7 Takeaways From Our Recent Photo Shoot

The past few days have been a total blur – but in the best way possible. Not only did we JUST celebrate Christmas morning here at My Weathered Home, but we also just completed a full day photo shoot for Flea Market Decor Magazine. For a solid two days after Christmas Day, I not only cleaned my house like a crazy lady, but I also continued to decorated for Christmas like a crazy lady…. all in preparation for the photo shoot. As soon as Christmas day past, I immediately turned 100% of my focus towards the magazine shoot – and I got to work.

I cleaned our home from top to bottom (I am talking about even the baseboards). I re-wrapped empty boxes to go under our family Christmas tree. I ran out and bought new Christmas decor for a few spots that needed a little ‘more.’ I rearranged several spots around my house – to make things “just right.” I worked fast and hard and as a result I felt totally prepared but still felt a little anxious.

On the morning of the shoot, I nervously awaited the arrival of the photographer. I probably had 4 cups of black coffee! But, the photographer, Jaki, turned out to be so kind and down to earth! As soon as she said hello, my heart was at ease! She worked for a solid 6 and a half hours and we chatted and laughed and carried on like we had known each other forever the entire time. As it turns out, Jaki was a great person to work with!

I will say, that once Jaki took her last photo and we said our goodbyes, I had a ‘let down’ of sorts. I went into my bedroom to ‘decompress’ from the day a bit and I found myself reflecting on the entire process. There were a few “takeaways” from this photo shoot that came to mind as I sat there quietly and I wanted to share them all with you here.

You Can Not Find Fresh Garland After Christmas

There. I said it. Of all the things I worried about – this was at the top of my list. I know that fresh vibrant greenery can make a space even more special and all of the live garland throughout my house was past its prime. Basically, all of my live garland strands were crispy and basically dead. A few days before Christmas and the two days following Christmas day, I searched every store that I could think of for fresh garland. I came up empty handed with each trip. The day before the shoot I realized that I had to let that go and I hoped for the best. Turned out to be just fine (just don’t look too closely at the photos in the magazine – ha)!

There are Good Deals After Christmas

I do not normally shop for Christmas decor after Christmas Day has past , but this year I felt that I needed a few extra things to fill in some spots just in case the photographer wanted to take some ‘wide room shots.’ In an effort to save a few dollars, I planned to wait until after Christmas this year to buy a few filler pieces – and boy am I glad that I did. I decided to hit Target, some local antique stores, and a few other spots and I was able to get all that I needed for 50%-75% off. Home Depot even had fresh greens for 50% off that I was able to use on my front porch! Those sale prices sure were a blessing and I may even make ‘shopping after Christmas” a tradition now!

Funny Story: I did hit up a local nursery to try and buy a few larger Christmas Trees for my back porch. I saw (what looked like) a hundred live trees still marked full price that were being pushed to the way back of the store. I kindly asked what they were going to do with them now that Christmas is over. I was told that they were going to be thrown away. I admit I was thrilled to hear this because I thought that I would walk out of there with a new fresh tree or two for our porch for next to nothing. When I asked how much the these trees (that were literally in a pile on the ground) were, he said they were still full price!!! I was shocked and obviously I didn’t buy one … but I was very surprised by that!

Things Don’t Have To Be Perfect

I can not tell you how much I worried about having each and every area cleaned and “just right.” I should have remembered from the last time that I had a photo shoot – that things do NOT have to be perfect – because things will get moved around as the photographer sees fit! I guess in the back of my mind I did remember this, but I pushed that reality aside as I prepared. Ya see, we actually make messes during a photo shoot. Tables get moved, small pieces get rearranged, and so on. I knew this and still felt the urge that it all had to be perfect. I just need to remind myself that no matter how “perfect” I think things will be – there will be changes will be made!

You Can Skip The Snacks

This is the second time that I have had a photographer here at the house and each time I have had snacks and food ready to go just in case my guests get hungry! Well, I have found that people will bring their own food and beverages with them (and I do the same thing when I go out). Regardless, I think that I will always have snacks ready “just in case” whenever any guest comes to the house! It is just the way I was raised – HA!!!!

Not Every Space Makes The Cut

I was not exactly sure which areas the photographer was going to photograph – so I made sure to have as much of the house ready as possible. As I figured, not every space that I had prepared made the cut – and that was totally fine with me! I was happy to have options for the photographer!

Lighting Is Important – Even For The Professionals

I use to think that it was only me – but I saw first hand again that the sun plays a large role in the photos that we take – even for a professional photographer. Sadly, there was not great light in my home during the day of the photo shoot – but Jaki made it work! I have told Mark many times that in my next home, I plan to have a million and one windows so that I can have natural light through out every single room!

No Need To Worry

I must admit that I was so nervous for this professional photographer to come to my home and I let those nerves get the best of me. In my mind, I imagined she had seen a million other homes that were so much “better” than mine. Was she going to judge me and my home? My decor choices? Would she see the scuff marks on the walls from where my kids were playing with their nerf guns? Would she see the lived in ‘slouch’ of our couch cushions? I had totally let my insecurities get the best of me – for no reason!

At one point I had to just stop and remind myself that I was enough. My home was enough. It was enough! And sure enough, Jaki, was so sweet and down to earth. After spending just a few minutes with her, I soon realized, that I had NO need to worry and that I had wasted precious time and energy for no reason. I am sharing all of this to remind YOU that you do NOT need to worry about what others will think of you. I tell my kids that all the time – and I had lost sight of that under the pressure of preparing for this photo shoot.

Wrap Up

While there is a bit of work involved, I have to tell you that having a photo shoot at the house is a dream come true. I can not tell you how many times I have had to pinch myself … is this even real life? And I can tell you from experience, that all the preparation and worry and attention to details … is worth it! Having my home in print is the biggest honor and I am feel so honored and blessed. I can not wait until the Christmas Issue of 2022 comes out – that will be the icing on the cake! I want to give a special Thank You to Flea Market Decor for offering me this opportunity. Cheers to dreaming big!