I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’d love for Shay Cochrane to come over and style my little studio space. But then she’d have to come back liiike twice a week to un-ruin it after a project or a night of painting. So I guess that’s not such a great idea…
But you get the point. Shay’s basically The Desk Whisperer, and her SC Stockshop is an endless source of eye candy (not to mention her beautiful Instagram feed!). This woman has a way of taking a series of ordinary objects and turning them into this beautiful imagery that tells its own story yet somehow manages to still come across as a blank slate.
I had no trouble at all choosing what to feature from her collection of styled stock photography because I just love, love, love the rich, warm vibes in this image. There’s so much going on in terms of texture and shape, but it all works together perfectly instead of overwhelming the scene.
Telling a Color Story
I asked Shay what inspires her choices when creating a scene. I love how she explains her process, emphasizing the clients’ needs as she builds a “color story” that guides the final images. Shay tells it better than I ever could!
“I generally take two things into consideration when styling the image sets:
- The first is current color trends in branding since the images that I create are for creatives and business owners. For example, many brands are still incorporating gold elements into their aesthetic over silver so you will see a lot currently in my shop that includes gold in the color story.
- Secondly, I often draw inspiration from a particular item that I want to work into a styling. This could be anything from a fun lamp to a beautiful paper product. In this case, a set of colorful pom pom push pins from Anthropologie (seen in this image) became the colorful creative influence behind this eclectic Mid-Century inspired desktop styling.”
