Photographing Kips Bay Dallas: What Designers Need to Know
Kips Bay Dallas is electric. The high design, intense deadlines, and press opportunities make this a buzzing event that I truly look forward to every year!
I’ve photographed Kips Bay Dallas three years in a row—I'm eager to show you the incredible designs I’ve had the pleasure of capturing. But more importantly, I want to share a few things I’ve learned as a Kips Bay Dallas photographer so that when you begin looking for one, you are well equipped to make the best decision. After all, this is an event like none other, and you get one chance to get the photos right.
The Reading Room by French and French Interiors; Kips Bay Dallas 2025
The Unique Challenges Facing A Kips Bay Dallas Photographer
Capturing a Kips Bay space is quite different than your usual projects due to its high-pressure environment. Your photographer should know how to accommodate these parameters so you get the most out of this career-changing opportunity:
intense timelines
broad image licensing
windowless rooms; tight spaces
last-minute deadlines
The Veranda by Lambert Landscape Company; Kips Bay Dallas 2025
The Veranda by Lambert Landscape Company; Kips Bay Dallas 2025
Intense Timelines
You've been given mere weeks to take a room from concept to completion—we know it’s a whirlwind for you! The demands on your photographer are smilier. We are given a specific calendar day to photograph your space and 24 hours to edit so that press has what they need to reveal each space on opening day.
This is FAST.
That means every other designer in the Kips Bay Dallas house will be having their room photographed at the same time. If that sounds bananas, it is. Your photographer needs to be flexible, patient, and accustomed to working under pressure.
I’m honestly kind of addicted to the energy on photo day! It’s chaotic but beautiful.
The Salle à Manger by Shannon Bowers Designs, Dallas Kips Bay 2025
The Salle à Manger by Shannon Bowers Designs, Dallas Kips Bay 2025
Broad Image Licensing
An experienced Kips Bay Dallas photographer knows that the vendors you’ve used in your space will want access to the images for their own portfolios. This elite event has immense value for everyone involved.
(There’s also a good chance that getting them to donate product to your space was an agreed upon swap for imagery.)
Your photographer should offer you a license that allows not only you to use the photos but the vendors as well. And since many media outlets will want to feature your rooms, the license should also allow you to provide them images without needing you to return to the photographer for permission or payment.
Tea Room for Two by Sara Hillery; Kips Bay Dallas 2023,
Windowless Rooms; Tight spaces
The past two years, Kips Bay Dallas Showhouse included about 10-15 rooms with no windows and very little square footage (think 200 square feet or less). And two of the three years I’ve photographed Kips Bay, the space I captured had zero natural light, one of them being the narrow hallway-turned-tea room show above.
Your photographer needs the right lighting gear and know-how to make a tight, dark room look like a million bucks. With years of experience photographing rooms just like this, I understand what’s required to feature a space regardless of less than idea circumstances. See more of my “window-less room” photography.
Last-Minute Deadlines
The night before shooting last year’s Kips Bay Dallas spaces, every photographer received an email requesting images be delivered in their final versions by 1PM the next day to meet a last-minute media deadline created by an issue completely our of our control.
As if a 24-hour turnaround time wasn’t enough pressure, I was now asked to shoot and fully edit two images within a 1-hour time frame that would be used to represent my designer’s space forever. Because these quick turnaround and last-minute deadlines, your photographer needs to be comfortable with adapting fast and staying cool under pressure.
Here are the two images in turned around in that one-hour timeframe:
If you’ve been selected to design a room at Kips Bay Dallas, I would love to chat with you about photographing your space. You deserve to have a photographer on your team who understands how to respond to the expectations that comes with capturing a Kips Bay room.
Hi! I’m Sarah. I help interior designers build stunning portfolios that land them ideal clients and get published. I’m eager to chat with you about potentially working together.