How to plan a styled shoot as a photographer
In early 2020, I discovered that I friggin’ LOVE planning styled shoots. I’m one of those weirdos who adored the wedding planning process. I loved dreaming up the look for the day, putting in the work of crafting personal touches, and looking back it is still my favorite day. So it only makes sense that I love planning wedding styled shoots too!
After planning a couple for myself, I started to have other photographers reach out saying they’d love to tag along for the next one. Honestly, this TERRIFIED me at first. I’m a people pleaser and get super nervous at the idea of planning an event for other people. I worry that other people won’t like it, super silly things like that. After putting feelers out with photographer friends and studying the process a little more, I decided to just GO FOR IT.
I now own a side gig named the Heartland Muse. It’s a styled shoots + socials planning biz centered around showing off how badass the Midwest is as a wedding location. I’m passionate about showing people that you don’t need to live in the mountains or on the coast to have an epic, adventurous wedding!
Now that I have a few styled shoots under my belt, I’ve put together a list of 10 tips and tricks for those looking to plan their own styled shoots:
Give yourself enough TIME to plan the shoot. This looks different for everyone. I typically give myself 2-4 months to plan a styled shoot depending on how complex the shoot is. Rushed work isn’t quality work!
Create a moodboard or styleboard for the shoot. Start with a color scheme or aesthetic (are you going for a modern, boho, or traditional vibe?), then nail down a bridal + groom look. From this point, I put examples I’ve found on Pinterest or Instagram into a collage. I use this to show the vendors what I’m thinking style wise! (Bonus tip: Also create a Pinterest board you can share with vendors. The collage is more of a summary, while the Pinterest board gives your vendors a more detailed idea of what you’re going for.)
Contact your biggest vendors right away. Again, this looks a little different for everyone depending on what vendors hold the highest importance to you. I start with venue/date — often times I have this nailed down BEFORE I even have a moodboard put together. I then contact a florist, rental company, hair + makeup, dress shop, and tux shop.
Once those big vendors are officially nailed down, I move on to “bonus” vendors. These are the fun, specialty vendors that will bring a unique feature to your styled shoot. Examples are bar carts, desserts, photo booths, getaway cars, bubble machine, neon signs, marquee signs, stationary, and so on.
Find some models. I find my models by posting to my Instagram story that I’m looking for models on a certain date/time. Another idea is to reach out to your past clients and see if they’d be interested! They’ve worked with you before, they understand your process, so you already have a good, trusting relationship going into the shoot. Plus I’m sure they’d LOVE to work with their photographer again. :)
Make sure and work with some vendors you’ve never met before, but also make sure and work with vendors you already have a relationship with. It’s so important to foster BOTH types of vendor relationships. In my opinion, vendor relationships can be even more crucial and powerful than client relationships.
Over estimate your timeline! It’s way better to be set up and ready to go early than to be scrambling and running behind schedule. If you’re working with something like sunset, you can’t afford to be running 30-45 minutes behind schedule. Plus if there’s downtime before the shoot starts, that just means more time for behind the scenes, networking, or grabbing a quick snack. :)
Be at the shoot ALL DAY. It’s YOUR shoot. Make sure you’re there all day to network and HELP the vendors in anyway possible.
Give sneak peeks within 24-48 hours of the shoot. Make sure each vendor has a sneak peek geared toward them. This helps ride the high of the excitement after the shoot, and again helps build that vendor relationship.
SAY THANK YOU. Take the time to look each vendor in the face and say thank you. Or send them all an email afterwards. Or send everyone a hand written note. Thanks you’s go a loooooooooong way. Styled shoots are HARD work for every vendor, so good manners is the least you can do. ;)
Again, I love styled shoots. It’s such a fun way to get creative, switch things up, meet new vendors, and so on. It makes my creative side so so so so happy, and gives me a chance to practice things I don’t have time to practice on a wedding day!
I hope this list is helpful for those of you that are thinking of planning styled shoots! Happy planning. :)
Xo, Kyndal
