What is actually involved in a photoshoot?

It’s struck me recently that the majority of people haven’t got a clue what is involved from start to finish in doing a photoshoot.

I’m pretty sure that a lot of people, (not everyone) think that to be a photographer all you do is buy a fancy camera, show up to take a few pictures and hey presto the job is done.  Indeed some people seem convinced that if they bought a ‘fancy’ camera they’d be able to do it too - good luck with that.

Given that everyone takes masses of photos these days, generally on their phones and then simply upload them or maybe tweak them slightly and add a filter before uploading to Instagram, I guess its not surprising that people think there’s not much to it.

The camera is only as good as the person holding it and the skills they possess. It doesn’t just take great pics of its own accord - or not yet anyway, AI is making inroads I know but I’m not yet convinced it can do the same job. Time as they say will tell, but meanwhile, please realise that a shoot is not a case of a simple show up, take a few shots and save the images out. 

Some people do realise that there’s a lot more to it but many will have no idea of just what is involved in doing a shoot. So I thought I’d do an article or series of articles on just what is involved.  

I happen to think its interesting, you may too but I’m hoping that it will build some awareness of what the work of a photographer actually entails.

Stages to a shoot

There are several stages to any shoot, and different photographers may have different approaches, but this is a basic outline and I thought I’d start by listing the different areas out and then explore the stages one by one over the course of the next week or so.

The various elements to a photoshoot generally are:

• Pre-consultation and planning 
• Prop selection, Finding models, buying items for the shoot
• Packing and travel or Studio preparation
• Shoot
• Packing and travel or Studio clearance
• Back up of images and import into editing software
• Post Production
• Checking and delivery of images

None of these areas are trivial and they all require time, energy and have cost implications. 

The images you use to portray your products or services and your brand as a whole are so important. You have seconds to grab someone’s attention and persuade them to hang around and find out more before they are gone possibly forever.  

On that basis you can’t afford anything but the best. Going it alone with images taken on a cell phone is not the answer and while it may seem cheap, it is probably costing you hundreds if not thousands of pounds but you’ll never know unless you test the difference out.  

Not convinced?

So why do all the large corporates spend a fortune on photography then? 

It’s not about keeping up with the Joneses, its about sales and they know how important photography is to their bottom line. That’s why all large corporates have branding guidelines and why often, anything, that is going into the public domain has to be rubber-stamped by branding first, or it never sees the light of day.  

Estimated time involved in a shoot

Because its important there’s a lot involved, a great deal more than most people probably realise.  

In terms of the actual time involved so for instance say we are doing a half day shoot then the time actually involved in doing this half day shoot will likely be:

• Pre-consultation and planning - 20 mins actual consultation + 5-10 minutes admin time following the consultation  + 30 mins - 1 hour research 
• Prop selection, Finding models, buying items for the shoot 30 mins to several hours depending on the shoot
• Packing and travel or Studio preparation - 30 mins 
• Shoot - the booked half day
• Packing and travel or Studio clearance 20 mins
• Back up of images and import into editing software 20 mins to 1 hour depending on number of images
• Post Production - can be as long as the shoot time so for this lets say a half day
• Checking and delivery 30 mins to 1 hour

So from the above list its clear that what looks like a half day shoot and is referred to as a half day shoot, actually is equal to around one and a half days in time and that's without any travel!

That’s without the time taken to draw up quotes and contracts and in discussions with the client before the shoot is agreed. Add in all the other items that are needed and the costs get pretty hefty I can tell you.

There will be plenty of people who will say oh but you don't need post production time, you just get it right in camera. It's a nice theory and great when it works but in real life and more especially in food photography it just isn't possible. Food shoots by their very nature often require an image to be made up of several images. But I'll look at that in another article.

I hope that gives a little insight into what goes into a shoot.