What is a Styled Shoot?
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If you've been following us for awhile (or any wedding professional for that matter) you'll notice that I/they will sometimes talk or post about a styled shoot I/they are participating in. I've gotten a lot of blank stares and question mark faces 🤔 (like the ones you see in magnas or animes) whenever we discuss it with non-wedding/event folk. So, I thought it would be a great idea to give you a crash course into what makes a styled shoot and it's purpose for us wedding/event creatives.
If you haven't notice by now, there are a lot of creative entrepreneurs out there in the wedding and events industry. You have planners, florists, photographers, stationers (like me 🤗 ), and many more specialists that can contribute to a wedding day. Like I tell all my brides, the wedding industry is like the aquarium from the movie Finding Dory 🐟 . You usually operate in one portion of an exhibit and when you find yourself wandering off, there are so many more fish in the sea....I mean creatives to work with. 🐙 🦐 🐠 🐡 🦈 🐋
So when a creative begins putting together a styled shoot, they first think of a theme or style they really want to bring to life. Recently, I got the opportunity to work on a 70's styled shoot that allowed me to get my groove on with my watercolors 🎨 🖌 and play with colors brides normally aren't keen on working with. Needless to say, some of the other creatives involved got to do something out of the ordinary: Like Jaime from Champagne and Grit who made a wedding veil out of macrame (guys, it's a dream to look at and oh...the dipped something blue feature...). 💙😍
Anywho, not only do we get to try out new things, but it also adds items or services to our repetuar that we otherwise might not have had the chance to create yet. For example, I have been dying to produce a backless wedding sign using my calligraphy for a wedding but haven't had the chance to do so. So one of the things I brought with me (and made sure to have it approved with the planner in charge) was a backless frame as an extra detail for that day.
And for us non-photogs or videographers, it also allows us to open up our portfolio and add great new images to gush over (pretty pictures for the Insta too). Sometimes when a vendor doesn't have enough work in their online portfolio, some people think that they are inexperienced or too new to the game where they aren't the right person to trust for your special day. That's not always the case. To be fair, it's hard to share images aka proof of your work while it's in the event when you're not there (another story for another blog post). A styled shoot can be the perfect opportunity for creatives to prove they have the skill set you want to hire.
I hope I've given you a bit more info on what a styled shoot is and how wonderful it is for us creatives to participate in as many of them as we can. Have you seen a styled shoot you absolutely loved? What theme or color scheme did it incorporate? Let me know in the comments below.
