Behind the scenes of an Oliver Space photoshoot
How an empty studio becomes an inspo-worthy home
Have you ever wondered what goes into creating the images of perfectly staged homes or buoyant dinner parties you see across lifestyle brands? At Oliver Space, it’s a lot of smiling, steaming, and plenty of lifting up and setting down pieces of furniture. Come along with us for a day on set!
Pre-Shoot
Our goal for this shoot was to get footage of an Oliver delivery, people enjoying their home, and of course, the beautiful furniture. The first step was to find a place to shoot. We scoured Peerspace, essentially the Airbnb of event and filming venues, to find a studio in San Francisco that was spacious and filled with natural light. We finally found the perfect spot in the Dogpatch neighborhood, conveniently next to one of our favorite bakeries, Neighbor Bakehouse.
Once this was secured, we got to work designing the room scenes and assembling a dream team, including Eleanor Lee of Meraki Narrative and cinematographer Daniel (Danny) Telles.
Lights, Camera, Action!
8:00AM: Oliver delivery team members had already delivered and assembled the furniture the night before, so we were ready to go when Eleanor and Danny arrived to set up lights and diffusers. As more team members came chipper with coffee and matcha in hand, they got to work steaming pillow covers, cutting decorative branches of rosemary and flowers, and selecting outfits. Our models for this shoot were multi-talented Oliver employees standing in as customers and drivers as the delivery team was completing actual deliveries. Rebecca, our Head of Merchandising, carefully arranged vases of fresh flowers and books to get the room looking perfect.
10:00AM: First shots of the day! After getting photographs and videos of the furniture itself, our models came onto the scene. I happened to be the first one. I walked in and out of the room, placing down a vase of flowers and picking up a book to sit with on the Venturi Sofa. As I flipped through Ernest Hemingway (grinning more than anyone does while reading Hemingway), Eleanor and Danny stood on tiptoes and crouched down to get all the angles. Mac Demarco serenaded us from the speaker.
11:00AM: To tell the story of an Oliver delivery, it was time for models John and David to have their moment in the spotlight. We’re not sure we prepared them for how much physical labor they would be doing, carrying the Venturi Sofa back and forth for 20 minutes so we could get the perfect shot. Not only that, they also had to look overjoyed to be doing it the whole time. I was brought back on set as “Bossy Customer,” gesturing for them to shift the Olympia Large Media Stand three inches every time they put it down. Bet you didn’t know modeling was such a workout!
12:30PM: After a quick lunch break, we set up our dining room scene and readjusted lighting. Our models continued a similar routine with the new set, smiling and chatting as they moved the Schafer Dining Table and Conran Dining Chairs around. “Yay, we love it!” Eleanor cheered from behind the camera. Beyoncé was blasting from the speakers, putting us in a groove.
1:00PM: As the sun shifted position in the sky, it started casting shadows on the wall. Danny and Eleanor quickly troubleshooted by tilting the lights up. Then all hands were on deck to achieve our dream dining room. We used Command Strips and levelers for Rebecca’s artistic vision of a gallery wall and arranged the Neighbor Bakehouse pastries (using every ounce of willpower to avoid eating them) next to a vase of fresh flowers and dining ware. Eleanor set her camera to a low shutter speed as I speed-walked across set for some motion blur shots.
3:00PM: That’s a wrap! We captured a couple more shots of the May Armchair, Obsidian Console Table, Elio Dresser, and Morello Armchair in Boucle having a moment in the soft afternoon sun. While packing up equipment and props, we made sure to save time to demolish the Neighbor Bakehouse goodies.
We can’t wait to show you the finished product! Check out our Instagram reel for more BTS footage.
Special thank you to Eleanor and Danny for bringing our vision to life, and Oliver delivery team members Jemehyl, Leroy, Daunte, Darnell, and Darius for helping with deliveries for the photoshoot!
