What Is a Styled Shoot?
If you work in the wedding community, it won’t be long before you hear the word “styled shoot” (don’t forget the ‘d’!). What are they? Styled shoots are staged weddings or elopements where a team of vendors gathers around a concept to show their best work. What is the purpose of a styled shoot? A shoot may have slightly different purposes depending on your role, but the overarching goal is for each vendor to flex their skills inside of a creative concept that has never been seen before. Why does this matter to you and your business or brand? Because styled shoots are so much more than pretty things in front of a camera. They are an opportunity to elevate your portfolio and express new ideas for the future clients and partners you want to work with. How do you do that? Let’s dive in.
FIRST AND FOREMOST: A MARKETING TOOL.
Think about your participation in or creation of a styled shoot as your greatest marketing tool.
If you are the architect of the shoot then you have the greatest influence and creative control in the project.
Consider these ideas when building the vendor team and concept:
What styles, looks, locations, and designs are your dream clients interested in seeing? Call them in with specific, targeted imagery.
Which vendors align with your dream client profile? Ask them to partner with you on the shoot and give them a defined degree of creative agency to contribute.
What brand values from your own business do you want to call into the storyline? Recruit a couple and build the details around those values.
Where would you like to see this work published? Make sure to document the why-based decisions and noteworthy vendor details for your submission after the shoot.
Each decision you make as the architect of a styled shoot has an impact because it communicates who your business is, and who and what you represent. With great power comes great responsibility; use the creative control inherent in a styled shoot to make intelligent and intentional choices about how you build the collaboration.
If you are a vendor or couple participating in a styled shoot you should be looking at all the same factors, just from a slightly different angle.
Consider these questions before signing on to contribute your expertise and materials:
What is the overarching theme or vision for the shoot?
Does it align with your brand?
Does it give you the opportunity to represent or grow your portfolio in a direction you want to go? Will it speak to a client base that you want to call into your business?
How much latitude does the organizer allow for creative adaptation and ideas?
How much time and how many resources will my participation require?
Make sure that your answers jive with your business ethos, direction, and workflow before signing onto a styled shoot opportunity.
SECOND: NETWORKING.
Think about styled shoots as a networking opportunity.
Many styled shoots happen in the off season when client projects wind down and vendors have an opportunity to recuperate their creative brains from flexing so hard on behalf of their couples.We say this because styled shoots benefit from being scheduled in the off season so that vendor partners can show up with 110% of their best work and energy. If we’re doing our jobs to the best of our ability, we show up, get the work done efficiently and on time, and slip into the shadows for the couple and guests to enjoy the fruits of our labors while they party the night away. It’s rare that we get to spend quality time with one another on the day of an event. So, styled shoots are an opportunity for vendors to connect with one another because...
The design process gives us space to collaborate on concepts and ideas free from client constraints.
Together, we have an opportunity to experiment, express new ideas, and develop aspirational work together that will inspire future clients.
The execution process gives us time to dance in the set-up, shooting, and tear-down time together.
When assessing and selecting a vendor team for a styled shoot, consider who you want to spend quality time getting to know in the off season. Think about who you want to strengthen connections with and who you want to walk alongside being recognized for your shared work.
Photos from Snowy Winter Elopement
Courtesy of Megan Montalvo Photography
THIRD + FINALLY: VALUES COMMUNICATOR.
Think about styled shoots as the ultimate values communicator.
What you represent in your work is what you value. From the client projects you blog to the images you place on your website to the way you describe yourself, your values are stamped all over your work online. Styled shoots are an opportunity to elevate your message and create a clear radio beacon to communicate what you value. What do you want to represent in your community? What pisses you off about your industry? What do you want to change for the future of weddings or elopements? What lasting impression do you want to leave couples with? Styled shoots are your opportunity to create imagery that accompanies your verbiage. If you are able to represent your values through words and echo them in images, then your ideal clients will be MAGNETIZED to your offering.
Inspired by this blog? Want help building a styled shoot that calls in your aspirational vendor partners and magnetizes your dream clients? Check out our styled shoot universe!
— Kate, Tapestry Creative Director