What are styled shoots & why do photographers do them?
Short & Sweet
A styled shoot is a staged photoshoot that help to build a portfolio for vendors.
Long Story Long
Styled shoots are staged photoshoots that help photographers and other vendors in a variety of different ways. Most typically, styled shoots are set up as wedding shoots, since weddings tend to encompass several vendors it's a good way to have lots of different people involved in a shoot. These shoots can be used for marketing, to build a portfolio or as a way to build relationships in the industry.
1. Building Their Portfolio
Sometimes photographers don't have a ton of work to show in a specific location that they want to shoot in more or they want to transition to a different style or genre of photography. A great example of this would be if a photographer that has historically shot more large weddings is now wanting to transition to shoot more intimate weddings. It's hard to trust someone when they don't have a lot of examples to show you, so this is where styled shoots can help to showcase their work or skills.
2. Trying New Techniques
This kind of ties in with the last reason, but trying out new techniques can be another reason for participating in a styled shoot. It doesn't always feel great to treat paying clients like a guinea pig. This is one of my favorite reasons for participating in a styled shoot. I love trying new, different, and even weird things at styled shoots to see what I can learn and adapt for a paid session. This is also a great opportunity to push creativity and step outside the box a little bit. There are typically several other photographers at styled shoots and I always try to get different shots than other attendees and sometimes that isn't the easiest thing to make happen.
3. Showing Clients New Possibilities
The beauty of a styled shoot is being able to have full control of everything you're photographing, which means being able to show clients a new world of possibilities sometimes. You don't know what you don't know, right? If you've never seen someone take their engagement photos on a mountain before you probably wouldn't know that's something you can request or do.
4. Vendor Connections
Connections are such an important part of any industry, but especially within the wedding industry. Weddings are typically a large party and have tons of moving parts to make the couple's vision happen. There are typically several vendors that come together on a wedding day (florists, venue, hair & make-up artists, photographer, videographer, catering, bakery, and MORE). It's really nice to be able to make connects and learn who you work well with and also be able to refer folks to others who are trusted. I would much rather refer you to a baker that I trust than to someone I found off the Internet who might not take making your wedding cake seriously.
