiful both in its daily, lived-in rhythm and in its glossy, staged debut. 

 

A home is beautiful in every view.