Have you been thinking about putting together a styled shoot or elopement shoot and don’t know where to start? Friend, I understand!
Styled shoots, no matter what their intent is, take some serious dedication, planning and time. But they can be done!
What is a styled shoot?
Broadly speaking, a styled shoot is when creatives in different roles and industries pull their skills, ideas and resources for the purpose of creating a conceptual photo shoot.
They can be as elaborate or as simple as you choose. But the best ones, are the elaborate ones. What do I mean by that?
Elaborate styled shoots take months of planning, patience, and collaboration with vendors. But they are the ones that produce some of the most memorable results.
These workshops are a valuable way of building connections, making friendships and can even be a means for free learning. YES! To this day I still learn a thing or two. Even if it’s that I could never be a professional florist (LOL)
But really, you’ll be surprised at how much you can learn from event planners, florists, coaches, and other photographers.
The truth is, you don’t have to do all this work, all the time. I suggest you invest and attend one, two, or maaaaybe three styled shoots. Think about what you want to niche in and find some local styled shoots that will help you build a more curated portfolio.
What Can You Expect from A Styled Shoot?
The styled shoot hosts or directors find you the subjects and style them, they secure the location, the best times, research and invest in the best vendors.
Surprisingly, finding the subjects or couples is probably the hardest part. They need to fit the look and vibe and it can be hard to find someone with a specific look in a specific geographic area.
Getting people you’ve booked to actually show up on the day of the shoot, can be another challenge. To help ensure that the subjects show up the day of, a contract may be signed binding them to their commitment.
Another trick of the trade is to build a network of reputable vendor friends. But don’t forget about your own reputation! Having a good one and being known in the vendor arena will go a long way in making the connections that will be most valuable to you. This is important if you’re after quality.
You can also build a workshop with newer vendors, but keep in mind their skill and experience level will be proportionate to their prices.
Final Thoughts
You can’t make money without investing money and time into your business. It’s a no brainer. If your business is a priority, you can’t be scared to invest in yourself.
You are worth it right? You want to attract those ideal clients, don’t you?
Well then you totally need to start making these investments happen!
Styled shoots are a lot of work but, they can be fun and worth your time, especially if you’d like to build a stronger portfolio.
If you’re interested in learning more, get excited because we will be offering workshops on styled shoots in the future! However, if you’d like some immediate, hands on experience we’ll be hosting a Bridal Editorial workshop at the end of February.
The next one won’t be for a while yet, so you don’t want to miss this one!
