Red Riding Hood Woodland Inspiration | Make It Your Own

How to use styled shoot ideas

Styled shoots can be confusing. Typically they are very small, highly curated photo shoots with lots of details that would be difficult to replicate on a grand scale, say for two to three hundred of your beloved wedding guests. There’s been a bit of criticism flying around for years about styled shoots. Back in 2009 the Eastside Bride  claimed, Your Wedding is Not a Photoshoot, and went on to criticize styled shoots saying:

Here’s my advice from the other side: unpretentious, real wedding photos will always be cooler than the slick facsimiles. Don’t let those stylists give you a complex…And don’t let em overstyle your wedding. What if it were the other way round and someone mistook your wedding for a magazine shoot? Barf.

OK, duly noted. But still, if you’re like me, and you like nifty details that say something about you, your partner, your family, and your life, then styled shoots can be useful for generating ideas. The trick is to understand that they are not for replicating, they are for inspiring.

So here are a few ideas to get you going from this Little Red Riding Hood woodland style shoot I spotted over on Cake Ink. Take a look and scroll down for ideas.

Images from Stewart Leishman via Cake Ink

Take-away tips from this styled shoot

  • OK, let’s start with the obvious; this is Little Red Riding Hood’s fete, so it makes perfect sense to incorporate little bits of red here and there. A nice bright pop of color also adds interest to a rustic theme.
  • Next, we have various and sundry vintage tables and chairs. Here’s the deal: You don’t need to find and buy a million little pieces of vintage furniture. Source your family and close friends for interesting tables, chairs and other oddball furniture.
  • Also, you don’t need to have enough furniture for every conceivable space at your wedding/reception. Pick a focal point, like a cake table or the ceremony space, and curate a cool little spot.
  • Speaking of household objects, many of the details from this styled shoot can be found in the average home: books, picture frames, nicknacks, and crystal vases or decanters. Take an inventory of what you, your parents, or your friends have in their homes and go from there.
  • Instead of a giant behemoth of a cake, opt for a smaller multi-tiered wedding cake and supplement with smaller single layer cakes, cupcakes, and even donuts.
  • Even lowly donuts look sweet and elegant on a pretty stand–cupcakes too!
  • Use height to add interest and variety. The easiest way to make a cake table, guest table, or ceremony table visually remarkable is to add height. Use wooden boxes, books, and cake stands, or drape plain plastic bins of varying sized with pretty fabric to add height.
  • You’re probably not going to be carrying your bouquet around the reception. So why not use it as decor on your styled table? You can put it in a pretty vase or just lay it down.