6 Checklist Essentials For Your First Photoshoot!

Working within the creative industry can prove to be quite difficult at times. With a lot of people usually getting a foot in the door by shadowing and working with other people, a lot of their experience also comes from trial and error. Whether you’re a filmmaker, photographer or set designer (the list is endless), sometimes it’s not so easy to assist on shoots to gain that extra experience.

?As Sugar Studios is a multipurpose space, we find that the majority of our spaces are used for photoshoots. Most of the crews that come through have been doing this for years and throughout their career, but what about people who want to dive into the business and have no idea where to start?

To give you some help, we’ve compiled an essential checklist on how to successfully plan your first photoshoot.

1.???Create a concise mood board.

The best way to ensure a successful photoshoot is making sure everyone is on the same page with how you want your results to turn out. Using applications such as Pinterest, that let you create your own ‘pinboards’ for inspiration, work effectively and can be shared with everyone on your team so that they can understand the vision and outcome. You can pin all sorts of things such as types of poses you want your model to do, the clothes that you want your stylist to pull for you, makeup looks and colour hues. Try not to have too many images as sometimes it might dilute or stray away from the themes you initially wanted.

2.???Find a stylist that suits you.

A good stylist should be able to provide looks for any sort of talent that is being presented to them. When looking for a stylist for your photoshoot, a really good way is to check out the tags on editorial shoots that you like and check out the stylist’s social media pages to see if they would be of interest to you. Checking out Instagram profiles to see their portfolio and finding client testimonials of that stylist is also a good way to find someone legitimate who can get the job done.

?3.???Find a makeup/hair artist that is suited for your model(s).

One of the biggest ongoing issues within the creative industry is inclusivity. With that being said, it’s important that you can find a makeup artist or hairdresser that can work with ALL types of hair and skin tones. There are unfortunately a lot of stories from people of colour who have turned up to shoots who have had to do their own hair and makeup because the crew wasn’t prepared well enough to accommodate to different hair textures and deeper skin tones. A good way to avoid this is to do your research and find makeup artists who have a portfolio showcasing a variety of models that they’ve worked on.

4.???Finding the right photographer for the job.

Every photographer in the industry has their own style that makes them stand out. By including in your moodboard some shots of how you want your final images to look for your photographer such as through editing, this is a great way to direct your photographer in the right direction with exactly what you want. However, as each photographer has their own style of editing, it’s a good idea to keep in mind that not all photographers might be suited to your project if you don’t want them to edit in a different style. Not a lot of photographers will necessarily change their editing style to suit your needs so rather, find a photographer that already does something similar to the outcome you want.

?5.???Make a call sheet.

This step is very important to ensure the timely and smooth running of a shoot – having an itinerary. You should consider setting out time frames of when your crew should arrive and when talent should arrive all the way to when you’re expecting to wrap up. Breaking down the day into sections will help you a lot and make sure you have enough allocated time for your talent to get ready, shoot space set up, breaks and tidying up at the end of the shoot.

5.???Take budgeting and rates into consideration.

Doing freelance work can be a challenging job. With the ongoing conversation about how freelancers don’t get paid enough for the work they do, it’s important to think about whether you can afford to hire someone and accommodate to their rates. Most stylists, makeup artists, photographers etc. have a set rate for the day but you can always ask them how much they would charge for however many hours you need as well. It’s not so much a great idea to try and barter with freelancers as many of them do this for a living but a lot of them will take into consideration what your budget is if you’re honest.

This checklist should be an easy gateway into doing your first shoot and provides the essential things to definitely keep in mind for when you’re ready.

Please do let us know if you find this checklist useful, and whether you have any other tips to add, we'd love to hear!