What florists want photographers and planners to know about styled shoots. Most of us florists love styled shoots but there are some things we would like those planning styled shoots to know from a florists perspective.
We LOVE styled shoots
Most of the florists I know (myself included) love doing styled shoots. It is a way for us to ‘let our hair down’ and do something creative that we don’t usually get to do. If your inspiration is something unique, colorful, and beautiful we are in!
Be prepared to cover flower costs
If you really want to work with a florist for your styled shoot, reach out to them and ask for a quote on the designs you want.
Many vendors planning styled shoots want florists to pay for the flowers themselves. This is not something that is feasible for floral businesses as the cost of flowers per event is anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. If I said yes to every planner or photographer that asked for free flowers I would be in serious debt haha.
At the very least offer to cover the florists costs for the shoot.
Unless you yourself are a photographer, don’t promise images in exchange for labor.
I have been part of several styled shoots that were not planned by a photographer and the planner promised me images of my work in exchange for labor. Then the planner does not hire a photographer to specifically take pictures for the participating vendors. They plan on the attending photographers (who have often paid for tickets to be at the shoot) to provide pictures to the other vendors. This is something that has been a pain point for both attending photographers and vendors alike. We both end up feeling taken advantage of. Vendors because they often donate hours of labor for a shoot and sometimes do not receive pictures back. Photographers feel frustrated because they have paid to attend a shoot and find out they are expected to provide a free gallery to other vendors.
