Have you ever tried to tune a piano, without a piano? Or taught a class with zero students in attendance? Photography is a similar pursuit in that, without a subject, I have nothing to photograph. With all the craziness that 2020 has brought to entrepreneurs around the world, we creative business owners have to get, well, creative with how we can continually market our business.

I’ve been so lucky to sustain my business with beautiful brides all throughout the year, but I’ve also had the chance to participate in several styled shoots over the past few years, and I realized that if you haven’t had consistent work over the past few months, you might be wondering how to get new photos to post. I have found styled shoots to be a game-changer in terms of collecting that new content and also making connections in my industry.

Today, I’d like to share with you some tips for putting together your own styled shoot, whether your motivation is to connect with others, get more images to post, or to trade with another business for something of value to you!

Before we start…

Here are a few things to keep in mind about your styled shoot:

You can use this shoot to attract your dream client, so focus on gathering props and other collaborators that will contribute to an end photo that you’d use to appeal to your target audience.
You don’t have to be in the wedding industry to find value in a styled shoot. You can do a lifestyle/home- or office-themed shoot, or even an outdoor shoot with clothing and products suited to that locale.
Set your personal goals for the shoot in advance before you start contacting other collaborators. What are you hoping to get out of this shoot? What are you hoping to spend?

Step One: Find Collaborators

If you’ve already got some friends in mind to join up with for this shoot, awesome! Working in the creative small business industry is so valuable to me as it allows me to work alongside close friends on many occasions, but I also recommend you use this shoot as an opportunity to expand your horizons and meet some new people.

Start contacting local people on Instagram to see if they’d be interested in joining up with you. Work out payment details or how they’ll contribute, both monetarily and with their time and labor, and put together a contract for all collaborators to sign so your bases are all covered.

Step Two: Nail Down the Details

Use your pre-determined budget wisely to book the venue for your styled shoot and to acquire the necessary props. If you’re utilizing a professional model, make sure they are available for your chosen date and work out their payment details and contract in advance.

Lean on the other collaborators to help make sure you’ve covered all your bases. Working with a team in this sense is great because you all benefit from a smooth shoot, so everyone has a vested interest in making sure things work out in the best way!

Step Three: Plan the Shoot

I always recommend having a team strategy meeting or at least making your own shot list as the photographer to make sure you’re not leaving anything to chance. After all the work each collaborator is putting into this shoot, you’d hate for one to hardly get any photos of their product.

Make a list in your phone’s Notes app or a cheat sheet somewhere you can bring with you the day of. I love bringing someone with me, like a creative teen or good friend to be my “assistant” and help me double-check that I’m not forgetting anything, staying hydrated and fed, and to be an extra set of eyes for tags, stray hairs, or upside-down books (learned that lesson the hard way!).

Step Four: The Day of

Here’s the fun part! I love the energetic atmosphere at a styled shoot where everyone’s creative juices are flowing. Remember to be excited, not stressed — after all, you’ve planned it all out ahead of time!

You might enjoy planning a group dinner with everyone after the shoot is over, just to celebrate.

Step Five: Delivering the Photos

As the photographer, your part isn’t over after you leave the shoot — now it’s time to edit! Make sure you can deliver a decent number of images to each participating vendor, whatever “number” you deem that to be. Also, I like to diversify the product shots between close-up, detail shots, and faraway shots, and between both portrait and landscape shots. This allows the collaborators to get more bang for their buck out of this shoot.

Be timely and courteous in your delivery of photos, and don’t forget to include all participating vendors’ social links and handles so they can be tagged for their efforts! I love participating in styled photoshoots and sharing all the beautiful images at the end of the team project. I hope you do, too!