Florence – day 4 (Interiors.. hotel rooms, designer shops) – Part One

Dear friends,

We are now on Day 4. If you have been following along, then you know how I got bike grease on my white pants, met a genius and saw David, ate my face off and walked for miles around Firenze.

Conclusions thus far :

1. The Florentine women stay in shape because of the massive amount of walking they do and their avoidance of pasta.

2. Only Americans ask for a cappuccino in the afternoons and evenings.

3. If you and your girlfriends want to go on a trip, a true getaway, there is nobody who does it better than Bianca with the Italian Fix. For realz.

Onto Day 4.  Day 4 was so beyond amazing, that I have to break it up into two blog posts.. this is Part One. In the morning we learned about photographing interiors. There could be no place better to learn than the hotel Palazzo Guadagni. I mean, its not like you get to stay in a restored 15th century Palazzo. If you have not visited Leela Cyd’s portfolio yet, you must. She makes photographing food and interiors look effortless. I am here to tell you that it is anything but… sure there are no moving children so it should be easier.. but to put warmth and life into a photograph that has just objects is no small feat. Let us begin by staring at the ceiling. Sure it is pretty.. but I could not for the life of me get it to look right. The chandelier looks like a pendulum swinging one way. See how hard that is?

We photographed the room and then put our favourite models in the room to understand window light better.

Each of us took turns styling the room the way we liked it. When you open up Dwell or Elle Decor, don’t for a second think that the home was exactly like that when the photographer came inside. There is lots of moving around involved, sometimes furniture, sometimes just the props. It is like arranging a still life. Often times a photographer will hire a stylist to do this for them.. there is a reason for that… it is not easy!

After our successful interiors learning session, it was time to head out and photograph a store. We took a brisk walk by the river. You can see the Ponte Vecchio below which has a fascinating history.. and I can imagine Robert Langdon and Dr. Sienna Brooks sprinting down the Vasari corridor).

Right by there was this chic little store with furniture and home accessories. I wanted one of each thing. Darn you baggage limits and budgets. We had to move quickly and make some interior photos in about 10 minutes. This is my Achilles heel.. and I looked to put people in the photographs as much as possible. Boo me.

After photographing the store, Bianca took us to this amazing little sandwich shop called I Fratellini (two brothers). For 2.5 euros you get the best sandwich you have ever had in your life. Like ever. We people watched and enjoyed our sandwiches.. and then it was time to walk back to the hotel because there was a taxi waiting for us. A taxi you say? Where are we going next. Stay tuned for Part 2…