Last year I attended a styled shoot hosted by Styled Shoots Across America. They’re owned by the ultra-talented Heather Benge and are known for putting together lush, over-the-top styled shoots where photographers can grow their portfolios. SSAA hosts two types of shoots – smaller ones with one theme and one location; and larger, all-day shoot crawls (like the one I attended) that have a variety of looks, models, and themes.

I attended a shoot crawl at Wadley Farms in Lindon, Utah. It is a stunning venue with multiple ceremony locations, gardens, and buildings on site. There is everything a photographer could possibly ask for, from a castle with tall gothic windows, an intimate bungalow full of cozy nooks, and even a vineyard!

Today I want to detail everything a photographer might need to know before attending an SSAA event! To learn more about their shoots, click here. Read on for all my best tips!

Before you go

Your first step should be to look through the SSAA website to see which mood boards and styles match your brand best. Many photographers, including myself, use these shoots as a creative boost and a way to add new looks to your portfolio.

Once you find the event you want to attend, act quickly! Tickets sell out quickly and you really don’t want to miss out. Crawl shoots have a morning and afternoon option so it might be helpful to research the weather in the area you pick so you can anticipate what time of day will best suit your portfolio needs.

I’d also highly recommend joining SSAA’s Facebook page. It is an excellent place to connect with other photographers and vendors, get details about upcoming shoots, and gather ideas to help you get the most out of your SSAA experience.

If you buy tickets for a shoot out of state or in a new area, consider arriving early or staying a few days after the shoot to really bulk up your portfolio! I am local to Utah, but a few of the out-of-state photographers who attended the Wadley Farms shoot crawl decided to extend their trip and take advantage of our local beauty. Once we traded contact information we were able to help those photographers plan additional shoots on the Salt Flats, up in the mountains, and even down in the southern Utah National Parks.

A month before

Prior to your scheduled shoot, you will receive an email with all your location details and the other photographers you’ll be working with day-of. Also included in your email will be a general timeline for the day of your shoot. This will include a time to check-in, a scheduled welcome briefing, the time your shoot will begin, and what time you’ll take breaks and wrap for the day.

The Day of

When the big day finally arrives for you to attend the SSAA shoot, I would recommend showing up a little bit early to check what equipment you’ll need to bring in with you. On the shoot I attended at Wadley Farms, I noticed that two of my shoots would be indoors. I grabbed my flashes and got them set up before the shoot even started which saved me a lot of valuable shoot time.

Once everybody arrives you’ll be split into groups of 4 or 5 and move through the photography stations together. It is an exciting day full of gorgeous images to be captured, but it also requires some serious teamwork and patience with yourself, the models, and other photographers.

Here are some specific day-of tips that everybody who attends an SSAA shoot should keep in mind:

You will be with the same group all day, so play nice! Chat with your group members and work to establish some ground rules for how much time each photographer gets. My group settled on rotating ourselves every 3 minutes.
Share your photography style with your group and know when it’s your time to step aside. For example, one of the stations at the Wadley Farms shoot crawl featured lots of bright red florals and accents. Since red isn’t one of my brand or aesthetic colors, I let other photographers take the lead and I only shot a few secondary images. Later when we photographed a couple inside, my group let me take the lead since they knew my preference for flash photography.
Don’t forget to drink water and eat some snacks! SSAA provides water and snack stations to keep you perky all day long. I also think it’s worth it to bring your own water bottle to stay extra hydrated. You’ll likely be in the sun for hours and that can tire you out really quickly!

After the Shoot

After the photoshoot, you’ll be emailed a large list of vendors who participated at each station of your styled shoot. Make sure to send your galleries to all of these vendors! This not only helps your work be seen by others, but it is great exposure for your brand if the vendors share your images on social media. Plus it is always a great idea to build relationships with other wedding vendors.

I hope this post has helped! I highly, highly recommend Styled Shoots Across America to all photographers looking to build up their portfolios! Their shoots are professionally and beautifully done and you’ll walk away with memory cards full and loads of new contacts in the wedding industry.