Rock Your Styled Shoot with Jewels Gray
Styled shoots are my thang. They are—I love them!
They give me a chance to be creative and shoot what I want to shoot, rather than always just shooting someone else’s wedding (maybe I should have been a wedding planner or designer in another life)!
The first thing you want to do is come up with your purpose. Why do a styled shoot? Is it to build your portfolio? To get a chance to shoot at a certain venue or work with certain vendors? Is it to get published? The beauty of styled shoots is that it can be all of these things and more!
Sometimes you might be the one putting it together, and sometimes you might get invited to be the photographer on someone else’s vision. Either way, the benefits are endless.
If you’re just starting out, this is a great way to build your portfolio. These images will give you something to show potential clients to prove you know what you’re doing, and also give you content for marketing. You’ll have something to show at bridal shows, post on your website and social media, etc.
One of my first styled shoots called “Gold Rush Glam” was one I did with a wedding planner friend of mine. She did all the planning and designing, and I took over the timeline of the shoot. I made an album of this shoot and still show it today as a studio sample!
I obsess about my concepts
Coming up with a concept is half the battle. Where do you find inspiration or what inspires you? I love doing things that haven’t been done before, or doing a theme that is played out but doing it in a totally different way. I find inspiration from movies mostly. I can’t help but see it on the screen and think, “This would make a great wedding shoot!”
