February 7, 2017
Styled Shoots are full of fun and creativity. They help you create beautiful images for your portfolio and allow you to work with vendors you’ve always wanted to work with. I have been asked countless times to share about Styled Shoots because I absolutely love planning and organizing these (that’s probably the Monica from Friends in me talking.) As much fun as it is to dream about the craziest and coolest things you can do for a shoot, it’s even more amazing when you can actually plan it and pull it off! For today’s Tell-All Tuesday, I’m sharing how you can plan the Styled Shoot of your dreams!
1. Inspiration & Research
What do you want your shoot to look like? What’s the overall theme? Gather inspiration from your favorite Pinterest boards and blogs. Create your own vision board of what the shoot will look like. Don’t be afraid to think BIG here! That’s what a styled shoot is all about, creating images that you’ll LOVE!
If you are planning a styled shoot to get published, it’s important to figure out a unique theme. Something you haven’t found too much of online. How can you put your own spin on this? Blogs and magazines are always looking for something fresh and new! Figure out how you can wow them!
Research what publication you are looking to submit to. What types of images do they use? What kind of style do they look for? It’s important to keep this in mind while planning your session. Research if they have an exclusivity clause (most do) and learn if you can share your images before they are published. The more you know, the easier it will be in the end.
2. Find your Location
Once you have your big ideas set and a theme in mind, start scouting some awesome locations. It can be venues you’ve always wanted to work at or undiscovered spaces that you’re obsessed with. There is no wrong answer to finding the perfect location. Just make sure it fits with your idea.
Don’t be scared reaching out to venues! If there is somewhere awesome you’d love to shoot at, don’t be afraid to ask. The worst they can say is “no.” Then you simply move on. No harm in asking. I recommend writing a super sweet and genuine email to the director of the venue you would love to work at. Say hello, praise their space, talk about yourself a little, and tell them about your big plans. Let them know how you plan on helping them too. If they are giving you a space to shoot at, what are they getting out of it? Make sure you are willing to pay them, give them images, print canvases for them, whatever you want to do. With everything, make it personal and helpful. No one likes receiving emails that they know where just copied/pasted and then sent to a million different people. Personal and authentic is the name of the game.
3. Find your Vendors
This is just like finding your venue. Who do you want on your styled shoot team? Who inspires you? Who have you always dreamed of working with? Who aligns with your brand? Take a leap of faith and send those super sweet emails asking if they would like to participate in your awesome shoot. It’s ok to gush over how much you love their work and how you would be so excited to work together.
Remember, it’s like finding your venue, think about what you can do for your vendors. Offer to pay, give them images, refer them to brides, or whatever you think they would benefit from. Styled shoots are about building relationships with fellow wedding vendors. Give them lots of love and look for ways you can help their businesses thrive too!
This includes finding your models as well! If you don’t have someone particular in mind, put out a model call on your social media. I always like having real couples as models, there is something so special about it. Be sure to be specific about what you are looking for. Give your models lots of love too by promising them prints or canvases.
4. Organize
I cannot stress this step enough! If you are planning a Styled Shoot that means YOU are in charge. It’s SO important that everyone knows what is going on. What items do you need from your vendors? What time is set-up? When should hair and make-up start? What’s the plan for the day? It’s important you figure all this out ahead of time. Give your vendors lots direction on how the day will go. Create spreadsheets and timelines for the day. My favorite tool to use for this is Google Docs. There, you can share your vision board, info on all the vendors involved, share social media accounts for when you share images, and the timeline for the day.
This is up to YOU! The more you plan and communicate, the more smoothly your shoot will go!
5. Be Prepared
Of course it’s important to make sure you have all your gear (and your backdrop gear!) Time to get even more prepared! First-aid kit, sewing kit, proper shoes, snacks and water if you are shooting all day, a white sheet to lay on the ground under the model so the dress doesn’t get dirty, whatever you can think of. One of my favorite styled shoots was the Boho Inspired Shoot at the Botanical Garden. Everything was planned and ready to rock, but the weather had other ideas. It rained ALL day! Because I came prepared, I had someone holding an umbrella over me and over the models the entire time. We laid an old blanket down for them to stand on so the dress and tuxedo wouldn’t get wet.
Always bring more than you think you’ll need, just in case.
6. Shoot!
This is the fun part! Because you were so great about planning the day and communicating with vendors, you should know exactly what you’re shooting at what times throughout the day.
When shooting, make sure you are not only getting shots for yourself, but you are getting shots for your vendors too. They put a lot of time and effort into what they did so make sure you’ve discussed what shots are important to them.
Shoot for publications too! Blogs and magazines love lots of details and variety. Make sure you are getting horizontal and vertical shots of those details. If you keep all of these things in mind, you’ll be able to get published sooner.
7. Go Above & Beyond
After the shoot is finished, get to editing right away! Don’t let your images live on your computer. If your goal is to get published, send them in right away. When it’s time to share them, send galleries to all your vendors. When you share images on social media, make sure you credit your vendors every time and tag their appropriate social media accounts. Then, go above and beyond.
Drop off little gifts to your venue, vendors, and models, thanking them for all their hard work. Print canvases and surprise them. Write sweet reviews on all their pages. Think about all the wonderful things you could do and then do them!
8. Plan The Next Styled Shoot
Once you get the first one out of the way, you’ll want to do more and more. It is seriously so much fun and such a great way to keep your inspiration flowing. I usually try to photograph two a year and I’m always looking for new things to do. Reach out to your vendors and see if they have any passion projects they would love to create. Help them make it a reality. Always remember, have fun with this!
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