Everything We Learned At Palm Beach Design Days

From “The Power of the Edit: Styling with Personality, Depth, and Detail”

At Perigold, photographer Carmel Brantley and stylists Ben Reynaert, Emma Bazilian and Mieke ten Have shared their best secrets for nailing a photo-worthy moment.

Aim for asymmetry and imperfection in compositions. “If something is linear and perfect, the eye loses interest,” Bazilian noted. Take advantage of the local vernacular in materials and colors, she recommended, but insert an element that clashes a bit through tones or pattern to inject tension in a space. “Whatever space you’re in, do the opposite,” ten Have added, such as wildflowers in an interior room or ornate silverware on an outdoor table—a move she described as “civilizing the exterior.”

Incorporate any collections naturally in the space. Reynaert recalled displaying one client’s vintage watches on a tray and leaving a stack of another homeowner’s books on a nightstand. The same applies to florals: “There are no peonies in Florida,” ten Have pointed out. “Clip something native, even a weed.” But avoid looking too lived in: No shoes or handbags in spaces like the entry, Bazilian warned. “It looks like a catalog,” she said.

Pay attention to lighting. This determines the feeling of an image and can change the colors in a room, Brantley noted. “Go for the best natural light you can,” she suggested.

Bring two important household tools. Reynaert never attends a shoot without a good pair of scissors, while Brantley admitted she “can’t live without a squeegee” for cleaning windows.

Keep the end result in mind. “My mission is to convey the feeling of being in that space,” ten Have said. What will catch someone’s attention while scrolling Instagram? “The magic of the shoot comes alive when the space reflects who lives there,” Reynaert added. Go with your gut: “You know it when you see it,” ten Have said about nailing the composition. “Pay attention to eye sensitivity. We are much more perceptive than we realize.”