If you’re new to the wedding industry and have a limited portfolio, you’ve probably heard before that you should take part in a styled shoot. Well if you’ve never planned a styled shoot before and the idea of putting on together seems a bit daunting, not to worry, we are going to share 5 tips that can help.
A styled shoot is actually a photoshoot that is organized between different wedding vendors for branding and portfolio building. These vendors will include a wedding planner, florist, caterer, photographer, etc. Anyone that makes a wedding happen is likely to be involved. With that said, this also means a lot of creative people with a lot of opinions. So how does all of that get organized? We have put together a few steps to help it all come together.
1. You Need a Theme
The first thing is to have a theme. You need a working idea of what you want. This could be an inspiration, a design aesthetic, a trend, an idea of color, anything to get you started.
Basically you need to know why you are having this shoot. Are you trying to drive a trend or theme for the upcoming wedding season or just for your business branding? Once you have an idea of the direction you want to go then you can start the next step.
2. Know Who You Are Working With
If you work with certain vendors for your wedding business then these are likely the best people to work with during a shoot. This will be an opportunity to nurture your existing business relationships and also help to build all your portfolios.
Another reason to work with people you already know is that there is already rapport. This is wise because creative types tend to be very opinionated. That can present some challenges for collaborative work.
Trusting each other and already having an idea of what this could look like is going to make the shoot more successful. A good way to do this is to have a styled shoot agreement that outlines who is responsible for what. Don’t leave the details to chance.
3. Have a Location
Another must for a styled shoot is a location. You need to know if it will be an outside shoot, in a church, at a reception hall, or someplace else.
The location will need to be included in the agreement. Most styled shoots take place in the wedding planner’s favorite location for either the ceremony or reception. This gets the venue some publicity as well and can be a great opportunity to build up your preferred venue list.
4. Find Models
You may not actually need models if this is just a venue or catering shoot. However, it is common for styled shoots to have a model bride and groom. They can even include a wedding party!
One way to do this is to have the photographer for your styled shoot offer a discount on photos to a real bride and groom to get them to model. Or you can go another route and hire professional or aspiring models for the shoot.
Showing people having a great time being a bride and groom will be more appealing to prospective clients.
5. Finalize the Details
Once you have done all of the steps above you just need to finalize the details. Make sure everything is ready for the styled shoot, and that everyone has a schedule or timeline of what to expect on the day of the shoot.
After that, just have an amazing shoot to help level up your business branding and highlight the latest wedding trends.
If you’re currently planning a styled shoot and have questions, don’t hesitate to send us an email!