A style shoot workshop was not something I entertained when I started as an Event Planner in 2005, it was because my friends saw something in me that I didn’t. I was great at organizing things and making sure all the logistics ran like clockwork.
I guess I would contribute those skills to my time being an Army Soldier. My last unit was The Old Guard. This is the unit that does all of the amazing ceremonies like the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.
Having down to the detail skills like that really did help propel the much need logistical side of event planning. However, what it didn’t do was teach me how to make a room look like my client just spent a million dollars on décor.
Wedding and Event Planners keep reading as I’ll tell you how you can create million dollar looking rooms.
Dinner Reception by Andrew Roby Events
As time went by, it was tough to show logistical work to potential clients. Actually impossible unless they came along with me every day. While logistics was and is just as important, clients could only see the finish product as proof.
So how was I going to prove that I could design a space in order for clients to book me?
I heard about a style shoot and why it was so critical for Planners at various levels in their career. I figured I would create my own style shoot and that clients would flock to me.
When I created my style shoot I called in all the favors from people I already knew. I had a stylist, a Photographer, a wedding venue, a baker, and I brought in all the rentals. It took me hours to plan this and to make sure that the style shoot was going to be EPIC! So I thought.
After the style shoot was over, I sat and went over all the images I thought were the best. The next step was to submit these photos to local magazines and wedding blogs to see who would jump to have my work on your website.
Not one picked up the style shoot. My ego was blown. I felt like I wasted the crew’s time.
I asked myself what went wrong. Looking back today I can easily see what went wrong.
Here’s a quick DC style shoot workshop snap shot:
1. I didn’t create a style shoot for my audience. I did it for me as if I was hiring myself.
2. Proper research on where my audience goes to find inspiration wasn’t conducted.
3. I used a Photographer who didn’t shoot weddings. I didn’t have a shot list blogs wanted.
4. I didn’t know how to properly submit to magazines or blogs and didn’t have a relationship.
5. Not all venues speak to my ideal client and yet I used one that I thought did.
Ok I’ll stop there LOL.
Dinner Party in Morocco by Andrew Roby Events
In the end it was a disaster and I lost a lot of money pulling together a project I couldn’t and wouldn’t use to this day.
But don’t cry for me Argentina. I’ve had a lot of growing up and I want to tell you exactly what I did to have my work featured in Washingtonian Magazine going viral reaching more than 4.2 million people. HINT: It was work I did on the back end, not what any magazine has ever done.
I was also recently published by Bella Naija Weddings to their 3.7 million Instagram followers and over 400K Facebook Followers. These are pretty huge accomplishments. Wedding Wire, Logo TV, CNN, Fox, Munalichi, Wedding Chicks, The Knot and others have all published my work after that crazy first style shoot.
Maybe my story sounds similar to yours. Maybe you are just starting out and need help to avoid what I did. Maybe you’ve been in your career for a few years and need proper training to raise your bar.
Here’s the solution. On April 27th, I am hosting a Style Shoot Workshop at the Darcy Hotel in DC.
Our workshop is going to teach you everything I know and use when it comes to getting work published in top magazines and blogs. But not just that. I’m going to teach you how to design for your ideal clients. This will be an intense hands-on workshop that will give you step-by-step tools to use the very next day.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming style shoot workshop. Click Here.