If you know me, you know I LOVE to plan. There’s nothing more fun to me than planning out a trip, vacation, or event and making everything line up perfectly with tons of little goodies and fun surprises mixed in. When I started Professional Photography almost 2 years ago, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I’d be planning my first events. This week, I wanted to take you all through a bit of what the planning process has looked like for me so far, and OF COURSE I’ll have to check in after to let you know how it went and everything I learned.
As always, grab a blanket, a seat, and your favorite coffee or tea – and let’s get into the ins and outs of planning my Styled Shoot!
Nailing Down the Vibes
Now, I know spring is usually all about the bright sunshine, pastel colors, and cute prints. However, I wanted to base my styled shoot with a vibe that’s not as usual when it comes to Springtime. Recently, I was reading a book based on a couple set in the 1920’s. A large part of the book was about how they’d constantly send letters to each-other back and forth (I swear, sending letters needs to come back!), and I just couldn’t shake the idea when it came to planning this shoot.
Now, I didn’t want the shoot to just be people writing letters – I wanted to connect more with the emotions that come with the “simpler” times, the warm feelings, the longing to hear back, the excitement when you finally hear from them for the first time in weeks. A ton of inspiration is drawn from the feelings I associate with anything warm and vintage, yet also classy and elevated at the same time.
To Pinterest & Beyond…
Ahh, Pinterest… I swear, sometimes I use and get more out of Pinterest than I do any other website or platform that I use. Anyway – I like to use Pinterest for this Styled Shoot because so much of the planning has been based on feelings and emotions – rather than a specific type of look I’m trying to draw inspiration from. Choosing my inspo more by the feeling and overall look to each image helps to keep my brain from being distracted from all of the shiny tablescapes and extras that I don’t need or that don’t align with my vision for this specific shoot.
I made searches like “moody spring aesthetic” and “vintage couple shoot” to find the perfect creative direction that I had in mind, and now have a stockpile of images that I can compare and contrast with more specific details like clothing choices, flower arrangements, and other props to be sure that everything matches seamlessly and effortlessly. Finishing my Event Moodboard meant moving on to finding a Venue to match.
Location, Location, Location
I’m so, SO, lucky to be surrounded by so many beautifully talented Photographers – all across the state of North Carolina. However, this makes planning Styled Shoots a little difficult for me. I have so many friends that I’ve met in this industry – but man y’all sure do know how to spread out. So I chose to just go with searching for a venue that matched the vibe I was going for the most, and just going from there in regards to headcount and attendees. I put together a list of a few different venues in Charlotte/Concord, Raleigh/Durham, and Winston-Salem/High Point and got to work on reaching out to them to see what their availability looked like for the dates I’m aiming for in May. I got an almost-immediate response from the Skyroom in Moncure, NC and didn’t hesitate in taking the opportunity to snag their venue for this event.
The Line-Up so Far
Now, I won’t bore you too much with the BTS process – a lot of it really is a “hurry up and wait” game; sending emails, waiting for responses, sending planning packets, waiting for more responses. Until, of course, you receive a “YES” from someone, and then it becomes a consistent flow of information back and forth. Instead, I want to give you all a sneak peak into a few details that have already been planned…
For this event, I currently am planning for 2-3 solo models and 1 couple, with all of the models rotating between inside and outside of the venue. I’ll have a makeup artist, hair stylist, and content creator all on-site starting at around 11:30/12:00am to get the models ready for the day, and am currently planning for a coffee bar, tiramisu cake, charcuterie table/setup, custom florist, and of course I’ll be recruiting my husband to help me with any drapery, other props, lighting setup, and so on. Shoot time for Photographers will begin around 2/2:30pm and go on until about 7:00/7:30pm. There’s a few other goodies to plan as well, but I can’t spoil everything before the ticket release… (even though I definitely want to) – just be sure to stay up-to-date for now through my Instagram posts and stories!
To my Fellow Creatives
I’m SO excited to meet and get to work with so many of you at this Styled Shoot. I feel so lucky to have secured such a beautiful location with such amazing vendors to help bring all of my ideas to life.
If you’re wanting to join an email list closer to the day of the event (to stay informed on any updates, changes, and the vendor list for your posts) – please feel free to let me know! Anyone purchasing a ticket will also be tied into this list as well, so definitely keep your eyes peeled for the info and ticket release coming up on 04/01!
Otherwise – I’ll see you there! Talk soon, friends!
Katelynn | Ruhe Liebe Photography
