The Floral Hustle

  📍

Hello, flower friends. This is Jen. And you are listening to the floral hustle podcast on this week's mini sowed, we're talking how to put together a brand shoot. And you might be asking what is a brand shoot? A brand shoot is like you showing yourself off as the business owner that you are. And I have put together different brand shoots over time and.

You know, they can be a lot of fun. And so as a new business owner, you want to do. Something that shows off your creativity, shows off like you being in your element and using those images on your website, on social media, and having a brand shoot will help you do that. So what do you do for a brand shoot is what we're going to talk about today.

And for the month of February, we've been talking all things, growing your business, launching your business. If you are a new florist, I want you to start taking uncomfortable action and getting your business off the ground so that you can do the big things that you've probably been dreaming about.

Because who doesn't dream about playing with flowers, creating beautiful things and getting paid for it? Sounds even better. So a brand shoot, there are several ways to do this. One way is if you put together a styled shoot, collaborate with that. photographer that you want to get brand photos taken during the styled shoot.

And with that, you could potentially say, Hey, could we take like 30 minutes, um, on the day of the styled shoot and go and have some brand shots done with me, for me, with the flowers or with the tablescape or with whatever you're creating. And, uh, you know, if you pay them maybe a little bit extra to do that, or I'll let you take home some of the flowers or, you know, something so that you're, you're doing something in return for them doing the extra work.

And that's a great way because you already have all of those flowers. You already have all of the tools to get brand photos done. I normally am designing my outfit and the scene of a brand shoot around. The, um, colors or whatever that I want to have on my website, in my social media. So my floral business is Green Goddess Floral.

And so for that I would probably have like, kind of my signature lush garden style. Um, I'm really drawn to like, burgundy, marsala. Um, I love, um, obviously with the podcast especially, I love, um, mustard colors. You know, so I, I have and use a lot of bold color in my designs. And so this is a way for you to, like, highlight that as long as it's in alignment with your styled shoot.

And really just kind of surround yourself with flowers in your element so that you can really highlight, like, look at what I can do, especially because usually with a styled shoot, you're pulling out all the stops. And when you're pulling out all the stops, You want to make sure that you are having that opportunity to potentially use that as kind of a double duty.

You also could potentially have someone come to your studio. A lot of times at this point in your business you might not have a studio, but you might have a space. You might have a photographer friend that could take some photos and That could be you making something. That could be you, like, making boutonnieres or corsages.

That could be you making a bridal bouquet. And they're just getting a picture of you in your element. I would also, at that point, wear something that you would use creating, that you would wear to a wedding, potentially, for setup. Um, I don't have a strict dress code for people. I know some florists, they're like, we're back in black and that's what we're wearing at our weddings.

I don't put those type of parameters because, like, I, I don't want to dictate what somebody wears, but I get why some people do want to have that, um, you know, as part of their brand look and feel. But to me, that's not important. What's important is we're getting the work done and I have people that are the best suited for the job and I'm paying them well enough that they are excited to do it.

So from that point, I want to make sure that I've, you know, if I'm getting a brand shoot done in my studio that like I'm obviously prepping for that, I would make sure that the environment's clean, um, that there's lighting and things like that. I have studio lights just because of the podcast, but you want to make sure that you have that type of environment, uh, so that you really can, uh, Like highlight the flowers and not the mess in the background.

So you've made sure you have a good, um, back background lighting, things like that. You've made sure that you have a project you're going to be working on or creating, or even a couple so that you can get photos of those. And so that's a second way to get a brand shoot done. The third way is there are places that will have, uh, like minis, like business minis that they are doing mini photo sessions that you can go and potentially sign up for that mini session and just bring flowers with you.

Bring like a simple table, obviously ask questions to make sure that that's okay. You can set up your own mini brand shoot at like a business mini. photo shoot that a local photographer is doing in their studio. You could, there is a, um, photography company here and also like in several locations across the United States called Suna.

It's S O O N A. I'll link it in the show notes and they have all these beautiful colored papers. They have all these beautiful backdrops and I've done brand shoots there because at that low, that. The whole business charges you per photo. Uh, it's $39 a photo and you can buy as many or as not as many as you want.

So I have done that. That's actually how I got my cover art for the podcast is I went there and then it was a white backdrop, and then we did like a mustard backdrop and that's how I ended up with. That photo of me in blue jeans and flower shoes and a white t shirt holding my bouquet. So that's another way, like if there are places like that, or like the mini studio sessions that I was just mentioning, that is a great way for you to, uh, you know, get and pay.

For what images or just a smaller flat rate because you're not really, it's hard to take up an hour if it's just you and a bouquet or you and a bouquet or in a boutonniere or, you know, just a couple items. So a mini session would. probably work just fine as long as you're strategically like the thing you're creating is something that really speaks to your brand.

The thing you're creating really shows you in the element of what what your potential is and you're kind of coordinating to your brand with your outfit. You're coordinating with Um, flowers to make sure that they go together. And, so I actually, I have a brand shoot scheduled next Friday. And I'm going to be just taking some updated, um, photos.

Because I, I just want some updated photos. So I do that probably every Six to nine months. I try to time that with when I've had my hair refreshed and You know not around like when I have a bunch of weddings so that I'm going to be Potentially like busy so I can enjoy the process and create something that's fun for me.

So that's usually what I do Um, for if I'm doing like that type of photo shoot, I just look at dates and I can book a one hour session and get in and get out with some cute photos. They have some lifestyle backdrops. So they have like a living room set up. They have a little mini kitchen set up. Um, they have a bunch of different colored backgrounds.

Uh, they have holiday scenes when it's around a holiday. So I just use that as my opportunity to really showcase. You know, just here's a new picture of me in my element of doing flowers. So a checklist of what you should think about for a brand shoot. Coordinating your outfit and your flowers to meet your, um, you know, brand colors or brand feel.

I would make sure the photographer takes photos in a style that speaks to you and speaks to your brand. Because if you are not a boho, dark and moody, sepia filter type florist, then you want to make sure you're finding a light and airy or you're fi finding a a photographer that speaks to your brand because if you're putting dark and moody out or sepia similar sepia, you know, that's that's actually very much a thing like I like light and airy and There are a ton of photographers that I didn't know that they were as dark and moody as I, um, when I got the photos back, I was like, oh shit, that's not really speaking to my brand.

So making sure you're looking at their work, you're looking at everything that they are putting out from if they've done something like that, and you can ask them, Hey, have you done something like this before? Like ask them, it's super helpful. Uh, and then, you know, really making the decision, like, can I also like collaborate potentially with this photographer that they would want to send business my way, or if I knew somebody, I could be sending them their way.

So those are kind of the fundamentals. Just make sure you're on brand, make sure you're coordinating, make sure everything looks well thought out. Make sure that like you are. Picking a time that, you know, you feel at your best. Um, I feel at my best when I have my hair recently, like, touched up. I feel at my best when I don't have a ton of things going on, so I feel tired or worn down.

So, position that. As, like, okay, I'm getting my hair done here, even if it's a haircut or a trim or whatever and then I'm doing, so why don't I, I have time to go get flowers and I kind of map out, like, when I'm getting flowers and then when I'm actually having the shoot. It works out great every time go and go into a brand shoot.

It is so worth it to really be in your element and to have those photos to show like how joyful being a florist is for you, how you're really like, this is what you can create and really just lay the foundation of what you want your brand to be. Thank you so much for listening flower friend and you have an amazing flower filled week. 📍