How to create a styled shoot | Editorial wedding photographer in London

HOW TO GUIDE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
CREATE A STYLED SHOOT

I’ve created my own styled shoots over the years, either collaborating with a wedding stylist or simply from a little vision I had in my head.

What are the benefits of creating your own styled shoot? Why should you create a wedding editorial? How do you plan a wedding styled shoot in the first place?

I have put together a How To Guide that will walk you through the process of creating a styled shoot below, I hope you find it useful!

1 - Mood-board

Think about what inspires you - what images are you drawn to from your own portfolio, or when you flick through a magazine? What do you like? What influences would you like to bring into your wedding work?
Really try to niche that thought down.

Also, consider why you want to do the shoot in the first place. Is it because you just want to create without the pressure of a wedding day? Are there certain suppliers you want to form a relationship with? Whatever your purpose, make sure you use that to inform your content and what your suppliers will get from it too (more on that later).

One of my starting points for this shoot was the images Zara put on their website. What absolutely fascinates me about the way Zara photographs their garms is that they are shot as though it is a fashion campaign for a magazine, not to necessarily sell clothes in the stereotypical way; if you compare their images to ASOS for example, the Zara vision is super clear.

This shoot for me started with a very simple idea: a stripped back bridal fashion shoot, but I knew I wanted to focus on accessories and the detail in the fashion, and shoot as though it was a fashion spread.

Keeping all the other elements simple to make those luxe details pop was important, choosing a model with a fashion background was also super important as Hannah would know how to pose and interact on set to bring the pieces and fashion to life.

Take inspiration, don’t copy.
An important note when you are creating a shoot and gathering ideas, take inspiration absolutely. However, don’t take an idea from another creative and take very key elements and suppliers from it and simply re-create it. Not to get too ‘lectury’ here, nothing is original of course, but do be mindful of this. We all put so much care into shoots, that it’s just not best practice to copy someone else’s ideas. If you look at my mood-board, and compare that to the images I actually created here in the post, they’re quite different, just that overall vibe of simplicity matched with detail is coming through.

2 - Where and when?

So, you’ve got your idea and it is a banging one. Before you approach suppliers you need to have a rough location and date in mind. Suppliers are busy, busy people, so being able to give them the basics will help you find a team that will be available. Will it be a wedding venue? A studio? A super cool Air BnB? There is no right or wrong, but consider the pros and cons of your location from the creative to the practical; for example, are you shooting on a beach all day without access to a public loo or changing facilities? Are you shooting in a historic building that doesn’t allow open flames for your table-scape? What’s your plan B if the weather is horrific?

Ask yourselves if the basic comforts and practicalities will be provided for your team. Shoot days can be long and so much prep from everyone goes into them, make sure you are doing what you can to keep your team comfortable and happy so their work can truly shine.

3 - To TFP or not to TFP?

Before you approach suppliers, you need to decide if this will be a TFP shoot, or a collaboration.

TFP Shoot.
Trade For Print, means everyone contributes to the shoot and receives images they can share/print in return for no payment.

The term ‘styled shoot’ often suggests this will be the case, that all suppliers are coming together without payment. However, be clear before you ask suppliers, what your budget is and what it can be allocated to.

Florals for example can be incredibly expensive with rising wholesale costs, be mindful of this, especially if you are envisaging table decorations and installations. Don’t be offended if a supplier won’t take part without some form of payment.

PS: I will often allocate budget for models, more on that below.

Collaboration
Perhaps your shoot may work best as a collaboration, whereby you will collaborate with a wedding stylist for example, and both put in budget to the shoot. Again, be clear who is responsible for what costs and arranging which items.

One last note on budget, there are usually some unexpected costs with hosting a shoot. Your venue, especially a high-end venue, or studio, may have a cost to hire or a security deposit required. You may also be asked to mail back supplier items (such as accessories) with insurance cover, there may be dry-cleaning bills for the dress/outfits should these become dirty.

There is always a cost of some sort.

No matter how simple you keep a shoot, there is usually some cost involved even if it is just your travel/parking. This can be important to bear in mind especially when your business is super fresh and budget might be tighter. This isn’t to put you off, this is just to highlight the reality of putting a shoot together before the costs run away with you.

Shoot cost break-down: For this shoot featured, my costs were as follows
1 - Studio hire £180
2 - Outfit Steamer hire £20
3 - Colour chroma back drop hire £20
4 - Model fee + travel £250
5 - Petrol + parking for shoot day £50
6 - Petrol to collect and drop-off supplier items £50
7 - Mailing items to suppliers after shoot £20
8 - Snacks for the set crew £10
9- Extra outfits purchased by me for extra looks: £380
TOTAL: £980
Banging shoot with gorgeous content - Priceless

4 - Approaching suppliers

You’ve got your mood-board and decided to TFP or collaborate, so where do you go now? Instagram and Facebook Groups for wedding suppliers can be great places to find the right suppliers if you don’t already have some in mind.

A - Create a list of desired suppliers.
Start with suppliers that you love, whose style and vibe matches yours. A supplier is much more likely to be interested in taking part of you show you have done your research about them and how your working together will create perfectly aligned images for you both.

B - Create a shoot proposal.
Consider giving your suppliers more than just a link to a Pinterest board. Suppliers will be approached to do shoots all the time, make yours stand-out for the right reasons. List the expectations for the image use, what they can use, when they will receive etc.

C - Email them, don’t Dm.
With our busy schedules it is so tempting to slide into the DM’s, but a more professional and considered approach is to create a bespoke email for each supplier. If you have a list of multiple suppliers for one thing (for example, multiple dress boutiques), do not email them all at once. Approach one supplier first, get their reply and if they are not available, then approach the second and so on. This will save your from any awkwardness if more than one supplier wants to take part, and is just good courtesy.

D - Sign their terms.
Most suppliers will have a ‘waiver’ or terms to sign. This gives them security that will you agree to pay a fee for example, should the item you are borrowing be tarnished or lost in the post etc. Suppliers are incredibly generous in giving us very expensive items, it is only right we look after them. It will also state when and how you are expected to return that item (for example, one or two working days after the shoot). Do all this to the letter. If you look after the supplier and the items, they will not forget it and often be keen to lend you items again in the future.

5 - Finding models

One thing I will often allocate some budget for is a model. There are plenty of TFP models available of course, however, I will often at least pay their travel/lunch, a model can make or break your shoot. Your model will bring one of the most important element for your shoot, the human element! They will interact with most of the suppliers work, the dress, the accessories, the table-scape the venue. they will bring it all to life. Also consider without payment/their usual day fee, some models may need to cancel at short notice if another better paying job is offered. (Not saying this is right or wrong at all, no shade huns).

Instagram: Yup the gram is a great place to find models! Search hashtags for those in your area/shoot location. Model couples especially are likely to have ‘model couple’ and be searchable for that.

Model fees: If booking a model via an agency, expect to pay the model fee + agency fee + travel fee in some cases. If your budget is lower, look at the New Faces board for models signed who need test shoots (TFP, or TFP + travel fee for example).

Couple models: Using two models that actually are a couple is always more beneficial than putting two models together who aren’t. You simply don’t get the same chemistry (as talented as they are), and more intimate poses such as kissing are just a massive no, because courtesy.
Couple model fees can be from £250 per couple per day, but can be upwards of £500.

Polite note: When arranging a shoot featuring LGBTQ+ couples, please only hire LGBTQ+ model couples, request their pro-nouns, don’t assume how they identify (gender, sexuality included). There have been instances in the industry where non-LGBTQ+ models have been hired and portrayed to be so, this is damaging for the LGTBQ+ community, and is just not courteous to your models or suppliers working on the shoot.
For some tips on this, please follow Stephanie Dreams Photography and check out her LGBTQ+ Story Highlight. @stephaniedreamsphotography

6 - Send a call-list

Before the shoot, create a call-list for the shoot day itself. This lists who will be on set, when they are needed on set, and any information they will need for the shoot. Also, list all of the suppliers contact details, social media instructions, and remind them of the image terms and when you will next be in touch.

7 - Shoot the dang thing!

Have fun! You have put all the hard work into creating this and your organisation will pay off.

Get a banging playlist of tunes together to create some atmosphere. Go with the flow, don’t feel you have to re-create your mood-board in entirety, use it as inspiration to create something of your own.

Suggested shot list:

In addition to the shots you want, this is the check-list I follow. This makes sure my suppliers are happy, and I can really flesh out the images for a blog post and social media to advertise to wedding couples too.

Venue exterior and interior shots. Get some gorgeous shots of the venue who have been kind enough to let you use their space, get wide shots and close-ups of details and the things that catch your eye about it.

Behind the scenes photos of make-up, the stylist and florist setting up and provide these in your final gallery (trust me, they will love you for it).

Flat-lay - these are particularly lovely to include of the accessories on a bridal styled shoot. Use the venue surroundings, or bring a flat-lay mat with you.

‘Safe’ shots - this might sound obvious but get wide shots and close-ups of every single supplier item. Do this before you get creative with everything else so you can really use that time knowing you have all the shots your suppliers will absolutely be expecting.

‘Creative’ shots - Check your mood-board, but then take a step away and just shoot, shoot, shoot!

8 - After the shoot and delivering your images

Make sure you have returned all your items in the way your supplier has asked you to. Do your ‘highlights’ edit, if you don’t have time to edit the gallery in full first, and email the gallery with your sharing terms. Give them an expected date for the full gallery if you can too. Thank your suppliers again for being absolutely awesome.

9 - Share that shoot!

In every post on every picture, TAG the suppliers within each shot in the image itself, and mention @ every supplier on the shoot too. This is not just courteous to your suppliers, but this way they are most likely to share your posts and get more eyeballs on your account. When you share their posts, tag them in the insta story too. If in doubt, tag and mention!

READY TO GO!?

I would love to know if you found this guide useful and to see the results from your own shoots. Follow me on @katierogersphotography or email me right here.

HAPPY SNAPPING! x

Credits for shoot featured
Massive thank you to these babes for bringing it all to life:

Make-up: Off Duty Weddings
Model: Hannah Pratt
Long-dress featured - Boutique: Love In Lace
Long-dress featured - Designer: Hera Couture
Ear-rings: The Lucky Sixpence
Veil and skirt: Rebecca Anne Designs
Furniture: Elysian Styling Company
Drapes: The Fantastical Events Company
Second Photographers: Lisa Devlin and Jessica Bevan
Location: The Brighton Studio