Matthew & Jane: Styled Shoots & Working With Model Couples

INTRODUCING MATTHEW & JANE DAVIS

Matthew & Jane are a married model couple based in Sheffield, England. They stumbled into this industry when their venue decorator reached out and asked them to participate in a styled shoot in 2021. Since then, they have modeled for a number of photographers and workshops, and had the opportunity to travel to various places around Europe.

Reasons for wedding photographers to do a styled shoot with model couples may include, to:

build their porfolio
attract their right-fit clients
collaborate with vendors/suppliers
visualize an specific idea
fill a gap in the market
create something new / artistic expression
promote diversity and representation

Hi, I am Aida, host of My Wedding Season -The Podcast!
If you prefer listening, this blog post is also available in audio format on my podcast: Episode 27

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INTERVIEW MAIN TAKEAWAYS

In the past few years it has become more and more popular for wedding photographers to book model couples for styled shoots. It was a pleasure to have Matthew & Jane Davis on the podcast so that they can provide photographers with insights regarding how to best work with model couples.

It was a casual conversation that begun with them sharing a little about how they met, their love story and how they stumbled into the wedding industry. Later in the conversation we dove deep into how they work with various vendors on styled shoots. They emphasised the importance of clear communication way ahead of the shoot in terms of stating the time needed for the session, the exact location, as well as when they are allowed to share the final images – it should be clarified if images will be submitted to a publication that requires exclusivity. They also ask photographers to think about other details while planning a styled shoot, for instance, providing food for the vendors on the day.

We also talked about how there is a lack of diverse couples in the industry, particularly when flipping through magazines.

Jane said it best: “That is one thing that we noticed when we did start modelling…there wasn’t that much diversity basically around so we just thought that it would be a great way to introduce a Black and Indian couple. It’s just to kind of like highlight there are interracial couples out there…. it’s a great way to bring diversity to the wedding industry.”

Boundaries when it comes to initmacy and personal space is an important topic that I was curious to discuss with them. Matthew and Jane both agree that it is important to communicate clearly and set expectations ahead of time. e.g. showing more skin / cleavage.

“Just for them to communicate with us really, like could you just show a bit more skin? Are you comfortable, if you know, the cleveage was showing? And all these little things, they are so important because you wouldn’t think some dresses might be a bit too revealing – are you okay to wear this? Way before the shoot because you don’t want to be put on the spot while you are there and you are like okay “this is what you are wearing”. If you are uncomfortable, you can’t just take you car and turn around.”
– Jane Davis

Moreover, photographers booking model couples should take into account the time it takes for the couple to drive/fly to the shoot as well as the time need for hair and make-up, as well as the number of suppliers and photographers involved in the shoot – these are all factors that need to be considered in the rates. There is a difference in not only the time and effort put in by the model couple working with just one photographer on a styled shoot in comparison to working on a workshop with multiple photographers – not to mention the overall value that they provide increases – which should be reflected in their earnings.

On top of that, we discussed if Brexit has had a significant impact on them getting booked outside of the UK – it seems to not be a problem. The hassle has been more in relation to the Covid portocols (which at the moment are easing up anyway). At the moment, they are modelling on the side and for fun because they have full-time jobs and model only over the weekends. But who knows what the future holds …

I am so grateful to Matthew & Jane for taking the time share so much valuable information with us.

If you want to book Matthew & Jane for a photo session, DM them on Instagram.

Episode & show notes: Episode 27
Instagram: @matthewjanedavis