10 Lessons From My First Styled Shoot

Let's get real. I have been wanting to do a styled shoot for FOREVER, okay maybe not forever... but definitely a significant amount of time. The reason I kept putting it off was because I had no idea on how to start. Any of my fellow creatives who has pulled one, or several of these off, knows it's a lot of work. A lot of time and care go into this: weeks if not months of planning, countless hours of coordinating with other vendors, finding the perfect aesthetic, seeking out the perfect models, and of course the actual setup/day of work. 

Here's the thing though, at first I was intimidated by the work... but to be completely candid I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF THE PROCESS. I am by no means an expert but I'd like to share 10 things I learned along the way as I planned my styled shoot. Mind you, the list definitely goes on and I'd love to grab coffee or margs to discuss more nuances if you're game!

10 Tips for Planning Your Styled Shoot:
1) Keep all of your receipts and track your expenses.

2) For filler props use what you have, don't worry about everything being brand new, or when in doubt as a friend if you can borrow something.

3) Find inspiration online and make a moodboard, but don't feel like you have to make a carbon copy of what inspires you.

4) Create a timeline, setup, and shooting plan for the day of. Again, it's great to have a posing moodboard lined up if you get stuck and keep resorting to the same poses you always do. 

5) Pick everything up as early as you can so you're not running around as much on the day of.

6) Once you've found the right people to model for you go over your plan of action for the big day so they know what to expect.

7) Use some of the interests/likes of your models to really pull out their personality while you shoot.

8) Ask a friend to come along and get some behind the scenes shots of the day, and to get some photos/videos of you in action. 

9) Have some sort of refreshment handy for everyone so no gets hangry, and you can get some fun food pictures too.

10) Put on some music, relax, and enjoy the creative process! ​