It is with super nerves and trembling excitement that I’m announcing my very first Styled Shoot today! I have been dreaming of doing a styled shoot for over a year now, but I’d never gotten up the courage to tell anyone else or contact any vendors. But I decided to take the leap, trust my gut, and go for it.

 

The theme for this shoot is something that’s real to me. My husband and I don’t care too much for Valentine’s Day, because so often it feels like a commercialized expression of love. I want our love – and this shoot – to be more raw, more real, more personal than that.  I want this shoot to encourage being authentic in showing our love to each other…and what better way to do that than an old-fashioned love letter?

I’m rebelling against candy hearts and copied greeting cards, words given to you, my lover, that were written by someone who doesn’t know you. No, Valentine’s Day is not for them. It’s for us, and I won’t let them put words in my mouth. Fake, stamped words produced in the masses could never match the singularity of our love. I’ll do it myself, and with tear-stained pages and frenzied, smeared ink I’ll share my love with you in a way only we’ll understand: In a letter.

We have three main goals for our styled shoot:

One, of course, is simply to create something beautiful. To drive our passion and enjoy the beauty of it all, and give tangibility to an idea coursing through my blood.

Another is to provide opportunities for other photographers to expand their portfolio images, but also to meet and network with other local photographers, learn from each other, befriend and encourage each other. While I am not labeling this shoot a “workshop,” I am definitely going to be talking out loud about what I am shooting, why I am doing what I’m doing, talking about posing, shooting for vendors, and shooting for publications. After the shooting is over and the sun has gone down, we will have a small fire in my backyard and we will chat over smores and answer each other’s questions in a very open forum.

And, last but just as importantly, we want to increase exposure for our amazing vendors. Every photographer participating will be asked to provide images to each of our vendors, and to also tag all vendors in any blog post or other social media. We also hope is to see our shoot be featured on a blog. So, while photographers will be free to use images in their portfolio and post on their blog, they will need to sign a contract stating they will wait to do so until after we have submitted the session to be featured.

The shoot will be held at my home in Severn, on December 19th. Our yard has a bit of forest-y area, and we will have a log table and log chairs with a chandelier hanging above. We will also have the dessert bar, a details styling bar to practice shooting the invitation suite and jewelry, a ceremony arch, and a gorgeous, sweet young couple to photograph.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about the team I have gathered, because this is going to be amazing!
My second shooter and friend, Sarah Wells of Freckleblossom Photography, has a much better eye for design than I do, so I knew I needed her on my team as my co-host and lead designer (she has the final say on Things to Include and Things Not to Include). Tiffany Rueckert, a floral designer at Belvedere Farms, has impeccable taste and will be supplying us with our bouquet, boutonniere, table runner, and all things flowers. Tracy Love of Whipped. Cakes & Confections, whom I featured on my blog two weeks ago, will be making our cake (a naked one!) and styling the dessert table. Katie Price will be providing rentals as well as jewelry from Chloe and Isabel for our Details Styling Bar. Corbett Frazier, an extremely talented calligrapher, has AMAZING THINGS planned for us….I think I’m going to keep this one a secret because it’s probably my favorite part. Cindy Wells, owner of Love & Lace Bridal Boutique in Edgewater will be providing a gorgeous dress for our model. Our bride will have hair and make up done by the lovely Katie Ackley.

Because this is my first Styled Shoot ever, I’m doing something crazy and offering spots for only $75. None of this money will be kept for me; it will all go back into the shoot. This group will be my beta testing group and I will probably never offer a shoot for that price again! Plus, if you sign up before Thanksgiving, you’ll get my “Black Friday” deal of $50. You can sign up by clicking the Paypal link on the side of my blog!

If you’re interested and you have more questions, feel free to email me at meghan@meghanrosephotography.com