Designing and Organizing a Style Shoot

Are you a new planner? Or are you dream of owning your own wedding planning business one day? Awesome! This post is perfect for you then!

Whether you’re a new planner, just beginning to build your portfolio, or are more established with years of experience under your belt, chances are you’ll participate in a style shoot at some point in your career.  After all, style shoots play a huge part in our industry and seem to go along with running a wedding business.

Up to this point, I’ve participated in a handful of style shoots and boy-oh-boy are they fun! While there is no right or wrong way to go about designing and organizing a style shoot, I’m going to share with you 8 tips to keep in mind the next time you’re ready to dream up something pretty and bring it to life.

1. Define your vision

This is where it all begins.  Defining your vision is narrowing down what you’ll create for your style shoot.  Creative inspiration is everywhere and it can take just one photo or detail to spark your imagination.

We all know Pinterest is the go-to app for collecting inspirational photos but if you’re looking for a new tool to use to create a mood board, I suggest Canva.  Canva’s easy-to-use (and free!) platform allows you to not only create any type of visual content by uploading your own photos, but when your mood board is complete you can download it in a PNG file and share it later with the rest of the team.

Whatever your vision is, it needs to be unique. If you’ve seen it done before on the blogs you follow or in your favourite magazine, stay clear of doing it again. This is your chance to shine by thinking outside the box, showcasing fresh ideas, introducing new concepts or adding a twist on a current trend.

A strong vision also reflects your brand, inspires (and ideally excites!) the vendors you wish to collaborate with and most importantly, appeals to your ideal client.  Whoever your ideal client is, keep them in mind because your style shoot needs to speak to them.  If you haven’t clearly defined your ideal client or you aren’t currently attracting the right type of client to your business, I recommend sitting down now and make it part of this planning process.

2. Establish your end goal

Why do you want to create this style shoot? Is it to build your portfolio? Flex your creative muscles? Do you just want to have more content for social media? Or maybe you want to be featured on a blog or in a publication?

Having a clear end goal in mind from the start keeps you on track and helps to set you up for a successful shoot.  If your end goal is to be featured, particularly on a blog, do your research ahead of time. Most blogs clearly outline their guidelines so get familiar with their submission requirements before you actually shoot.  Take note on what image size and file type they are looking for, how many images they want and how you go about sending them in. No matter how stunning your professional images end up being, if you don’t follow the rules you run the risk of rejection.

3. Make sure you have the time to do it well

Before you start reaching out to vendors, take the time to consider your current workload. Designing and organizing a style shoot is fun but let’s keep it real. Style shoots are almost as much work as a wedding.  As the planner, don’t underestimate the time commitment involved.  You’re the one leading the team and much of the organization and logistics will fall on your shoulders.

If your schedule is full with other commitments, consider doing the style shoot at a different time.  I’ve always found spring to be a sweet spot for style shoots. Coming out of winter, I’m full of ideas, excited to create something pretty plus my schedule allows the time needed to focus on the project and be there for my team.

Style shoots are a perfect opportunity to bring your A+ game so vendors see what it’s like to work with you. Your personal goal should be to have every vendor wanting to work with you again, either on another style shoot, or even better, on a real wedding where they have referred you to their client!

4. When building your dream team, start with the photographer

There is no shortage of talented photographers in our industry and like all creatives, every photographer has their own skill set.  Choosing your photographer needs to be done carefully because they can make or break your style shoot.

For example, if you want your style shoot to have a deep, bold and moody look, choosing a photographer whose style is light, bright and airy is going to completely miss the mark in the end regardless of how beautiful the images are in their own way.

It’s also worth noting that a well-rounded style shoot includes a variety of images showcasing the smaller details too such as jewelry, menu cards, seating chart and invitations. With this in mind, the photographer you choose should be just as good at capturing the smaller details as they are when photographing models.

5. Write a style shoot contract

Ok, I know this may sound a little bit much. You may even think it’s unnecessary, but hear me out.  Having a signed contract in place with each vendor is vital to ensuring everyone is on the same page at the start of the process. Every team member needs to understand what they are getting into and having a contract in place goes a long way to avoiding surprises down the road.

What should a style shoot contract include? Your lawyer is the best person to advise on what needs to be included to protect yourself however, if you aren’t ready to invest in one, a basic contract template should clearly define the following:

  • Date and location. Since many style shoots take place outdoors, having a back-up date or an alternative indoor location in mind is something to consider in the planning stages just in case there is rain in the forecast on shoot day.
  • Theme/vision/colour palette details
  • A list of items the vendor will provide
  • Expectations on shoot privacy and exclusivity

A great platform to use for obtaining electronic signatures is HelloSign.  I started using this platform last year for securing new clients and I love it! Not only is it user-friendly and convenient but you can send up to 3 documents every month without a paid subscription.

6. Create a timeline for shoot day

Just as you would for a wedding day, create a timeline.  This is essential to keep you focused and to value everyone’s time.  Be sure to include when each vendor should arrive, what time will you start shooting and when you expect to wrap up so teardown can begin.

I suggest working in breathing room (i.e extra time) as well.  Loading in rentals and setting up vignettes can take longer than anticipated and of course there’s always a possibility of other unforeseen hiccups and delays.

7. Prepare a vendor contact list

As the planner, you know who is who on the team and who is providing what for the style shoot, but that doesn’t mean everyone else on the team does.

Show your professionalism by taking the time to ask each vendor how they would like their business to be credited. Take it one step further by organizing the information so it can easily be shared with the rest of the team after the shoot.

When I participate in style shoots, I create a simple chart detailing the name of the business, their role in the shoot, their website and their exact social media handles.  Social media handles are particularly important to include as multiple businesses can have very similar account names and of course, you want to ensure everyone is tagging the correct business.

Doing this work upfront will not only be appreciated by the team but it’ll save you time later since a full vendor list is needed if you intend on submitting to a blog or publication.

8. Don’t Share the Images Online

You may be thinking, “But Jen, we’ve worked so hard and we are super excited to share what we created!” I hear you and believe me, I get it. It’s tempting to share your hard work, however, if you plan on submitting your style shoot, keeping the professional images off social media is best.

Each and every blog or publication has their own set of submission procedures but exclusivity does tend to be a common requirement.  This means it can’t be found online anywhere, including your website. It’s also a good idea to only submit to one at a time and wait for feedback before submitting elsewhere.

Although the professional images should be kept off line until you receive feedback on your submission, snapping a few behind-the-scenes photos to share on social media on shoot day is something I encourage. I personally love sharing teasers that don’t give away too much of the details through stories on Instagram. This gives your followers a tiny glimpse into what you are working on, it gets them excited to see more and the best part, after 24 hours, it’s gone.

There you go, 8 tips for designing and organizing a style shoot!  The next time you’re ready to dive into the world of style shoots, I hope these tips come in handy.  Style shoots are certainly a lot of work, and can be stressful at times, but the lessons you learn from the process will make you a stronger planner in the end.

Note: This post was originally written for and featured on WPIC.

Images by The Butterfly Photography, Tamara Lockwood Photography and Sounds Like Yellow Photography

Designing and Organizing a Style Shoot2020-12-08T11:58:55-04:00

So This Is Love Featured Style Shoot

Oh boy friends!!! 2018 is off to a beautiful start for so many reasons and THIS is one of them as last week this moody and utterly romantic creative shoot was featured on So This is Love. Cue the happy dance! The opportunity alone to simply be involved as planner/stylist and collaborate with this team of amazing woman was enough to make my heart beam with happiness but to have it recognized by others in the industry…well, it truly leaves one with such a rewarding feeling.

There are so many elements to fall in love with that I honestly think it’s impossible to pick a favourite. Originally our vision for this creative shoot included freshly fallen snow but of course Mother Nature had a different idea in mind that day giving us overcast skies and plenty of fog. And you know what?  That’s ok because those gloomy foggy skies were so much of a better fit to highlight our colour palette of rich and bold shades. Who knew fog could create so much beauty! Seriously? Have a look at those to-die-for images in the field it created. Totally swoon worthy!! That fog paired with lush greenery created the ultimate fairytale forest setting for our couple.  Accenting with soft lit lanterns, a white wooden rustic table and long glass vases with floating votives added the perfect finishing touches to our natural setting.  Our wedding cake featuring gold foil and a fresh floral arrangement is beautiful enough to stand on its own but we chose to complement it with a fun sweet treat for any age…s’mores!

As always, I am so grateful and tremendously proud to have this creative shoot in my portfolio and to finally be able to share these dreamy photos with you all is SUPER exciting.

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PLANNING/STYLING | The Wedding Pixie • PHOTOGRAPHY | Sounds Like Yellow • FLORALS | Pocket of Posies Floral Design • CAKE  | The Dessert Room • HAIR & MAKE UP | Beauti Mark Pro • STATIONERY | All That’s Lovely • DRESS | Heirlooms Bridal Shoppe  • MEN’S ATTIRE | Charles & Hunt • CAKE TABLE  | Mashed Events

So This Is Love Featured Style Shoot2018-01-29T16:36:12-04:00

WedLuxe.com Featured Style Shoot

Oh friends! My heart is bursting with gratitude and I am beaming with pride as this magnificent team and I are finally able to share with you a style shoot we collaborated on back in May.  Never could I have imagined the experience that was waiting for me when Shelley from Wine Country Floral emailed me in on a drury cold December day asking if I wanted to participate in a spring 2017 style shoot with her and Tamara Lockwood  (Side note: I adore Shelley as a human being and to say I LOVE her gorgeous creations is an understatement so without any hesitation  I was in!!).  A few creative meetings later we set our shoot date for May 3rd and started assembling our dream team.  Everyone on this team brought their A game and I can honestly say I have never had a project come together so effortlessly.

For this style shoot, we were inspired by Mother Nature’s magnificent beauty during blossom season, fresh fruit and the picturesque grounds of our Niagara region location. We loved the idea of incorporating a red sangria station complete with a mini-tower of mini-pies in addition to our lightly textured cake trio, which we of course topped with berries and blooms. The dress we featured and draping of the harvest table with a sheer linen were chosen specifically to add touches of soft, flowy elegance to our setting. Our romantic intimate tablescape with gold accents, rustic chairs and a long floral centrepiece, was the perfect complement to the striking red and white barn exterior.

As the date of the style shoot was getting closer, we all started looking at our weather apps, just as every bride will do leading up to her wedding day.  Every report was the same – gloomy rainy weather for the whole week with even thunderstorms on Wednesday, the day of our shoot.  Fantastic! Not! I now found myself giving myself the same pep talk I give my brides about not being able to control the weather and even if it rains the day will be beautiful.  Except I truly didn’t know how we would pull this one off in the rain.  Given how effortless everything was up until this point I should have had better faith in Mother Nature because as it turned out, even she on our side.   That particular week in May saw a record breaking amount of rain and it came down every single day that week except Wednesday! And friends I do mean rain every day and all day – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Wednesday however, brought sunshine and clear skies so much sunshine and clear skies that I ended up with a sunburn on my forehead, nose and the top of my feet!

I am so proud to have this shoot in my portfolio and I cannot tame my excitement that today it is featured on the WedLuxe blog!!

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PLANNING | The Wedding Pixie • VENUE | Cherry Avenue Farms • PHOTOGRAPHY | Tamara Lockwood Photography • FLORALS | Wine Country Floral • CAKE  | Lipstick Baker • MODEL | Rebecca Quinn •  HAIR | Ladylyn Gool • MAKEUP | Dawna Boot Make Up  • STATIONERY | Simply Sealed • DRESS | Wins Designs • CAKE TABLE | Mashed Events • DECOR | Simply Beautiful Decor •  MINI PIES | Itty Bitty Pie Company  • JEWELRY | Anouk Jewelry via Made You Look

WedLuxe.com Featured Style Shoot2017-08-02T11:20:10-04:00

The Wedding Planner Magazine Style Shoot

What a thrill it was to lead a team of talented creatives for this style shoot which was featured in the pages of The Wedding Planner Magazine.  Given it was my first time participating in a shoot, I couldn’t be more proud of how it came together in the end.  A beautiful gemstone, aquamarine provided the inspiration behind this style shoot.  From the light blue of the sky to the deep blue in the ocean, aquamarine is known for its range of blue hues, sometimes even with a faint greenish shimmer. However, we were inspired to reflect a pure clear blue.

With exposed brick walls and wood floors bringing a natural raw charm, the vision was to create a dreamy and romantic setting by infusing the space with aquamarine, soft peach, pale blush, greens and white.  To add a touch of elegance to the vision, we subtly incorporated gold accents into the guest table with mercury votive candles, chiavari chairs, flatware and floral containers. Our stationery tied our look together by bringing in the gold and showcasing soft romantic elegant features in the design.  We also featured a peony bloom in all pieces as well. Gorgeous layered linens, a birch arbor with hanging florals and candles along with the sugar crystals adorning the main cake beautifully added extra touches of romantic detail to the sweet table.  The high and low florals, filled with lush peonies, garden roses, bleeding hearts and delphiniums, truly breathed romance into the space.  A floral trend we are continuing to see in bridal bouquets is the horizontal bouquet. To best highlight this type of bouquet, we opted to pair it with a simple yet stunning lace wedding dress. Our bride’s look was completed with shades of soft blue and blush in her eye makeup and her elegant up-do featured a delicate beaded band.

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CONCEPT & PLANNING | The Wedding Pixie • VENUE | Spice Factory • PHOTOGRAPHY | The Butterfly Photography • FLORALS | Wine Country Floral • CAKE & SWEET TREATS | Sweet Avenue Cakery • MODEL | Vogue Models and Talent (Hamilton Toronto) • HAIR & MAKEUP | MIA Professional Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist • STATIONERY | Alicia’s Infinity • DRESS & ACCESSORIES | Heirlooms Bridal Shoppe • CAKE TABLE LINENS, CHIAVARI CHAIRS, CHARGER PLATES & NAPKINS | Gala Décor Wedding and Event Design • FLATWARE | The Pink Door Boutique  • GUEST TABLE LINEN & DINNERWARE | Higgins Event Rentals

The Wedding Planner Magazine Style Shoot2017-04-03T14:12:55-04:00
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