Editor Brad Mee left his mark on the photos as well as Utah Style and Design’s editorial content. As he steps back from his role as Editor in Chief, I thought it appropriate to look back at his years of expertise.
Stylist of Utah Style and Design
When Brad Mee took the reins as editor for Utah Style and Design over 20 years ago, the practice was for the editor or the art director to accompany me on assignments to guide the shot selection and to style the photos. Having written a successful series of books on home design, Design is in the Details, Brad had direct experience in styling photos for his own books. From our first assignment until seven years ago when the magazine shifted policy and stopped assigning photos, we were a photo team. To honor his contribution to the magazine, I’ll offer a brief retrospective.
Brad Mee oversees Adam Finkle’s portraits of homeowners.
Tabletops and Kitchen Scenes
To be invited to Brad Mee’s home is to experience the utmost in gracious hospitality, so it’s no surprise that he excels at styling food, kitchens, and tabletops.
Florals
Flowers are a stalwart of photo styling. They add color, texture, and massing, and they can serve as a focal point. The same flowers can be reused and rearranged for height and breadth, or formally versus naturalistic. They supplant an ornament or accessory that may be inappropriate to how the photo is composed, or perhaps serve to fill an empty area. Plainly, a good photo stylist is skilled with flowers.
Kids
I’m sensing eyebrows raised when I talk about styling with kids. Photo styles change. Not too many years ago it was very rare to see any people in the photos other than perhaps a formal portrait to support the bio of the homeowners. Not so anymore. People enjoy seeing a space lived in and enjoyed. Brad has a wonderful way of anticipating how children will add to a shot, and an even better way of working with kids to take part.
Pets
Along the same line, pets are part of our families and lifestyles, so we try to include them in shots but in a place that adds to the composition of the photo. This last part makes it not easy: not easy for dogs, but especially not easy for cats.
We wanted to show the surroundings for the Snuck Farm barn, so I pulled back the camera and Brad herded the alpacas in the vacant foreground for a more interesting photo.
Patios
Outdoor living is central to entertaining in the West. Brad has a knack of balancing informality with well-considered cordiality.
Bathrooms
One of the most successful books in the Design is in the Details series for Brad was bathrooms. He cannot pass by a nicely executed powder room or bath.
I begged Brad to bypass this powder room—it is the most technically challenging space I have ever photographed. The wall and vanity console are all finished with mirrors. Eliminating the reflection of the photographer, camera, and tripod took all the skills I have amassed in photography, lighting and Photoshop.
This photo has a “back-in-the-day” look because that’s when it was taken. Before lighting advances, we relied on candles and votives to add light and drama to a shot. This was also in the days of film when everything took longer. Often, by the time all the candles were lit, and I was ready to shoot, some of the votives had burned out and had to be replaced.
Anticipation
At a gallery exhibit of Gary Larson cartoons, the cartoonist was quoted as trying to capture the moment before something was about to happen or had just happened. This resonated with me as far as staging photographs, and Brad and I talked about it. It adds a tension and interest to a photo that might not otherwise be a show-stopper.
The shoes and bag by the chair add this sense of anticipation. Is she going to rush in the door, put on her shoes and leave, or did she just kick them off after a long day?
The inflatable pool toys are waiting for the door to open and the party to begin. Brad painstakingly guided each creature to its proper place for the photo.
Can Brad be Replaced by AI?
Since Brad stepped back from attending photoshoots and styling for me, I have had to rely on clients, homeowners, and my trusty assistant. But there’s a new kid on the block ready to style—Ai.
The photo on the left was styled by the team at K Rocke Design. For the photo on the right, I asked Ai to put a yellow pot on the stovetop and to provide a stack of plates and cutlery. Not bad, is it?
Of course, other times Ai has let me down. I asked for a person sitting, drinking a beverage and AI put an enormous brown bottle on a chair. And there was that seven-fingered businesswoman Ai put in a hallway….
No, Brad, we can’t replace you. We will miss you in the everyday world of Style, and I wish you happiness and adventure in your next chapter. It’s been a pleasure!
