- Mar 30, 2022

HOW TO COLLABORATE AND ORGANIZE A STYLED SHOOT

Organizing events with multiple vendors is never easy, especially when the photographer is typically in charge of the vision, organizing, and finding other creatives. I have broken down the steps I take to plan and organize styled shoots, from the mood boards to selecting vendors, I have you covered!

What is a collaboration in the photography world?

A collaboration is when creatives come together to create a shoot together. Everyone is donating their time, energy, and talents to create an epic shoot.

What to include in your mood board?

When you are working with a group of creatives, it is very helpful to have a mood board. It helps everyone be on the same page for color, aesthetic, and style. I try to always have a photo for each specific creative to use as a reference. Remember that it is a collaboration, allow the other people involved to give ideas and feedback! Multiple minds are always better than one.

How do you ask other creatives to participate?

Simple, send them an email or message. Living in the world of social media makes this part less tricky than you would think.

What to include in your message:

Date of the shoot
The vision for the shoot
Mood Board
Why this particular creative would make a great addition to the team
What you expect them to contribute
What you are contributing

Example:

Hey ______,

My name is Ashley and I am a photographer from Lexington, Kentucky. I have been following your work for a while and I love your creativity. I was so inspired by your body positive projects.

I am currently organizing an editorial styled shoot collaboration for July 2nd, 2021. I would be honored to have you collaborate for this shoot and I think you would be a perfect fit for this vision! Since this is a collaboration, all of the creatives involved are donating their time and talents to make this shoot happen. You will receive all of the edited images from the shoot to use on social media and your website!

Below I attached a mood board for the project. If you are interested, let me know! I would love to hear your ideas for this shoot.

Thank you for your time!

Ashley

Make sure you are very clear that it's a collaborative shoot and that the payment would be photos. Sometimes, even if you make this clear, people might respond with pricing. Don't feel discouraged! Simply let them know again that it's a collaborative shoot but you would love to work with them in the future.

You have your concept, team, and plan.. now what?

Now that you have the plan and team for your shoot it's time to think about posing. I try to have ideas before the shoot so I don't feel as stressed when shooting. Most of the time I am able to feed off of the models posing and tweak it from there! The best part about a shoot like this is that you are able to do exactly what you are wanting. Get creative and try out new techniques.