Fashion & Lifestyle Photography
What the Shoot?
Dive in to see what’s involved in a professional shoot.
Ah, photoshoots…. perfectly clad beautiful people walking in slow motion to chill tunes. Flashlights. Paparazzi. Glamour oozing out of every supermodel pore. Well…not quite. The reality is just a tad sweatier. Or as one of our model friends put it, “zero glamour, buckets of sweat.”
Here then is a breakdown of what it really takes to wrangle one of these productions of still or moving images….
Step 0. Selection
After reviewing dozens of websites clients land on ours and decide to make the best possible creative decision in the history of humankind…to hire us. OK, exaggerating just a bit, but seriously, we’ve been doing this for a while and after hundreds of shoots and millions of images (and gallons of sweat) we just love shooting stuff (and know how to make stuff look great).
Step 1. The Brief
The brief sets the tone and scope for pretty much everything that follows. From the target audience and intended use to the message, look and feel. For moving pictures, videos, films, the brief should also include the script. This is where the project gets defined (budget, target shoot dates, locations, technical requirements, travel, etc.)
And no worries, if you’ve never done this, we’re here to help.
We have a nifty shoot questionnaire
Step 2. Pre-viz
Pre visualization can entail anything from reference image searches to complete storyboarding of every detail. Mood boards, reference shots, story boards, youtube links, etc. helps determine what the shoot should and (equally important) shouldn’t entail. Once the concepts and visual ideas have been reviewed, discussed and approved, it’s time to define the shot-list and move on to pre production..
Step 3. Pre-pro
Pre-production entails organizing all the variables and finalizing all the moving parts on a production schedule. Props are reviewed, wardrobe is fitted, locations are scouted, then casting and booking talent, organizing and booking crew (stylist, makeup artists, etc.). And yes, this part will include some meetings to ensure all involved are on the same proverbial page.
Step 4. Production
The talent’s booked and fitted, crew’s keen and ready, and with a solid schedule in hand, it’s time to shoot. We work fast (but not furious) and cover a lot in a day’s work. Kinda like a pit crew, we work to move efficiently between shots so that we can move from setup to setup and cover what we set out to do (and often more).
Step 5. Post
Not every job includes post-production, but if it does, it would include color correcting and retouching still photos or in the case of videos editing and finishing (which may include recording VO to color grading, sound mixing, music selection, graphics, etc.)
Step 6. Hello World
The most exciting part…sharing your awesome new creative with the world.
See…as easy as one two three four five six.
If you’d like a review of your photography and video needs we’re ready to help.
Please contact us here
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