Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Shoot

I remember growing up always seeing a stack of Better Homes and Gardens magazines my mom kept on our family room coffee table.  I’d leaf through them even as a preteen and think how pretty the houses were and wonder if any of the people in it were actually real.

Well, turns out, they are.  Because we are in the February 2018 issue!

Back in July of this past year, I was just checking my email on my phone in the thrift store parking lot before my weekly run to “check out the goods” when I had a message in my inbox from a Better Homes and Gardens editor.  I almost spewed my coffee all over my dashboard.

The editor wanted to know if Robert and I would be willing to do a photoshoot for a winter issue of the magazine in their “I Did It” column to showcase our DIY window seat we made from a kitchen cabinet to house all of our TV electronics.  My little fingers couldn’t peck out “YES” fast enough (because even though I’m technically a millennial, I don’t text like one).

So on a rainy day in August, Sandi, our stylist (just saying that makes me feel ridiculously fancy) took me on a shopping trip to pick out a few outfits that would work well for the shoot the next day.  And the outfits had to be winter-friendly, which is a tricky task to find winter clothes in August in the Carolinas.

On the shoot day, Sandi styled our window seat with a couple of accessories and pillows she brought and had Robert and I try on three or four different outfits to decide on the winning look.

Our photographer, Lincoln, set up so many lights and white screens that I lost count.  Our back porch sported this look for the day:

Both Sandi and Lincoln (and Graham, their assistant) made the whole process so fun and relaxed.  I think Robert and I laughed the entire time.

It was amazing to me how many shots they took, each one with just the teeniest change like, “Lauren, tilt your head an inch to the right.  Robert, turn your foot just a hair.”  Super detailed stuff.

It made me realize that all of the images we see in magazines and catalogs and on TV and in movies, none of it is ever really that perfect in real life.  I mean, I always knew it, but in the couple of hours it took to shoot one magazine photo, that just solidified it for me.  That striving for magazine-worthy every day is totally impossible, and I’m completely okay with that. It sure was fun to be models while it lasted though.

You can see the full feature in the BHG February 2018 issue that just hit newsstands this week.

And just for a “reality check”, here’s our little clan on our “famous” (snicker snicker) window seat.  While we were still dressed up after coming home from church yesterday, we had our own photo shoot with Olivia.  Lola and Stella have decided they can’t live the model life.  They crack under the pressure of the camera.  (Stella just wanted to eat the magazine instead and Lola just kept looking at me with those puppy dog eyes to ask when we would leave her alone so she could go back to sleep.)

Hope you have a lovely week, friends!  And I hope you strive for non-magazine-worthy.  Because real life is always beautiful.

 

The post Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Shoot appeared first on Bless'er House.