Roundtable in Circle Community

How to prepare for a style shoot photography session

With Rebecca Raymond and Gina Thresher, EMC Teachers

Both Rebecca and Gina are well known for their own weddings and events floristry, and it was with great excitement that we learnt that they had collaborated on a Style Shoot and were prepared to go through the entire process for the benefit of the viewers of the Round Table series.

Gina started by welcoming everyone to the third of the Round Table Discussions, introducing Rebecca and herself, explaining that they were going to present ideas on Style Shoots, and how they had planned and carried out one particular shoot. They had completed this as a collaboration and they wanted to share with the viewers some of the concepts involved. They intend to ‘walk’ through the way to do a styled shoot.  They were unsure how many of the viewers would have been involved in styled shoots but recommend it as a really fun way to advertise your business. It is a marketing event, and they used this one very much to promote eco-friendly methods and sustainability. They were very conscious of what they were using down to all the smallest details. As Rebecca commented, they did it with all sustainable practices in place, and they had a lot of fun in investigating and researching how to make that happen. 

They realised that designers don’t often get the opportunity to do all the planning and research, because they have to work with an events planner. As a designer, it is good to take the responsibility and have the opportunity to do your own styled shoot. It allows you to be in charge of the process.  Within this process, they even put together their own task, because there was so much information that could be gained by that, and they could show it to other people. They were very happy to be able to share this with the viewers, and it was not only that but if they want to have a ‘deep dive’, as far as things are for their own styled shoot, they would go through the process clearly to help them. They would go through all the different aspects, even down to being able to send out an information sheet which they had put together.  Basically, they would go through every aspect from building a colour board, and project management to cover everything. All of this is included on the sheet, and anyone interested in having one should let them know. They are there to help in any way they can. 

Rebecca began by encouraging all those that are watching the video, not just to look at what is on the screen and think that what they are seeing is ‘fun, pretty things’ and that it is ‘really cool the way that they have done that’. Both she and Gina would be sharing with the viewers how it has been done, so that they, in turn, can do it themselves. They hope that the viewers will keep this in mind all the time that they are watching, and that it is something that they can take in, keep thinking about, and be aware that it is something that they are capable of doing themselves.  As Gina had already said, if anyone wanted further details, they would be happy to let them have them; and it is a lot of fun to do.

Gina started to explain how they had approached it, with the ball being in their court as they planned it all and definitely took the reins. They planned it fully, as they wanted to be in charge of the ornamentals, but they did also confer.They sourced everything down to the invites, cake, and everything. Doing it this way, it was within their power to build relationships in their area, so they decided to go with the planners too, to get them on board. They had sent Gina and Rebecca a mood board as well, through collaborating with Rebecca, and this could now be seen on the screen. You could get a feel of the kind of venue that they had chosen. It gave a very clean backdrop, very sleek and modern. The ceilings are incredibly high. The stylist had used them previously for another shoot for a photographer, and they had also been there for a mini session during the holidays, when they had been able to put their heads together to make suggestions towards their own style shoot.

The original sketches were done by Gina on napkins, as they talked things through, coming up with a range of ideas. Eventually, they decided to do something really to celebrate springtime, incorporating more bamboo for the trail, and it came together very beautifully. They just sketched it out roughly and then Gina redid it neatly so that everyone could understand it.  They both said how important it is to sketch things properly

Rebecca reiterated how important it is to have a ’coffee cup brainstorm’ as part of the design process, when you literally put down any idea that comes to mind. They knew that they wanted to have a spring floral shoot and they wanted it to be light and fresh. The ceilings in the venue are twenty feet high, but it is a very small room, so they decided that they wanted to make a dramatic statement piece in this very small venue, known as the ‘Micro Venue’.  Within the brainstorming of the ideas, they came up with the concepts that they knew they wanted, including using plants. They wanted it to be a sustainable, eco-friendly design concept and, as they sketched ideas onto the napkins they made ‘little chicken scratches, with figures and designs.’ Gina took those little ‘chicken figures and scratches’ diagrams on the napkins and produced the beautiful sketch, shown in the picture..  If the viewers cannot draw, they shouldn’t worry about it, because even if you have the concept in rough, you can go from there.  Gina had turned their little ideas into the sketch, which she was then able to take to the rest of the team, giving them a really good visual of what they were suggesting.  

Gina again stated how super important the sketches had been.  In EMC, we do discuss which comes first – the sketch or the product.  In this case, it was definitely the sketch because they had zero clues to where they were going to find the products, what they were going to use, although they did know that they wanted to use spring plants and bulbs, and other things like that; but, as they were being super specific, they were ‘winging’ it on that as they had to find out what was available.  Moving on to the next picture, they had been careful to list all the vendors that they had used for the shoot, saying how important it is to credit your vendors, as everyone knows how good it is to be part of a team, to be valued and respected as part of team and to share the credit. They also had a lot of support from the Colombian firms, especially Alexandra Roses. If anyone watching was unfamiliar with them, they should look them up. EMC work a lot with them.

Another aspect of the design process was to do a ‘Pinterest board’ for the shoot but as far as the images go for this, these were ones to show what they were leaning towards for a spring colour scheme, and the plants that they were thinking about.  Rebecca said that as it was going to be based as being February, March time, they were very fortunate as they were able to go to a local fern grower where they bought a whole selection, plus being able to purchase Hellebores, little Tete-a-Tete narcissus, other daffodils,, and bulbs that they found popping up.  They knew that they would be able to create a very garden-like feel, almost as though you were walking through a wood -just like a ‘super garden’. Through that thought process, it was a really good example of progressing the ideas, as they were talking about sustainability.  They needed something that could be suspended, with an organic feel, and they were able to get access to bamboo.  Gina found some fabulous large bamboo, and Rebecca was able to do a serious harvesting in her neighbours’ garden, who have a whole bamboo ‘wall’, made up of many different types, which they were able to incorporate into the design, using it throughout.  They would talk about the mechanics at greater length later on, but the bamboo was such a good, solid source, and they found that they could use over and over again in different ways for different styled shoots.  Gina also mentioned the different visuals that were up on the screen. They demonstrated how they were trying to portray the very airy and open design, focussing more on one or two flowers specifically, with the pin frogs coming back into play, which they found were wonderful to use. Another of the pictures showed what they had done on the tables and the products that had been used.  It also showed where they had cut the bamboo in half on a lot of the designs, adding a cut block of Agra wool, and that was the mechanics used in a lot of the pieces. It would be possible to also use the Oasis version of Agra wool, known as Fibrefloral. They had found both products to be excellent and hoped that more people would start using them.

As Rebecca said, the whole effect was light and airy, using the pin frogs with those very delicate vases, and the addition of the halves of bamboo gave it a more solid foundation out of which came the light, airy botanicals, making it a great combination; so successful that they used it throughout the whole shoot.  Gina added that they thought that the small arrangements offered transparency, just to really focus in on the colour of the flowers. The picture showed the mood board that they had received back from the planners, and they really worked with the modern and clean lines, to interpret the florals and make it all cohesive. They had really enjoyed what the planners had put together on the mood board, so it was a really great collaboration.  They had loved the whole process because once they brought in their look on the board, Gina and Rebecca were able to tweak their designs to make everything cohesive and bringing in the black gave them the foundation to make everything pop.

Gina then presented the final products for the style shoot. They had still kept within the pastel shades and even the invitations were accented with the roses, the hellebores, and the tiny little narcissus of springtime. She had other pictures of the place settings, again designed with the very modern look meeting the garden style and, moving on to the tablescape, you can see the pin frog cups, available from Floral Genius, a really wonderful product. They recommended that, if you haven’t already used them, you should certainly try them out.  Rebecca went on to elaborate more on the tablescape. She thought that one of the things that people would notice would be how they had used the black as an accent, especially the very thin, delicate Floral Genius cups, to create the really nice, airy arrangements. They were interspersed with the bamboo bases that they had been talking about before, and they ended up adding fruit to the scape too.  As they were setting it up, they realised that they needed something to bring out the colour, so Gina had run to the shop next door, grabbed some pears, and it was just the touch that made it work. It finessed everything at the very end and really brought it all together.  If you look at the picture, you will see how the pears work with the beautiful smoked glass and the stems of the candle holders. It really blends all the colours together well.

The point that they would really like to make is that if you are doing a photo shoot like this, collaborating with others, then this had to be a collaborative decision made by everyone. Everybody was very excited about the outcome. We may all have an artistic and creative eye, but sometimes we are too close to the project, so it is good to stand back and ask others what is needed.  This is what they did at this point, and that was when the idea of adding the fruit came up, to which everyone agreed. Truly, that made all the difference to the final outcome.  Once again, they stated how important it is to have a ‘round table’ discussion with all those that are involved in the collaboration.  It is the collaboration that makes the magic, in this case even down to the detail of the person who provided the flowers for the signature cocktail. She went out and chose pansies because it had been discussed.  The cake baker couldn’t have been more spot on with her sugar flowers because she had made David Austin roses out of sugar, and she incorporated everything that they were using onto the cake.  That was just down to really good communication and planning.  

Then they moved to a few pictures of the bridal flowers, especially the boutonnières.  Rebecca had made these lovely creations and Gina asked how she had done the wirework.  Rebecca had felt a bit challenged because she wanted the boutonnieres to be a bit of a statement piece for the style shoot, because quite often the guys’ boutonnieres get lost in the process.  She found it interesting to get a juxtaposition between the masculine, black accent and the soft, frilly, spring look.  Once she knew that they were going to use the black accent, she used black wire to essentially create the mechanics. Using several different black wires, making a piece of jewellery, where she quilled it around itself before putting the soft flowers on top, to accent the very feminine concept, anchored by the very strong masculine base, which could be attached with magnets.  Again, if you are doing a photo shoot, think about it because if you are renting a tuxedo, you shouldn’t damage it and a magnet will work.  They happened to know the model and knew that he did not have a pacemaker!  She really wanted the groom to have a statement piece that was going to stand out but would blend nicely with the bride at the event. She then handed over to Gina who had designed and made an absolutely stunning bridal bouquet. She showed a picture of the bride holding the bouquet and said that her goal had been to just make a very gorgeous bouquet, making the David Austin roses shine. This was not too hard to do as they were fabulous.

Moving from that to another of the pictures, she said that it was the final piece showing all the different elements together, ready for the final shoot.  They had used a basic pipe and drape frame as the main mechanic, underneath the bamboo, and all of it was used. She still uses the pipe and drape frame now for other occasions.  They used three poles, then added chicken wire, before attaching the bamboo to it for extra security. They then added the lovely little garden, ground pieces which she asked Rebecca to explain.

She said that one of the things that they did, because of the time factor, was to tack the plants also onto the vertical poles, making them the tallest part.  In the preparation for this, they used biodegradable, compostable, doggie ‘pick-up’ bags, in which they wrapped each of the plants. Before this, they used eco-wrap, like a floral diaper, wrapping it around and securing with twine, before putting them into the bags, so that it had a water source and was good to go. Some of them were also bundles of the fresh products, creating little bouquets, so that they could literally tuck them in by the poles, all the way up. There was not a lot of free-stemming, nearly everything had its own water source.  Gina added that she sees a lot of people free-stemming stuff, but she doesn’t feel that it is really worth it for a self-shoot as she wants people to understand it needs to be realistic. They both agreed that if you are dealing with something as precious as a David Austin Garden Rose, you must treat it nicely, so they were very happy that they had come up with this idea.  They could keep these lovely bouquets, as they had water, everything was compostable and the whole package could be taken out afterwards. It was also totally doable way in advance too. They also made the little bundles of plants, again using the eco bags, which they then wrapped in moss, so that they blended in better.  This was good too because you were not getting soil all over the place in the venue.  Again, with the base, they used reusable, compostable, bags to protect the floor of the venue, before adding the hellebores wrapped in the same way, plus adding the little half bamboo slices with hellebores, and hanging them. The hanging pieces were literally suspended from the ceiling, and they moved!  There was a lot of movement and that made it really cool, because it was almost interactive. Those pieces, when the room warmed up, moved around even more, and it was really cool, a fun result. Believe it or not, when it happened it was really cool, but it was very interesting trying to tie them all together for the photo shoot – that part was a little taxing.

Putting up another picture, Gina explained that these were the varieties of David Austin roses that they had used.  They were a wonderful mix and she had not ordered any specifics, just letting Alexandra Farms know that they were doing a shoot and they needed spring colours, and they were very happy with what had been sent.  She had been very impressed with what they had provided and would happily use them for any wedding in the future.  Rebecca agreed, saying that they were amazing products, and they were great for what they required. The final slide showed the names of all the other people who had been involved in the shoot, including providing items for it.  If any of the viewers had questions about them, or wanted further details, they must get in touch with Rebecca or Gina.

Having finished showing the slides, Rebecca reiterated that they hoped that those who were viewing the video, would be thinking of maybe doing their own photoshoot or, if not, that they would consider participating in one with someone else, to try and get their ‘feet wet’.  They both said that it would be great to find someone to partner with.  It had been such fun, and it ‘does push the envelope’. You can start small and expand from that, but it is a great way to challenge yourself into doing something a little outside the box.  Also, if you do your own photoshoot, you get to be in charge and you can do it the way that you want, showing what makes you shine, and you can show what you can highlight the best.

As Gina said, it is a really good way to show off your EMC skills, even by just doing a bouquet with an armature.  If you bring in the skills that you are learning through EMC into your style shoot, you can have a very good portfolio.  If it is stuff that you do not do very often, it is a great place to start. Both Gina and Rebecca said that they knew that the first two Round Tables were about Inspiration and being inspired by other products than florals.  You could have a style shoot around something that inspires you.  Rebecca joined in, saying that it was good to pick one thing, possibly a series of centre pieces as your focal point, and you can do your entire photoshoot about the process; this is another possibility. The beautiful thing is that the sky is the limit! Hopefully, you can start thinking about how you can show off your work. You can create a photoshoot to show what you can do, and also what you want to do.  Until you actually share it, people will not know what skills you have. Show your stuff and shine with it, so that they are going to want it.

A point that Gina wanted to make was that there are a number of processes to go through, but she doesn’t think that they are hard.  The eco-friendly, no foam, movement is the ‘hot button’ subject for now.  However, she wanted to touch on the fact that these are all practical things that you can do affordably, not super-expensive, and if you are thinking of trying to get into doing things in a more, eco-friendly way, this is a great place to start.  There are some very good products that they have featured in this shoot to get started on this train, and there is zero shame if you are still using foam.  They just like to encourage people to think of other routes, and this was why they accepted the challenge with this shoot to do something that would be easy for others to do as well.  Rebecca added that it looked a lot, and it was a lot to think about, but it was actually quite simple.  It was beautiful in its simplicity, and it is something that anybody can do.  A lot of the things, like the eco-friendly wraps, were done multiple times, and it was not hard to implement these techniques.  You can just do an arrangement in foam, having it pre-done and pre-greened a week in advance, and you can do the same with this idea.  They feel that there is enough of a water source with the eco bouquet bags to allow them to be done a couple of days in advance.  Attaching them onsite is not super hard, it is about the same as putting things into cages.  All of the things that they did were very easy to carry out onsite.  Rebecca added that there was a further quick point to make.  The bouquets that they did that were fresh materials in the bags, when checked a week later, a lot of the products still looked very good, including the Garden roses.

So, even though they knew it wasn’t hot at that time, they were testing the longevity in spring conditions, without changing the water during that week, so people should know that it is a very doable thing.  They felt that they were all very simple processes, and they hope that helps to change people’s minds about it being harder, or very inconvenient, or that it costs too much.  It is very affordable, and they feel that anybody could take these steps.  They went further by saying that if you use any one of these concepts within your designs with EMC, just start to ‘play’ with them. You might find that – Wow, I want to use it in this way, or you may find a different way.  Rebecca has experimented with creating a wreath form as, over Covid, they didn’t have the opportunities to get things that they were used to using, and out of necessity, they expanded their ideas and experimented. She found that she could create her own wreath form, meaning that she didn’t have to go off her island to hunt things down, only to find that they were not in stock.  Many of us have tried to get things when there is a lack of resources, but the beautiful thing that has come out of a lack of the normal resources has been the opportunity to become even more creative, put on our EMC hats, and really stretch our creativity, come up with something new, all of which is really part of the process.

They both ended up by stressing the need to find the time to play and to figure out new techniques and new ways to do things, which may be out of the ordinary but may be something that you will use every day, for the rest of your floral career.

Curious about what's out there in the EMC Circle Community, you can sign up here.

by Sara Marie Andrews, EMC