How To Plan a Photoshoot

Planning a photoshoot can feel daunting and while it’s tempting to go shutters-a-blazing, it’s good to have a game plan. This four part plan covers everything you need to do during the pre-production process from conceptualizing, to reaching out to models and further creative assistance. Are you ready to shoot?

part 1. mood boarding & location scouting

This is my favorite part of planning a photoshoot. And not to be confused with storyboarding, mood boarding is sourcing inspiration to find that spark of creativity.

Your mood board is your creative hub, use it to figure out the visual direction for your shoot. I like to add a mix of photos and word associations that fit the theme of the shoot at-hand, but you can also use music, colors, voice memos, and really anything that inspires you. Milanote is a great all-in-one creative planning tool that I like to use, their mood board feature allows you to drag and drop just about anything into a seemingly infinite canvas.

Another important aspect of the mood board is planning a location for your shoot. Ideally you should visit the location and take photos of the areas that seem interesting, but if you can’t be there in person then online research will do just as well. Familiarizing yourself with the location makes it easier to map out your shots, saving you time on the day of the shoot.

Once you’ve got the concept down it’s time to move onto…

part 2. storyboarding

Grab some paper, a pen, and sketch it out. Storyboards are organizational tools that allow you to map out your shots, draw inspiration from the location, and help others visualize your idea. The best thing about storyboards is you don’t have to be an artist to make one, just look at this masterpiece I made.

The quality of the drawing doesn’t really matter, just as long as you can glimpse over the storyboard to get an idea of what poses the model should be doing for that location before moving on to the next.

Storyboards can also be used to illustrate movements and plan framing, consider this: how much, or how little of the scene do you want to be in frame? Do you want to capture the entire surrounding, or just a close up of your model standing in it? Think of the edges of your drawing as the view from your viewfinder when shooting, use it to anticipate where you want to crop your images.

Bonus tip: If you already have a location figured out, take a photo of the areas you’re going to be shooting at and draw over them in an editing app. I like to use the default photos app for iPhone. This saves you some time from having to draw the scene and helps to better visualize how people will fit in it.

part 3. shot list & equipment checklist

If you already made a storyboard you might be wondering why you should also make a shot list — and honestly it’s completely up to you. I like to make shot list in addition to a storyboard because it’s a simplified method for remembering who’s going be in the shot and how I’m going to frame them. Here’s a list of shorthand I like to use in my shot lists, courtesy of Studio Binder:

CU: Close-up

MCU: Medium Close-up

ECU: Extreme Close-up

WCU: Wide Close-up

MS: Medium Shot

CS: Cowboy Shot

MCS: Medium Close Shot

WS: Wide Shot

EWS: Extreme Wide Shot

FS: Full Shot

MFS: Medium Full Shot

LS: Long Shot

ELS: Extreme Long Shot

Each of these shots refer to an angle and camera placement. Shot lists can feel a little strict, but look to them as guidelines that you can use to branch off into other shots. You can find more information about different types of shots on this article by Studio Binder, in which they do an amazing job of breaking down the shots and providing examples of their use in the field.

As for the equipment checklist, DO NOT SKIP IT. The worse feeling ever is realizing you forgot something and knowing exactly where you left it. Compile a list of everything you’ll be using for the shoot. No detail is too small, aside from technical equipment like SD cards and lenses, you can also list any props you’ll be using during the shoot.

While it’s important to have an equipment checklist separate from your shot list, you can incorporate it into your shot list by what items you’ll be using for that scene. A typical line in one of my shot list follows like this: Model (a), CS, strobe light, diffusion board, cam bottom left.

Translates to: Model selection, shot type, lighting equipment, lighting accessories, camera orientation.

part 4. reaching out

Models, special affects, make up artists, hair stylists, lighting assistants, production assistants, storyboard artists — oh my.

Those were just a few titles to mention, the point is it takes a team to bring your vision to life. For beginning photographers who are planning their first photoshoot and don’t have an extensive portfolio to showcase, this may feel intimidating, but having a well-thought out project goes a long way to making people believe in your idea.

Leveraging the previous materials that were mentioned, your mood board and storyboard, you can garner interest in your photoshoot. When reaching out to people to bring them into your project make sure to clarify if the shoot is paid or for exposure. You may find that there are other aspiring artists who are looking to build their portfolio as well. In that case, offering digital assets and crediting their work whenever it is published is a great way to bring people in.

Don’t be afraid to post casting calls on your social media or reach out to people. And if you have an idea but aren’t sure how to bring it into fruition, working with other photographers is a great way to build experience and learn how to collaborate on creative direction. Sometimes it’s as easy as sending that DM, but make sure to do your research when it comes to contacting people. They may prefer that any service inquiries be sent by email, most people will clarify this in their social profiles.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a shoot to get to. Good luck!