Location Styling
This gallery brings me straight to the biggest and most important topic in my view when discussing location shooting with clients.
The conversation should specifically ensure we will have as much, if not complete control over the environment to maximise the potential of a location. Location styling is the one main way in which we can curate how the shooting space look and feels .
The wrong way
My associate team and I have been shooting on location for a long time. We all have our own experiences with this and have learned so much. Before I met Mother Bran, my producer, when I was operating as an independent photographer, clients would organise a shoot location and I would quite literally just turn up on the day.
I guarantee you that the above approach delivered mediocre results. This sounds a little harsh, but when a location shoot production is organised without all parties being involved then there is small chance the shoot and subsequent images will hang together properly and deliver what is needed.
Locations have furniture and props to make the space look cool and attractive, however for the location to be used as it is presented runs the risks of things just not quite working in line with the client’s ultimate message and brand identity.Â
The Right Way
Working with my associates I discovered the absolute ease and clarity of how to service a client properly. As a team, we all work together to make location shooting a great experience for the client and crew. Getting a client through the production and onboard with location styling as quickly as possible is key to having a great shoot.
Don’t Leave Things to Chance
Product research and development and then the ultimate manufacture is all conducted to create the best possible product for the brand to go to market with. The critical stage for any communication to the customer is bringing that audience to a place where they can really appreciate all that product can offer them. This visual world may be aspirational, however all the elements must fit perfectly with the brands values. To put that into the context of a location photograph or film, everything in frame must work symbiotically. This can only happen if the entire environment has been chosen with intention. Nothing can be left to chance, even down to small items that sit on fireplaces or cupboards.
Our ProcessÂ
When the location has been chosen, not before, we can then start to get into location styling. We will need a shot list to work from, and we must have done a physical and technical recce of the space to figure out the the opportunities. From this information the process of building up the visuals for each image can begin. This is where the Creative Direction and Production services come into their own. Working closely with a client a styling brief is worked out. This starts as an outline of what is needed. After which the creative director and chosen stylist will work though in detail exactly what those items are, and where they are going to come from. Our Creative Director will visualise all of this and then the shots can be agreed and locked off.
It’s Worth It
This process if followed properly guarantees results. More importantly, these are the results that the client is expecting. The practical challenges around how to make chosen routes happen can be tricky. Sometimes what at first seems like a great location can end up being discarded when the location styling process starts to unpick the space. The effort and time invested is worth it. The high-level execution of our finished location images is more than enough proof to see the effort is worth it.