Did we mention we can keep a secret?
This month, Command™ Brand’s new Décor collection was launched in retail stores across the country, featuring elegant metal hooks, shelves, and a wall planter in four different finishes. Why are we so interested? Because back in November, we shot the product photography for this collection at the Southern Living Idea House. The products were still in the prototype stage and wouldn’t be revealed to the public until this summer, so we’ve had to keep quiet about it until now. Today, you can find our images on Command™ Brand’s website, on Amazon, and on in-store displays at Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and more. Producing a photoshoot with such a well-known brand was a wonderful opportunity, and we hope you’ll enjoy reading more about this collaboration.
The Assignment
If you’ve followed us for a while, you might remember that we shot holiday photography for Southern Living at their 2025 Idea House in Keswick, Virginia. Through that project, we were connected with the Command team, who were one of the house’s corporate sponsors and whose products were in use throughout the home. Command normally organizes a photoshoot at the Idea House each year that they participate, but this year was different. Instead of shooting wreath bundlers and other holiday-related items, we were asked to capture lifestyle and product photography for a yet-to-be released line of products for use on packaging, social media, and e-commerce sites. This collection would be a more high-end product, meant to be seen, so we needed to showcase the products together and inspire customers to imagine how they could reshape their own spaces. In addition to the styled scenes, images showing the installation and removal of the products were required. With these criteria in mind, and after an in-depth discussion with the client, we began assembling our team and planning the shoot.
The Challenge
Creating a number of different lifestyle scenes would call for the right props, and lots of them. We reached out to talented prop stylist Annie to help us source items that would appeal to the client’s target audience and work with the product line’s color palettes. The client shipped prototypes of the new shelves, hooks, key rails, and wall planters to Annie so she would have a good sense of their scale and how to style them in sets. (It was pretty exciting to be some of the first people outside the company to see this new collection!) We also needed to highlight each product’s ability to hold a variety of items, while keeping in mind the recommended weight limits provided by the client’s technical department. Some props came from Annie’s own inventory, some were sourced online, and others came from some of our favorite local businesses.
The next important team member we secured for this shoot was the hand model, Carlee, from Richmond’s Modelogic. She would be instrumental in showing the installation and removal of the adhesive strips, mounting plates, and the shelves and hooks themselves. She would also add a human element to complete scenes by manipulating different props. The right hand and arm position is crucial to make the scene look natural and appealing, and Carlee was able to showcase the products without much direction. She was even willing to have her nails cut really short in order to remove the adhesive strips without obscuring the pull tabs. (Yes, we needed to get that specific.)
The Process
Our clients would be flying in the night before the shoot, and since we had a lot of images to capture, we decided to set up on location a day ahead of time. This would give us the best opportunity for the shoot to go as smoothly as possible, and would allow us to begin shooting almost as soon as the client arrived at the location. With lights set up and tested at the first scene, and props laid out in their respective places throughout the house, we could use all of our time with the client the next day to capture as many images as possible during their limited time on set.
The clients were wonderful to work with, had great insight into the best way to use and show the products, and trusted in our ability to feature the new collection in the best possible light. We successfully captured everything on the client’s shot list, and they even selected more than 20 additional photos beyond their initial scope of work.
It was so great working with Erin and Jeff! They made it all seamless.
Whitney Zustiak, Global Consumer Experience Manager, Command™ Brand
The Result
After keeping our lips sealed for over 8 months, we are now able to share the final images from this project. It’s been so much fun to watch Command use them for their social media posts, and seeing our photographs used in store displays at nationwide retailers has been a very exciting experience for us. We’re so appreciative of everyone who helped make this very important shoot a success, and we hope you’ll look for our images wherever you shop. (In the Charlottesville Target, check out aisle E33!)
