Angelsea Urban | Urban Studios

So I recently had the pleasure to photograph Melissa & Joe Gorga of Bravo TV for an Episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. You can see that post here. 

I’ve received a lot of questions since on everything from “Is the show real?”, “Do they really live in that house?”, and “What were they like in {real} life”? I thought some of you might like to see some “outtakes” and take you behind the scenes of what it looks like to photograph an event while trying to desperately dodge 732 cameras filming a reality TV show.

Thanks to a referral from my assistant photographer Barbara Sage, and to my BFF and assistant Melissa Larsen, who filled me in on all of the RHONJ cast-mates during the ride up to the shoot. Confession: I hadn’t seen the show, so a big thanks to Melissa, who googled them one by one on her phone to show me who’s who.

It was just another day at the office, with an interesting family from New Jersey. Thanks to Melissa who grabbed this shot of me at the beginning of the day.And I though MY gear was heavy. The poor guy holding the boom mike said his front pack weights about 60 pounds. Ouch!If you watch the show there is a shot inside the caterpillar. And THIS is who took it! I think she had fun doing so.Look there’s Melissa! And baby Joey.This is what it looks like when you buckle your shoe while filming a TV show.LOOK there’s Melissa again! (on the right).To answer a question, “Is that their real house?” Yes. And Yes, it’s even more beautiful in person. It’s truly a work of art. Every detail was stunning. It’s on the market now if anyone is interested in moving to Monteville and has 3.8 million dollars.Next question: “Is the show for real?”. My answer is yes. I didn’t see anything staged or fake or re-done. The conversations were real. The people were where they wanted to be, when they wanted to be. I give a lot of credit to the crew for being EVERYwhere all day. They truly never knew what would be said or when, but they were responsible for capturing it all.Do you know what song you can’t sing on Bravo TV? Happy Birthday. Yup. So they sang it off camera instead.  Even with 37 (or a bunch) of cameras filming every angle possible, I thought it was funny that Melissa Gorga had her own video camera. Reminded me that she’s still a regular mom too.Photo credit below to Melissa Larsen

To watch the full episode on YouTube click on this link below:

http://youtu.be/c3ivrWKpp1g?t=10m

Blink and you’ll miss us, hiding behind the bouncy house!

But just in case – here’s a screen shot.