Preparing for a Photo shoot.

[fotografz]

Guy, I appreciate the pre-thinking you are asking about. Prepro is the secret to success, as luck favors the prepared.

Commercial work, weddings, and personal work are each different processes for me.

Weddings are more impromptu, and are more about being prepared for worst, and hoping for the best. Client pre-meetings help set the creative shoot expectations, I may sketch out a few ideas I want to try and accomplish if there is time ... map questing every location in order as a back-up to GPS, packing gear and redundant backups, working with clients on an itinerary for the day, then selecting gear based on timings and creative ideas (at this point I can pack and repack the bag as I change my creative ideas). I use a roller with most everything needed in it (strobes are separate), but also have smaller lens bags in the SUV for mobile location work ... grab the camera and two other lenses for mobile stop-off points.

Commercial work and conceptual portraits are totally different and are based on so many years in advertising. I work mostly on the ideas and concepts first (which is the most important step) and select the ones I want to pursue ... then start the pre-pro process where I plan out each idea very carefully: location scout, plan timings for assistants, PAs, discuss ideas with hair/make-up, wardrobe, props ... look up the timings for the sun and the light direction at the location, actually diagram the lighting ideas for each set-up so we have everything I need ready.

Personal work, just takes a bit of pre-thought ... mostly determined by how I want to creatively play it ... NYC or any urban location walk-about usually means B&W, Leica MM, small kit ... Tropical "fat light scenarios" may mean the S2 ... and so on. Or the exact opposite if I so choose to play it that way.

three words ... Prepro, prepro, prepro. The creative notions or ideas inform the prepro, the prepro stacks the odds in favor of success ... yet mentally always leaving some room for intuitive discovery at the last minute.

-Marc

 

[Studio B]

This maybe interesting and had no real home for it but regardless your shooting for a client or just a weekend warrior adventure. How do you prepare for it?

What does it take from getting you ready to get out there. Do you plan, Make a shot list, a gear list a cleaning procedure. What does it take you to get yourself out the door.

Have fun. :clap:

My gear transports in several large road cases so not much thought goes into that. If the case slots are filled then I haven't forgotten anything. The gear is loaded the night before and ready to go.

The shoot itself has been discussed with either the client or art director before hand. If it's on location then we've been out scouting the site a few days before hand and have our game plan. No time is wasted on the day of the shoot unless a model doesn't show up because her car broke down.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Some great answers here. I've been doing this so long and its interesting to hear folks thoughts and agree with Marc each type of photography does create diffrent prep work and thoughts not to mention the gear needed. I also agree many outings are on a whim and a prayer as well. I thought this would be a interesting thread since it really is never brought up as we normally talk about the shoot itself or post production work. To me the whole process especially with a client from the time you hang up the phone until the clients check clears (LOL) its a fascinating process of getting your art out the door. It's funny I think about this all the time and its a big part of being a photographer and each job has certain critical parts to it that are worth sharing , so thanks for everyone's thoughts. Maybe this will help some folks accomplish better images.


I think its time we have another shooting challenge.:clap:

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

I have one big case that I feed smaller bags from according to need. Oh and a couple of drawers with less used stuff like sensor cleaning gear, lens pouches and step up rings, etc.

Load up the bag after charging batteries. Depending on how much set up time I'll have I'll get the cameras and flashes on the right settings in advance. Oh and check the batteries in the radio slaves, so easy to forget that one, loads of charged camera and flash batteries but the thing needed to connect them, woops forgot that one!

Cards, while charging batteries I format cards and load the cards face down into my card wallet. I never wipe cards till the next job, keeping that one extra step of backup as long as it's not a problem, heck you never know.

Pro gear is such that most of the photographers I know never packed their gear up after a gig, they would keep their stuff all set up in a plastic box in the back of the car with a large ragged shmatta thrown over. That got lugged back into the office/studio at the end of the day. If you're shooting every day it's faster then bothering with full tear down. I used to tear down into bags myself but I was never that busy. As a pro though at least never bothered with caps Gear and bags full strip down and clean was once a year while doing the Passover cleaning .