By the last two days of the set build, we were officially behind schedule.
The problem was that we weren’t just trying to finish building a mobile photo studio. We were also moving out of our house at the exact same time so our renters could move in.
We thought we were mostly done with the move. There were just a few things left in the attic and shed. But we were so wrong.
Both were significantly more packed than we remembered, and getting everything out took way longer than expected. Suddenly, all of the time we thought we had to finish the set was disappearing.
So we worked into the night.
We sanded, primed and caulked, trying to get the set as secure and watertight as possible before putting it through 7,500 miles of driving and whatever weather we encountered along the way. We set up our Nanlite lights so we could keep working after dark and just kept going until around 11 p.m.
The next morning, we dropped off the keys so our renters could move in.
And then we went looking for paint.
We decided to paint the set two different colors: coral on the exterior and chartreuse on the inside. Having two colors would give us more versatility depending on how we photographed the set and which parts of it we wanted to feature.
Normally when we build sets, we use interior paint. This time, everything had to be exterior paint to give the set a fighting chance against rain, sun, wind and thousands of miles on the back of a truck.
The coral was easy. The chartreuse became a three-hour scavenger hunt across Richmond.
Apparently, the color I wanted requires a vivid yellow paint base that isn’t commonly stocked. Every time someone tried to mix it using a different base, it came out gold or orange instead of the bright yellow-green I had in my head.
We went to four different Sherwin-Williams locations, including their training facility. Everyone was genuinely trying to help us, calling other stores and sending us from one location to the next until we finally found the right base.
We absolutely did not have three hours to spend looking for paint. But we found it.
Unfortunately, getting the color was only half the battle. The chartreuse did not want to cooperate. It wasn’t laying down well, and it took three coats before the inside of the set finally started looking the way we wanted.
Thankfully, the rain held off long enough for us to get everything painted. At that point, that felt like a pretty major win.
There were still things we had hoped to figure out before leaving, especially the lighting. We had planned to test different lighting setups and actually work out how we wanted to photograph the set before hitting the road.
That did not happen.
We were so far behind that eventually we had to accept that lighting was going to be a problem for future Jada and David. We would figure it out during our first actual photoshoot in Cape Cod.
And then, our family started stopping by to say goodbye.
It was this strange reminder that while our entire brains were focused on paint and caulk and whether this giant sculpture was actually ready to survive a cross-country drive, we were also moving.
Like, actually moving.
We had spent so much time thinking about getting the set finished and getting on the road that I think my brain had temporarily forgotten that part.
The house was empty. Our renters had the keys. Our family was saying goodbye. The set was finally painted. And sitting in the driveway was this giant coral-and-chartreuse thing we had spent the last several weeks building.
There wasn’t much time to process any of it.
We still had to pack the truck and leave.
