We’re excited to share more from our photoshoot for The Nest magazine. The shoot actually took place months earlier, and back then we had to keep the magazine’s name under wraps. Now we can finally show a few behind-the-scenes moments from that long day of posing, puppy wrangling, and organized chaos.
Unlike our earlier Do It Yourself magazine shoot, which stretched over several hours across multiple days, this session was a single, intense day: thirteen hours from morning into the night. Although it sounds long, the day flew by. We captured a handful of behind-the-scenes photos to document what it’s like when a professional crew—hair and make-up, wardrobe stylists and assistants, photographer and assistants, creative director, prop stylist and assistant, and a videographer—moves into your home to style and shoot every corner.
Two of the three people responsible for making us look magazine-ready focused on color and bold accessories. Because the issue was timed for spring, they dressed us in bright, festive clothing and layered on props and accents to make every shot pop.
Even though we cleaned thoroughly before the crew arrived, the house quickly filled with gear. Wardrobe, hair, and make-up supplies took over the bedroom, and every other room was covered with lighting rigs, computers, food for the crew, and stacks of props. It felt like a movie set.
Some of the scene changes were strikingly beautiful—piles of pillows, bright ceramics, and fresh props were used to add color and seasonal flair to each room. The prop stylist and assistant went to great lengths: no detail was too small. From laundry detergent for a storage shelf to olive oil for the kitchen counter, each item was selected to create an authentic, curated look.
One of the best parts about having professionals photograph your home is seeing how many options they bring and how tiny color shifts affect a room. We enjoyed watching the pros try different accents—pops of orange, deep greens, patterned pillows—while we got comfortable with people rearranging our furniture and moving belongings around.
There was also a lot of technical equipment. Lighting umbrellas, clamps, gaffer’s tape, monitors, and computers were set up in every nook to capture the rooms in perfect light. You often don’t see the setup when flipping through a glossy magazine, but it’s essential to creating the look you admire on the page.
The videographer filmed a tour of the house while the photographer worked on stills in other rooms. We occasionally paused the video shoot to pose for photographs, which meant the video tour ran out of daylight toward the end and we had to finish shooting the sunroom in lower light. Still, the results were worth the effort.
That sunroom was a focus for the team. To get the cover-worthy image, they rearranged the furniture so the daybed faced the sliding doors, then shot from the top of a vehicle in the driveway to control the scene. The trick was to hide the season—shooting into the sunroom instead of out—so it read like spring no matter what the calendar said. Here the photographer climbed onto an SUV to get the precise angle.
They left us a printed mock-up of the sunroom cover so we could imagine how it would appear on the magazine. We loved how Burger looked on the floor pillow, staring up at his dad—though we laughed at the trick used to keep him from making a break for it: someone held his leash underfoot.
Some of the team’s equipment spilled outdoors as well. Assistants placed lights and flashes among the azaleas and just outside windows to craft ideal indoor light, a setup you rarely notice in the finished images. Other times we found unexpected scenes inside our own home—a living room chair temporarily placed on the front porch or a camera set up in the bathtub—illustrating how flexible production can be.
Because the shoot ran well into the evening, the crew created artificial daylight with powerful lamps and reflectors. After watching them work, we’ll never assume a sunny kitchen spread was taken during the day without thinking twice about the lighting setup behind it.
One of our favorite memories is a candid shot of the two of us wearing small wireless mics (which we jokingly called “butt mics”) at the very end of the day. After thirteen hours, we were relieved: the house survived, the photos looked great, and we managed to stay coherent for the video. The team wrapped up with printed spreads for us to keep, and we continued to pinch ourselves over the experience.
We’re grateful for the feature and for the crew’s professionalism and creativity. Having your home photographed at this level is a whirlwind, but it’s also a lot of fun to watch experts transform familiar rooms into magazine-ready scenes. It’s a reminder that behind every polished photo is careful planning, countless props, and a team that knows how to make light do its magic.