Styled shoot ideas and creatively organized shoots are only limited by your imagination. High fashion and wedding-related content are not the only themes. Styled shooting helps to fill the gaps in your portfolio. The multitude of possibilities are almost endless when you start thinking outside the box. Stretch your imagination around styled shoots inspiration and creative photo sessions to showcase more of the work you enjoy.

A Unique Styled Shoot Idea

October 1st was a sunny fall day. Dream Team Académie hosted a sweet Best Friends Party styled shoot at the home of a personal friend. The theme of the party, My Favorite Things. There were distinct stations set up for each of the components of the day, which unfolded into a beautiful story.

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Styled Shoot
Station I. Gift Exchange

The day began with a gift exchange between (two of my favorite) girls. Gifts included the most magical dresses from The Little Kitten Boutique and artistically thoughtful jewelry by Karisa Briest. Paper doily vases that held small sprigs of greenery adorned the brown paper packages, tied up with string. First, the two friends sat on vintage upholstered chairs and traded personal notes that they had written ahead of time. As they giggled their way through unwrapping, random leaves fluttered and twirled down from the trees on the hill above to sprinkle the lawn with specks of orange and gold.

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Station II. Goats

Next, the girls had a proper visit with the goats, feeding them snacks and giving them hugs. The goats were very friendly. They were happy to have visitors.

Incorporating animals into your shoot can be tricky. Let’s talk about that for a minute. Here are a couple tips for making the addition easier:

• Have a trained animal handler present
  – choose someone who is familiar with the animals
  – choose someone the animals are familiar with
• Have treats that are approved to reward the animals for good behavior

Thankfully, one of our models is the owner of all the animals in the images from the shoot. Since the goats had a familiar handler, they remained well-behaved and calm.

Station III. The Pony Cart

Dusty and Johnny stole the show. These two ponies lost their original owner but now they have a wonderful home with a lovely girl who adores them. Dusty (the chestnut) was clearly proud to cart these besties around the property in his fancy harness designed by the incredible floral artist, Diane Corman of Lavender & Locks.

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Station IV. The Porch & Tea Party

Next, the two friends moved to the porch swing where they told secrets and cuddled a darling kitten. The pace was easy and relaxed. The girls were enjoying their time together and felt at ease in front of the camera. The photographers remarked how comfortable it felt.

After the visit on the swing, there were refreshments on the wide front porch – including the most delicious crisp apple strudel from a local farm market bakery. Infused water and fruit was served with the strudel. Decorations for the hot chocolate cart were complete with hand-lettered tags, colorful mums, bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens. Candies filled the cut glass dishes.

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Station V. The Meadow

We concluded the day with a walk to the meadow next to a wheat field along a long and winding lane behind the barn. There, the girls skipped and laughed as the air grew chilly and we finished shooting for the day. As you can see by the smiles, a good time was had by all.

Planning an unusual theme for a styled shoot is a strong boost for your creative mind. All it takes is imagination and a group of people who are enthusiastic about collaborating and you have a recipe for success! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe and tell us your favorite part.

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ps. Did you know that there are different types of styled shoots? This particular styled session was a hybrid type of shoot. A cross between portfolio-building and brand shoot. Dream Team Académie has a system for identifying and categorizing them. There are four basic types and the benefits of each one are abundant.

You can learn more and find a complete list of shoot types in the related blog posts by clicking on the “EDUCATION” tab here:
https://dreamteamacademie.com/blog

So much gratitude to the incredible vendor team:

Photography | https://www.kaylashenkphoto.com/
Rentals | http://www.ghrrentalboutique.com/
Hand-lettering | Justace Brenize
Dresses | https://www.thelittlekittenboutique.com/
Jewelry | https://www.instagram.com/paintingyourmemories.live/
Hair & Makeup | http://aspirebeautiful.com/
Florals | https://lavenderandlocks.com/

Production | https://dreamteamacademie.com
Special thanks to the DTA Coordinating Team | Marley Shenk, Bella Malocu, Lily Myers & Abby Weger