Last weekend I traveled to Louisiana to my friend’s home, Sara from Simply Southern Cottage, to help out with a photo shoot. Cottages & Bungalows sent over a very talented photographer on Monday and we were ready! But before all the glamour of the shoot, there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Here’s some unexpected things that you might not know about how people like us get ready for photo shoots:

First, sometimes you just improvise and figure it out along the way. After unloading my truck on Saturday, I was put in charge of getting the table ready. Sara had been working for days on the living area with all the Christmas decor, and when I got there, she was tackling the front porch.

So, I positioned my chairs as I had planned (see more of them by clicking here), and then took on the job of transforming the tablescape. I really wanted to keep the large magnolia leaf jar on the table, but the island needed it more.

So, I took an artificial garland and stuffed real magnolia leaves all over it. I had never embellished a garland before, but I just worked at it and it turned out surprisingly well!

The place setting had to be simple since the garland was so large. I scratched the idea of silverware and glasses and just used the gold plates that I bought from Pier One.

I tried napkins, but it was just too cluttered, and yet it was too empty to just leave a plate only. So, I made small wreaths for the plates out of rosemary and ribbon. It was just the right amount of things on the table without being too overwhelming.

Second, you bring lots of stuff that may not be used, but that you might need. For example, I brought a lot of my dishes that were pink including some goblet glasses that I got 27 years ago for a wedding present. I used all these dishes, bowls, plates, mugs, and my favorite pink dotted vase in Sara’s hutch. It really served as the perfect backdrop to the dining space and added a pop of color to the rustic hutch.

Third, there’s always a junk room or two! Here’s the laundry room where everything that we decided to not use-or to get out of the way-went. It was the catch-all space. But in the beautiful photographs, no one ever knows what’s lurking right around the corner…it’s junk, it’s overwhelming, and it’s everywhere!

Fourth, you scrounge the closets, attic, storage, and even ask Facebook friends for things that you can use as props. I was put in charge of styling the mudroom bench. We found a green and red quilt that looked very Christmas-y, a reindeer bag, and an old red chippy-paint window. Sara got on Facebook and asked for some black Hunter boots, which a friend gladly loaned us. Then we headed to Walmart for the Santa hat, elf legs, a red bag, and slippers. I added my Kate Spade tennis shoes, some more rosemary wreaths, and pillows from around the house. I covered the bench in the quilt, hung the window, and pulled a pillow from the living room. Then I took a bite from the cookies and set them out on a cute Santa plate so it would look like Santa himself had been there.

Finally, props move around as you go from room to room. We moved pillows, presents, plates of cookies, and even a Christmas tree to make each space feel full and homey. The final space we styled was the back porch. It was a wreck when I got there, but in just a few hours, we had it looking so fun and ready for pics! You just can’t beat a hanging day bed and a cute Christmas sign by Simply Inspired Design Company!

And there you have it, Friends! The photos may look amazing in the end, but it takes all kinds of hacks to get it done right. Who ever knew?