Styled Shoots!

This month I wanted to talk about styled shoots-have you ever done one? Or even have you heard of them? I hadn't until about 4 years ago, and once I learned what they are my world opened up to all sorts of new possibilities!

A styled shoot is a collaboration between wedding vendors to create a wedding shoot with a specific style or theme. Often a photographer or wedding planner will have a vision for what they want, and then find a venue and all of the things to make it happen! Typically there will be florists, decorators, rentals, caterers, stationers, hair and makeup people, a wedding dress, jewelry rental-and just anything you can think of! The reason these are so awesome is because not only do you get to meet local vendors in your area, but you will have more creative freedom to do what you want with the hair for the model. Everyone volunteers their time and energy, and in exchange you get beautiful photos to use for your portfolio and marketing. Typically the photographer will submit the photos to wedding blogs, wedding websites, or magazines to get published. If the photos get published, then you'll be tagged and it will link back to your website too! Styled shoots are win win win all around and can be super fun to do.

If you've never done one before, I highly recommend reaching out to wedding photographers in your area and let them know that you'd love to collaborate if they want to do a styled shoot in the future. The other thing you can do is go to local networking events for wedding professionals-just getting to know other vendors will keep you front of mind when people are planning styled shoots. You can also organize one yourself! Reach out to a planner or two and see if anyone is interested in joining you to set one up. From my experience, other wedding vendors are usually really excited to be a part of these and will be happy to join you!

Here are a few photos from recent styled shoots I have done to get an idea of the variety of work you can do: