Behind The Scenes…Country Woman Magazine

Being Behind The Scenes of a photo shoot doesn’t happen every day but when it does, it is very interesting. You might remember my post, Fashion Alert last year where I had come across a fashion photo shoot in Kitzbühel, Austria. Little did I know then that a month later I would be part of another shoot but this time in my own kitchen.

Behind The Scenes Of A Photo Shoot

While still in Austria on holiday last year, I received an email from the editor of Country Woman magazine. She wrote that while surfing the web one day, she had come across my blog and a post about my kitchen. She thought the magazine’s readers would enjoy seeing the kitchen in our 1730’s home. She wanted to know if I would be interested in writing a story for their 2014 Christmas issue. Be still my heart!

While the story wouldn’t be published until more than a year later, the magazine wanted to see if they could plan a photo shoot before my annual Christmas party. It would be extremely exciting to have our home featured in a national magazine but I seriously wondered if everything could be accomplished in a month’s time.

After much debate and encouragement from my husband, I decided to accept the exciting challenge and sent a story to the magazine. They were happy with what I had written and the art director found a photographer, Greg West, who happened to live in Dover, New Hampshire, less than an hour away from our home. Greg is well known for his architectural and interior photos and has been featured in magazines such as Accent Home & Garden and New England Food and Wine.

Pondering The Shot

Unlike the photo shoot in Austria with lots of assists, Greg came alone. I pointed out items in the kitchen that I had written about and Greg then spent the entire day taking photos. My husband and I stood out of the way and watched Greg as he maneuvered his camera and lights.

Photos Taken And Emailed To The Magazine’s Art Director For Approval

It is easy to see why a magazine’s photos are so good when you see the equipment that a professional photographer uses and how it is used. After Greg took each shot, he would email the photo to the magazine’s art director. Some photos were accepted on the spot, others needed to be tweaked. Little details like the placement of pinecones, the reflection of light on the stainless steel stove, the distance a drawer was opened would be changed just a smidgen and the photo retaken.

Cabinetry Hides The Modern Refrigerator/Freezer Until The Doors And Drawers Are Open

During the shoot, I asked Greg if he would mind if I took a few photos of him and what he was photographing as he worked and he kindly agreed. My modest photos in no way compare to Greg’s professional shots. The last photo of the day was of myself, taken just as it was starting to turn dark. My husband and I helped Greg load up his equipment and waved goodbye as Greg munched on one of my Christmas cookies.

Christmas Issue Of Country Woman

Even though I was paid for my story last December, I haven’t mentioned this experience in my blog until now as I didn’t want to “count my chickens before they hatched”. What if I got an email from the magazine saying they were sorry but they had reconsidered doing the story? Of course, that was not the case and this week I was pleasantly surprised when I received a copy of the December/January issue of Country Woman magazine and there it was…five pages featuring my story and Greg’s wonderful photos of our kitchen decorated for Christmas.

Christmas Past & Present…How Exciting To See My Story Featured In The Christmas Issue Of Country Woman Magazine

For those of you that won’t been able to find copies of Country Woman in your part of the world, I’m pleased that you can read the article on the Country Woman website if you are interested. It has additional photos that Greg took that weren’t able to be put in the magazine story. In December, I’ll share some of the wonderful photos that Greg took and show you the book he sent to me as a remembrance of this experience. “Thank you” Greg.

Never in my wildest imagination would I have guessed that I would be behind the scenes of another photo shoot let alone one in my own home. The experience of being featured in a national magazine is a dream come true. I’ll never look at a home magazine again without thinking of all that it takes to put each edition of a magazine together…lots of time, energy and talented people are involved in the process before it can be published. I want to give a big “thank you” to Country Woman magazine for the chance to contribute to their magazine with the story about the restoration of our 1730’s home in keeping with its historic nature. I hope the magazine’s readers as well as my own will enjoy the story.