Styling, whether for the home, or for visual media, is the skill du jour, and yet to the uninitiated, it can feel quite as mysterious as if it were a magical art. Luckily, help is at hand. Here at 91, we’ve sought out the best of the styling courses, with talented teachers who will share their styling secrets and unravel the mysteries of creating beautifully styled images. Whether you’d like to treat yourself to a full day’s workshop, or learn online from the comfort of your own home, we’ve picked a course for you…
IPhoneographer and Instagram coach, Sara Tasker of Me & Orla offers both short and full-day workshops on visual storytelling for Instagram. During the short workshop, Sara covers the following: iPhoneography and the secrets of beautiful smartphone pics; styling with meaning for visual storytelling, and developing your personal style for a beautiful Instagram feed. Full day workshops cover all of the above but at a slower pace. They include meeting by the fire, taking a photo walk in the Yorkshire hills, sharing and styling a lunch, not to mention a range of afternoon workshop sessions by talented Instagram folk : floristry, dressmaking, photo editing, baking, etc. Sara’s emphasis is on styling and shooting as you go along: capturing the details, instead of setting time aside for an entirely artificial photoshoot. For more details, and to take Sara’s brilliant free E-course, The Instaretreat, you need to sign up to the mailing list on her blog. You can see more of Sara’s dreamy ethereal styling over on Instagram, where you’ll find her as @me_and_orla.
Emma Harris, founder of the blog A Quiet Style and the corresponding styling hashtag #aquietstyle, offers two different workshops in Styling & Composition for Visual Media: one aimed at anyone who would like to improve their images, and one aimed at florists and flower lovers. Emma’s workshops cover the following: what she uses to take her photos; the best way to edit on your phone for a consistent feed; guidelines for great composition; the rules of styling; how to style a visual story, and tips for growing your Instagram feed. Each session includes teaching, demonstrations and plenty of practical opportunities. These intimate workshops are held in a beautiful florist shop in Brighton, where there are props galore, and fresh flowers on hand to play with. You can find details of the workshops over on Emma’s website, and see more of her beautiful distinctive styling over on Instagram, where you’ll find her as @aquietstyle.
Photographer Emily Quinton teaches photography and social media workshops at her light South London studio and also runs online courses that reach people all over the world. Her emphasis is on learning to take better photographs with whatever camera you have,: from a smartphone to a dSLR and everything in between. In addition to photography tips, Emily’s courses and workshops also teach styling skills and composition tricks. You can find out more about Emily’s range of courses by visiting her website , and see more of her gorgeous floral styling over on Instagram, where you’ll find her as @emilyquinton.
Finally, if you’d like to learn about styling with plants and natural items in the home, and discover how to make a Kokedama (a Japanese moss ball bonsai), there may still be time to snap up one of the final places on the Owl in the Ivy seasonal workshop hosted by Emma Rice and Lou Archell (founder of the popular styling hashtag #natureinthehome). You can find out more, and buy tickets here. You can also see more of Lou’s lovely natural styling and Emma’s love of wabi-sabi over on Instagram, where you’ll find them as @littlegreenshed and @owl_emma.
Top banner image by Michelle Young / Styling by Charlotte Love.