For 2025, we have been trying out the concept of quarterly content shoots. Not only is this perfect for team bonding, but it also turns it into an "event" to make sure we are getting fresh content for our team and clients.

This time, we wanted to share the behind-the-scenes of this shoot, to not only showcase our process, but also show you how normal it is to pivot in business! And, trust us, this shoot required A LOT of pivots.

First and foremost, let's go over our process.

Brainstorm
Logistics
Detail Planning
Execution

1.) Brainstorm

We kicked off every content shoot with a brainstorming session; most of the time, this is roped into our team meetings! Our team is full of creatives, so an idea dump is always essential. Each of our quarterly shoots comes with an entirely new vibe to shake up our content and ensures that we aren't doing the same exact content shoot over and over again, so no idea is a bad idea. We think about things like...

"What were our goals for this shoot?"

"What were we using the content for?"

"What types of content had we used the most from the last shoot?"

"Where do we need the most content?" (Blogs, social, etc.)

These questions help us map out our focus areas and turn them into a plan for the day. We address all our current content "gaps," aka what content we need to prioritize because we don't have it or have used it all already.

2.) The Vision Board

Next, we like to start with planning it out visually. Again, we are all creatives, and we like to get our ideas out in a visual way. We usually run to Pinterest to create a board and start pinning. This board isn't set in stone either; it stays with us throughout the entire shoot, and we continue to shape it with our vision and planning to be a resource throughout. We pin anything and everything, and use this as a base for planning the rest of our shoot.

3.) Logistics

Once we have an idea of where we want to take the shoot visually, we shift to focusing on logistics. We plan all the when, where, and who to get the ball rolling. Typically, we divide up the tasks and coordinate with any external people or props to make sure everything aligns.

4.) The Details

Once the big picture things are set, it is time to plan all the details. We mapped out the time shots, shots, outfits, props, and necessary equipment. Planning a shot list helps us map out every single shot we want to take, and we always add in a buffer for all those fun ideas that pop up during.

5.) Execution

The week of, we connect to review all the details, discuss any final travel details and coordination, and then we plan out the 'day of' with tasks. The morning of, we give ourselves plenty of time to start getting prepped for the day, setting up content zones, outfits, etc.

Pivoting Content Days

This is the roadmap we follow each time we plan a content shoot — however, this one...came with a lot of pivots and extra stops in this roadmap as we mentioned above.

We originally started out with this shoot being designed around our agency. There were tennis courts, cute golf outfits, and lots of virtual hotel slumber party vibes happening. But the location contact wasn’t giving us clear answers, replies for custom props were delayed, and coordination just wasn’t clicking.

So, we pivoted...

Our entire shoot.

Instead of making the shoot about us, we shifted the focus to our clients. And honestly? It turned out better than we could’ve planned. We kept the hotel vision (it still worked perfectly for the brands we were working with), but scratched the tennis court + country club theme, along with all those (super cute, dang it) planned outfits.

We created three mini “stations” inside our hotel room, one for each client, and built the shoot around them. And, after all, everything is content, so we were able to get our content out of us by filming the content, too. And that's how everything really does work out in the end!

Another bump we ran into was getting our clients' products on time. Of course, shipping always adds a bit of unsteadiness to the planning process. So, one of our clients' products didn't end up making it to the shoot the day of, but rather the night of. Instead, we had to use a few of the other branded resources, and use our second filler day as a bit more than we originally planned. But all in all, we got the content. And, not to toot our own horns, but it's pretty good, too.

Our Takeaways

Make Planning Fun

Everyone loves a content day, but the planning part might seem daunting or even just flat out boring. But even if you are a solopreneur who hates planning, find ways to make your planning process fun so you look forward to doing it. Make tasks more fun and eliminate the "chore" mindset! The Pinterest board is for us; it lets us really harness those creative ideas and bring them to life.

Prep for What You Can

There will always be delays, bumps, and unpredictables. Focus on what you can control and prep for, and that's all you can do! Have a few backup plans you can lead on, and if those don't work out, maybe it wasn't meant to be after all!

Don't Sweat The Small Things

This is the hardest lesson to learn in business. There are hard days in every job, business, and industry, but remember, at the end of the day, it's just that. It's just a business. We aren't saving lives. So, don't sweat the small things because that's going to push you into that burnout zone.