A Styled Bridal Portrait Session with a Kamloops Wedding Photographer
How I brought my vision to life and a step-by-step guide for photographers to plan their own styled bridal session.
As a photographer, styled sessions are a great way to build up that portfolio; but my favourite part about them is having total creative freedom to bring my vision to life. I’m lucky in the sense that most of my clients have put their full trust in me for their weddings and sessions anyway, allowing me to find my own locations based on their vision. But with styled sessionss, not only does it give me total freedom to do whatever the heck I want, but I also give the vendors creative freedom as well by sending them a few inspiration photos but mainly letting them do their own thing based on the vision board. Working with vendors in (and out) of the industry helps build relationships and trust between one another. We love that!
The Location
Whenever I’m on the hunt for a location for any session or wedding, I always have a vision in the back of my mind. Whether it’s inspiration from Pinterest or a specific vibe/look I’m going for, I’ve always enjoyed the game of finding the perfect spot. For my styled session, I knew I wanted an open field with mountain views and trees in the background. When I came across this location near Inks Lake on the way to Lac Le Jeune, I immediately fell in love. It had this beautiful field with the mountains perfectly framing my viewfinder, the sun was going to be setting in just the right direction, and I left happy; knowing I found the perfect spot. It even had some purple wild flowers which of course we used to our advantage!
The Models
The models were by far the easiest part of the planning process for me. I met Kailey and Adam when they modelled for me for another shoot earlier this year. Their chemistry is undeniable, they’re complete naturals in front of the camera, and the love between them radiates with every click of my camera. Although they aren’t engaged or married, I think they had a lot of fun playing dress-up for the evening and spending some intentional, uninterrupted time together.
The Vendors
I had such an amazing group of women taking part in this styled session. Connecting with other small business owners in Kamloops, especially women, brings me such joy!
Hair: Shantelle with White Rose Bridal Hair (@whiterosebridalhair)
I seriously enjoyed working with this lovely mother of 2. Shantelle has been a hair stylist for 7 years, but she launched her bridal hair business in 2018 when she realized her true passion was working solely with brides and bridal parties to create that perfect look for their special day. If you’re looking for a hairstylist for your wedding day, look no further! Find her website here.
Makeup: Danielle with Renegade Beauty (@renegade.beauty.co)
Danielle was such a great addition to the styled shoot. She is an accomplished Makeup Artist born and raised in Kamloops, BC. Over the last 22 years, her work often takes her to Sun Peaks, Shuswap, Clearwater, Vancouver and various other locations throughout BC. I’d recommend Danielle to any friend or client. Find her website here.
Dress + Jewelry: Netanya with Thrifty By Ney (@thriftybyney)
Netanya is someone I randomly came across on Instagram shortly after my husband and I moved to Kamloops. She finds the BEST thrifted clothing (and takes way too much of my money LOL). When planning the styled shoot, I knew right away I wanted to support second hand shopping and have Netanya find me the perfect thrifted wedding dress — and that she did! Follow her on Instagram here where she posts weekly story sales.
Florals: Kaeli C Photography
I actually had 2 florists lined up, both of which had other commitments come up and couldn’t make it work. But what’s a bridal shoot without florals?! I dusted off my own wedding bouquet that I DIY’d for my October 2021 wedding, and it ended up working out perfectly. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but that will never stop me! There’s always another way.
How to plan a styled photoshoot: for photographers
Styled photoshoots are a great way to build your portfolio, but my favourite part is having total creative freedom to bring my vision to life. I like giving the vendors creative freedom as well, by sending them a few inspiration photos but also letting them do their own thing. Working with vendors in (and out) of the industry helps build relationships and trust between one another. Having a support system is key!
I often get asked by fellow photographers how I plan my styled sessions. Here’s my step-by-step guide for my planning process:
Step 1: create your vision
My favourite way to get all my ideas out in front of me is to start by creating a Pinterest board for the session, followed by a vision board/mood board. It’s super easy to create a vision board (I used Canva) by simply gathering inspiration photos for your session. You can take them directly from Pinterest and play around with your colour palette. I highly recommend having a colour palette for your mood board, this makes it easy to pull inspiration from various photos and sources. This is also a great thing to send to the models and vendors participating. It gives them a clear idea of your vision and they can then use that while brainstorming ideas for themselves for the session. Plus it gets them hyped up to see everything come together!
Here’s the vision board I created for my session on August 8, 2022:
I knew I wanted to go with a laid-back, autumn vibe with a lot of warmth.
Step 2: find your vendors
This is the most intimidating part for a lot of photographers. I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge believer in community over competition. Other photographers and vendors in your community are not your competition — there’s enough room for everyone at the table, especially with how big the wedding industry is! There’s definitely no shortage of weddings here in Kamloops and in the Thompson-Okanagan in general.
The first step to finding vendors for your styled photoshoot is to just put yourself out there! It helps to reach out to people you’ve already connected and interacted with. All I did was message a few of my connections/friends in the industry (hair stylists, florists, makeup artists, etc.), told them about my project, and asked if they’d like to join. There are a couple of options on how you can compensate them for their time and efforts:
1) You can offer access to the full gallery in exchange for their services (my gallery had 200+ images). I love this option because it gives the vendors social media content, advertising material, and new photos they can use on their website. In this day and age, it’s always nice to have updated photos to be able to use for your socials!
Note: be sure to make conversation, compliment their work, and interact with them like you would any other client. You’re not asking them to give you their services for free, you’re offering to collaborate with them. Some people will love it, some people won’t. That’s okay!
2) You can pay them for their services. This is another great option because it supports the vendors in the most traditional way.
Step 3: find your models
Depending how many people you know, this may be the easiest part of the whole process. Maybe you have a couple in mind, but you can also hold a model call on social media. Who wouldn’t want to spend an intimate evening together, playing dress up, and getting hundreds of free photos on top of it all? For myself, I knew exactly who I wanted as my models. Kailey and Adam were models for me earlier in the year, and their chemistry is undeniable. They’re crazy in love, naturals in front of the camera, and were totally up for taking part. Even though they aren’t engaged or married, I think they still had a great time playing newlyweds for the night.
Something to consider when you’re planning a styled bridal shoot is the outfits. A great option is to find models who are already married and still have their wedding outfits. But if you’re like me and want to support additional vendors, you can collab with someone who rents wedding attire or even thrifts!
Step 4: find a location
Finding a location is one of the best parts of this process. Start by having a vision or idea of what you want your photos to look like. For me, this was an open field with mountain views and trees in the background. After you know what you’re looking for, it’s as simple as driving around searching for a spot that speaks to you. Or better yet, maybe you have a spot you’ve shot at before that would work perfectly!
Step 5: enjoy the art that you’ve created (and take your time!)
You read that right — you’re creating ART. You’re an artist. Take your time planning this (I started planning almost 3 months before the session) and enjoy the process. Enjoy being able to have total creative freedom to do whatever the heck you want. And lastly, take your time! Tell your models that you’re going to be out for a few hours and don’t rush.
You’ve got all the steps, now go rock your own styled photoshoot!
xo, kaeli
I’ve been thinking about starting content days — this is where my fellow photographers would have the opportunity to come shoot a styled shoot that I’ve done all the behind the scenes work for. All you have to do is show up with your camera, and get ready to add some epic shots to your portfolio. If you’d be interested in taking part, let me know below!
If you’re interested in joining me on my next styled session (as a vendor or a model) — email me!
kaelicphotography@gmail.com
