Behind The Scenes of A Shoot Day

It's so hard to believe that it's been six months since we packed up our LA bungalow and headed to Texas. Most of you already know that we are living in Georgetown with my parents right now while we build our house in Austin. It's a 40 minute drive from downtown Austin, but feels worlds different than when we were working from LA or even from our Austin studio that we shoot at a lot. Last week we shot some organization posts for January at my parent's place in Georgetown and some cocktail posts for holiday and were able to capture a little Day-in-the-Life of our shoot days, thanks to Uber. Here's what was on the agenda this particular Thursday:

8:45 Drop Parker at preschool (It's a 25 minute drive, mostly on two lane roads that pass by cows, goats, horses, longhorns, and even a couple of sheep. We are definitely not in LA anymore!)

9:15 Make a second almond milk latte for the day and clear off the kitchen table for our cocktail shoots. I start pulling out props and ingredients so that we can get started as soon as everyone arrives. I've done all of the prop shopping the day before so I already know what I'm planning on using.

9:30 Margaret Williams of the organization company, Edit Spaces shows up to get started on our pantry project. (Which turned out amazing!)

10am Our Production Manager, Britt, and our photographer, Katie Jameson, arrive to start shooting cocktail posts. It's so easy to get wrapped up in making the craziest, most well-styled photos, but we are really, really focused on publishing projects and recipes that are easy and quick to re-create as well as super awesome!

10-10:30 Cocktail Recipe Testing! It's a tough job, but someone has to do it! We tried at least 10 versions of these Peppermint White Russians before settling on our favorite combination.

10:30-12:30 Shoot Cocktails. We end up moving our set up to the back porch to get better lighting. Every space is so different. At our house in LA, the dining room was hands down the best place to shoot. At our Austin studio, we usually shoot under the covered carport for the best light. Here, in Georgetown, it is definitely the back porch.

12:30 I hop on my phone and order an Uber to pick the three of us up for a team brainstorm meeting. As this year is winding down, we are already planning content for January, February, and March of next year. I have used Uber for so many years and for so many reasons now. While you can't actually use the service in Austin any longer, it's been great to have in Georgetown. I have used Uber to pick me up when I need to drop my car off at the dealership, to navigate new cities while on vacation, or to get to parties or events where I don't want to have to drive afterwards.

I chose to do Uber X today because it's a super affordable ride and it means we can all travel together and start chatting about our content strategy plans before the meeting ever actually starts. We are having lunch at one of my favorite places in Georgetown, Eats on 8th.

True story: Upon arrival, I realize I actually left my laptop in the seat back pocket of the Uber. I had a momentary panic, but then hopped on the app and they were able to connect me by phone immediately to my driver. She was super nice and immediately came back and dropped it off to me. I love knowing how fast and easy it is to get in touch with your exact driver. I once left a cell phone in a cab in New York and had no way to get in touch with the driver.

We spend the next hour chatting about content ideas for next year. Things that we felt like really worked this year and things that fell flat. We analyze the things that we enjoy reading and compare notes. As we are paying the check, I call for another Uber to take us home. It's just two minutes away. Perfect.

2pm: We arrive back at the house. Margaret is just finishing up the pantry organization, so I start styling it out so that it's ready for photos. A rug here. Something on the wall there. Then we shoot the finals for that post and call it a day-- just in time for me to head back to preschool and pick up Parker.

Shoot days are definitely the most exhausting days that we have here-- a lot of logistics, errand running and troubleshooting any challenges that come up along the way like weather or lighting or a project that doesn't work out the way we imagined it. They're also the most fun, too. For every obstacle to overcome, there is a happy accident or something that turns out even better than we ever imagined. It's more art than science, more unfixed variables than fixed, but that's what makes it so much fun and so gratifying when it all comes together. I'm super grateful for brands like Uber that help simplify logistics and make getting around a cinch!

Speaking of posts for next year, what would you like to see us post about more?

Photography by Katie Jameson

This post is sponsored by Uber. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as usual.