Lifestyle Shoot: Ruby Road
Come behind this scenes on this lifestyle shoot with Shelter Upstate.
This short term rental in Kingston had recently been updated by the owners and was ready for some new photos. The goal for the shoot was to showcase all the different ways the property could be enjoyed and the types of experiences guests could have there. The property is mostly rented by couples and families, so I searched for and hired two local models to be our couple, and we used the homeowners and their two children to be our family. We created a shot list of the areas we wanted to capture - the upstairs deck, the fire pit, the hot tub and the grill, as well as the scenes we wanted to shoot - game night, relaxing and reading a book, cooking in the kitchen etc.
Styling
As this is a short term rental, I tried to keep the styling as similar to the house as possible, using mostly what was already in the home, and focused on styling the experiences guest can enjoy here. Before Winona arrived to shoot the house, I decluttered and organized the rooms and rearranged furniture and accessories. I brought my own props to supplement what was already there - for example for the game night scene, I brought games and set up snacks, for the grilling scene I shopped for veggies and burgers, brought decorations for the table scapes etc.
Left: A comfortable chair to read in.
Right: Kids snacks for game night.
Above: Children have a space here as well!
Left: Working the grill.
Right: Lunch al fresco. I stepped in to be an additional dinner party guest for this shot.
The Fire Pit:
The homeowners had recently created the fire pit area, which we used to show our models having fun, enjoying warm cider and roasting marshmallows by the fire - a classic upstate NY fall activity.
After we were done with the model shots we took photos of all the rooms without models to also show the space without people in it.
The upstairs living room is a more formal yet still cozy space, with a gas fireplace and looking through into the dining room.
This open plan kitchen gives a family or friends space to prep and gather.
With the hot tub just outside, robes hang by the door waiting to be used. The downstairs kitchen provides more room for dining.
The den for watching TV and playing games.
Photos by Winona Barton Ballentine, Words & Styling by Venetia Boucher