The Benefits Of Hiring A Personal Stylist Before Your Photoshoot
The Benefits Of Hiring A Personal Stylist Before Your Photoshoot
Like many people, you might find yourself feeling stuck or lost with what to wear before a photoshoot. Not knowing where to start in choosing the outfits for your shoot can be a huge block and a confidence crusher. The truth is, if you don’t feel fantastic, it’ll show in your photoshoot.
I want to introduce you to the idea of working with a personal stylist before your photoshoot, to help you build confidence in what you’re wearing for a fantastic result.
Not only can a personal stylist help create your photoshoot looks, but they can also help with an ongoing style identity to move forward in your career and for your everyday.
Meet Melissa Gold,
Personal Stylist Based in Melbourne, Australia.
I first met Melissa when her Husband, Tom, booked in for a professional photoshoot. Melissa did an incredible job dressing and styling Tom, and I was thrilled to have a new connection I could recommend to clients to help them with their style and build their confidence.
Melissa has been a personal stylist since 2020. With a background in the finance industry, Melissa indulged in more creative work and makeup artistry in her spare time, before coming across a styling course in the depths of lockdown.
“I was still going to the branch everyday, because we were essential workers. So what I would do is I would make the effort to get dressed up – and that actually brought me a lot of joy. I figured if I can’t do makeup, I can still have a little joy in my life by putting together an outfit that I really like. So I started, actually, on really focusing on my own personal style”
Styling started as a huge self discovery journey, and now Melissa has the joy of bringing this to her own clients. Her business started with her own network, primarily her online following from her days as a makeup artist and content creator pre-lockdowns. Melissa then started working with Styled By Sally in 2022, offering style consultations to men and women of all ages and sizes.
“There’s something quite deep to it… Helping people find themselves, navigate themselves, with their clothes and with seeing themselves in images – it’s so powerful“
Tom's Portrait Session, Styled By Melissa.
Earlier this year, Tom booked in for a professional personal branding and headshot photoshoot, with the goal to capture a collection of images that showed him as a leader in his field.
We discussed his goals and ideas for the images, with references to portraits of Irish actor Michael Fassbender, and images using deeper lighting, strong tones and simple expressions. We wanted to create images with depth and style, showcasing little details such as his rings and watch.
Melissa’s role in this was the styling. She and Tom purchased a complete outfit for the photoshoot, and throughout we varied it slightly – jacket and tie, no jacket, showing the watch.
A strong photo outfit gives versatility. There is a huge difference between the portraits of Tom wearing a jacket, and wearing no jacket with his sleeves rolled. This made for a quick change and a streamlined process.
Photos taken by Julia Nance Portraits
What To Expect When Working With A Personal Stylist...
Photo by Catherine Elise Photography
I asked Melissa about the process of working with her and what you can expect when you book in for a personal styling session.
For a style consultation, the process really focuses on getting to know you. Beginning with a survey and then meeting online or in person, Melissa’s goal is to get a deep understanding of each individual she works with.
This process is one of discovery and understanding. It’s introspective and gives you and Melissa an overall understanding of your goals: what is your lifestyle, what are you shopping for, what styles do you like, and what is your budget.
Opening yourself up to the opportunity to work with a stylist is a personal decision. It’s something you should feel ready to do yourself – not because someone has told you or suggested it. The best outcomes come from being open-minded.
For a photoshoot, Melissa suggests booking in a Style Consultation and a Shop. They also offer a Styling Starter Pack – which is a 1.5 hour style consult and a quick shop. This is great if you’re looking for one key outfit for a photoshoot or event.
The benefits of working with a stylist.
So what’s the benefit of working with a personal stylist? The most obvious answer is having the eye of a professional to bring out your very best style. But the not-so-obvious answers are the icing on the cake.
When you’re working with Melissa, she helps you buy better. The best of what you can afford, longer lasting, higher quality and items with multiple styling opportunities. You might only need a handful of pieces to create a versatile wardrobe.
Overall, this is better from a sustainable standpoint. Rather than buying too many of the wrong items more frequently, you’re purchasing fewer items that you can wear again and again.
And lastly, the financial benefit:
As a stylist with Styled By Sally, Melissa has access to a range of discounts that have been built over years of strong relationships with brands and retailers. A recent client of Melissa’s shopped at a men’s suiting store and saved over $1000 on his overall purchase. Often clients are saving enough to cover the styling fees themselves.
Photo by Catherine Elise Photography
Sustainable Style: Introducing Spring Street Archive.
If you think Melissa couldn’t get any more multi-talented, with her work in finance, makeup artistry, styling and being a Mum of three (!), Melissa has started a new business, called Spring Street Archive.
Spring Street Archive focuses on the second hand market of high end fashion, and finding a new life for it. The project started on the foundation of “buy better, buy well“.
In a world of fast fashion, piles of landfill, and lower-quality mass-produced items, Melissa was drawn to the secondhand market. She wanted to address the gap of good quality second-hand vintage, and through Spring Street Archive she is showcasing these amazing pieces on real bodies (you truly cannot see what clothing looks like when it’s lying flat in a photo).
Spring Street Archive brings the best in high-end, designer fashion, curated by Melissa herself. Learn more via Instagram.
Best Styling Practices For Photography.
When I asked Melissa to summarise her top tips for styling a photoshoot, it really aligned with my own approach to photography:
“It’s really important to stay true to who you are. Don’t do something outside of your personal style. If you feel uncomfortable, you’ll look uncomfortable.”
From a photography standpoint, I always like clients to bring a couple of options for us to try. Having different levels of formality for different purposes is always good too. You might need a really corporate or professional style image now, but having a second style that feels more relaxed is great for different opportunities that may come up in the future (such as an editorial feature).
Photos taken by Julia Nance Portraits
Feeling inspired? Melissa and I are both based in Melbourne, Australia. To book a styling session, you can reach out to Melissa directly via Instagram. For a portrait session, use the button below to find a session to suit you.
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