For those starting out in the photography business, you may wonder how to best prepare for your client photoshoot. Once your subjects start paying you for photography, there are expectations to deliver a certain level of quality and even quantity of “good shots”. So preparing for your shoot is more than just grabbing your camera.
The Day Before the Shoot
1. Figure out what equipment you want to bring.
2. Charge batteries.
3. Check settings on your cameras.
4. Clean your equipment. This includes both ends of each lens and the inside of the lens cap.
5. Check directions. So much can happen right before the shoot, so try to minimize surprises. If it’s a new location (or maybe even one you’ve been to before, but haven’t in awhile), Check the directions online to make sure you know how to get there and see how long it’ll take.
6. Put the client’s contract in your bag.
The Day Of the Shoot
1. Plan to arrive early. Plan to arrive 15 minutes early for lifestyle shoots and 30 minutes early for events, so you can get your gear set up based on the light at the location. Arrive even earlier if the shoot is in an urban location where you need to find parking or if it’s an unfamiliar location, so you can do a quick walk-through.
2. Review the details. Every client is special and the last thing you’d want is for them to feel like “just another subject” you are photographing. So during your drive, read over your notes and try your best to remember names.
3. Visualize. If there is something novel about the shoot (ie, the location, the types of people, the type of shoot), visualize a few things you’d want to do during the shoot. How will I shoot it? At what angle? How would I compose the shot? Which lens would I use? Where would I be versus my subjects? Of course what ends up happening at the shoot may not be what you visualized at all, but you’ll have a few ideas “up your sleeve”, if you need them.
4. Load up on coffee.
5. Listen to music.
Photography Tip for Beginning Pros:
Prepare your gear early, so you don’t have to worry about your equipment. The last thing you’d want is to find out you forgot to pack a much-needed piece of equipment or your battery level is low right before you have to leave for your shoot.
Then, for mental preparation, do what YOU need to do to be open to creative thinking. Whatever that is. Maybe that’s sketching, baking, reading a few pages of your favorite novel or going for a run before your shoot. Do it your way. And lastly, be confident and have fun!
