Truths and Half-Truths

By Lori Andrews

I am an artist.
I became an interior decorator because I am too lazy to paint.
I began photographing interiors because I am compelled to create.

My interiors are full of truths and half-truths. I want to show you only the most interesting moments, only the most beautiful seconds. Of course, every interior is only a sum of its parts. Or is it? Suppose that each object within was charged with the memories and experiences of the people who live there. Suppose your home is more than just a place full of stuff. It is the place your stuff lives. Everything you own, displayed as a map of your individual human existence. The only catch is this: I will interpret them in my own way. I will weave my own stories around them and present them as my own. Your things become my stories and I will happily lie to my viewer about who you are.

The Dutiful Stylist

I am the designer, the photographer, the stylist and the client. It is rare that a room I photograph does not need styling. Yet I often photograph the objects exactly as I have found them. Styling interiors is like the under-painting on a work of art. Layers of colors and intentions can be built up that will not show through the final result except in some intangible emotive way. So I will go to great lengths to clear clutter from the corners, fluff the pillows or straighten the books and yet I have no intention of aiming my lens in that direction.

My approach to interior photography is decidedly low tech. My camera of choice is a Canon 20D. I have a selection of reflectors that I use to fill in the dark corners. All of the photographs in this article were shot using only the available natural light. I like the depth of the natural shadows as well as the melancholy ambiance this helps to create.

My professional life has given me the opportunity to photograph not only homes that I have decorated but also homes where my designer hand has not been felt. I relish each photographic opportunity equally. Sometimes when I am taking my design “before” pictures, I am so struck by the appeal of the existing items that I will take some time to compose a shot that expresses my heartfelt appreciation of some long out-of-style décor. I am also regularly hired to photograph homes I have staged for sale (made ready for sale). If the realtor who hired me for these jobs knew how much I loved the work, he would insist I start paying him! Taking interior photographs is for me, a way to get lost in the moment. Completely immersed in the creative process.

Take Me to the Bedroom

A place of love and passion. A place to end the day. A refuge for afternoon slumber.

Photographing the bedrooms of strangers and near strangers might seem an invasion of privacy, but it is not at all what you might think. I have found that most people are remarkably emotionally detached from their bedrooms. They will leave me to my photographic task without so much as a curious glance. Though perhaps it is such a personal place that even a stranger within deserves discretion.

Bedrooms are often home to mirrors. Allowing us a backwards glance at that center of desire, the bed. Funny thing about looking at rooms this way is that you really notice the details. The way the light falls from the window becomes a story in itself. The gathering of objects on a night table, drawing in the eye much stronger than if they had to compete with the grandeur of the entire bed. I really love to photograph a room this way because of what I can’t show. The spaces out of reach of my camera lens could easily contain a napping individual or an arguing couple. It is as though someone could step into the picture at any moment, or as though someone has just moved past our view.

Memories of Places I Have Never Been

The waterfront property. The laughter of children, diving and jumping off the dock. The sound of the waves at dawn gently rolling and falling just steps from my cozy perch on the porch.

There is this nearly universal dream to own a charming cottage on the lake or by the ocean. I have it. In my imagination, we could take the summer off work. Have fires on the beach and search for shells every afternoon. My cabin is perfect and clean with the whitest of walls. The sun shines everyday and we take turns reading novels at the kitchen table and on the porch swing.

This is the story I followed when I shot my Caban series. Truth be told, the place was a hike and a bit from any water and you really wouldn’t want to attempt swimming in the chilly British Columbia waters without a wetsuit. The rented home we stayed in is apparently perpetually incomplete, with missing floorboards, tiles and window casings. Even the charming tablecloth is really only plastic. The island this cabin is on is rugged and rough and quite the opposite of the idealized summer paradise. I wasn’t trying to fool anyone. I was just dreaming.

Grandmas Got Style

The appeal of retro chic is not universal.

Dated wallpaper, crazy avocado green upholstery, and an out of this world granite slab table deserve to be documented. The room was a riot of pattern and clashing colors. I took this photo while I toured this recently inherited home with my clients. I discussed the outrageous beauty of this room while I pressed the shutter. My clients did not see it. They did not believe me. I focused my lens on a small portion of the room. I simplified the disorder. I titled the photograph that’s fabulous! I must admit, even after I sent them a print, they still refused to call it worthy. And so, beauty remains in the eye of the beholder and the stories of my interiors can fail to move the viewer. I’m going to keep trying though. Some day I’m going to take the perfect interior photograph. Well maybe not, but I will have a good time trying.

Editorial note: More of Lori Andrews' interior photographs can be viewed here.