Styling Workshop Recap

Last month I attended a styling workshop hosted by one of my prop stylist idols Annette Joseph alongside Anne Sage, another stylist and blogger that I love. I was already scheduled to be in LA when I caught wind that Annette was hosting a workshop there the same week, so I took the universes hint and booked myself a spot. Annette is the queen of styling and has been in the business for over 20 years, before people knew what a photo stylist was. I’m a big fan of Annette and I own her book, Picture Perfect Parties, the bible for entertaining. Annette hosts workshops all around the globe, including summer workshops at her Italy home, which is definitely on my bucket list!

Styling Workshop Day 1

The workshop was held at Light Lab, an awesome studio and venue that Anne runs, which was designed by another blogger and designer that I follow, Sarah Sherman Samuel. So, it’s safe to say that this was a pretty darn good weekend for me! Day one began with a light breakfast while we all got to know one another and our objectives for attending the workshop. For me, I wanted to attend to not only meet Annette and Anne but to learn more about the science behind styling. I find myself styling regularly, whether it be for projects here on the blog or product styling for small businesses, and I am passionate about learning as much as I can and continuously improving my skills. After breakfast, we jumped in with a lecture from Annette about the basics of styling. We learned about editing, prop selection, photo composition and discussed some styling techniques. We also covered social media and got some tips on how to create a social media presence reflective of ourselves and our brands. Then, of course, we practiced still life styling. We had a variety of props and produce to pull from and we spent the afternoon styling vignettes and photographing them, with input and tips from Annette and Anne along the way. Props…..YESSSS!
Here are some shots from day one still life styling.

This romanesco cauliflower was so unique I just had to grab it. For this shot I put the blue plate on the very edge of the background surface and photographed it so that a bit of the textured concrete floor showed. This is a fun shot styled by one of my fellow attendees but I loved the look of the stacked bowls. For this shot I used the linen napkin as inspiration and grabbed some fruit from breakfast and poured a little raw sugar in the cutest little spoon. I played around with this vignette before I got it where I wanted, which was approximately 9 shots later. Patience is important (I’m still working on that) because oftentimes, you don’t get it right the first time and have to keep playing with it and/or take a break from it and come back with fresh eyes.
And because I love a good behind the scenes…

Styling Workshop Day 2

On the second day, after breakfast and armed with a latte, we jumped into the morning lectures which focused on social media, primarily Instagram. Both ladies have a significant following so it was helpful to gain insight from them. Anne spoke about treating Instagram as your portfolio and biography, staying consistent (regarding timing of posts and photo format), using appropriate hashtags, and remembering to be kind and have fun. I found the social media discussion very useful, and have implemented some changes to my own social media strategy as a result, which I’m excited about! After the morning discussion, we spent the remainder of the day cooking lunch with Annette, learning some of her culinary secrets along the way. We then styled and photographed the dishes before devouring them! The workshop ended with charcuterie and wine as we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

Here’s a fun little behind the scenes of the other ladies getting their shot of the apple Tarte Tatin.   
The Tarte was so pretty, I couldn’t stop styling it!
This shot of me grabbing a slice of the Tarte is one of my favorites from the entire styling workshop. And yes, we eventually ate it and it was delish! And the finale was a huge charcuterie board styled by Annette, which she prepared while live streaming for her Instagram takeover of Better Homes and Gardens, how cool is that?

Check out this awesome video of the weekend by Megan with Pictory Productions!

Huge thank you to Annette and Anne for hosting a fantastic styling workshop. It was a beautiful weekend filled with a group of fantastic women gushing over a shared love for visual storytelling. I was so happy to be among not only two of my stylist and blogger idols, but an inspiring and uplifting group of women. The intimate size of our group not only encouraged open dialogue but gave us an opportunity to get to know one another and I truly made some friends that I will remain in touch with forever.

I’ll leave ya with silly group shot 🙂

Stay tuned because next week I’m sharing a recipe and a little more from day 2!