Planning your commercial photo shoot - 6 quick tips

As a Commercial Photographer, I often get asked how do I get the most out of a photo shoot. My usual answer is that it's like anything in life - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. For most clients, more time is actually spent planning than shooting ! With detailed preparation for even the simplest of photo sessions, the results will be many times better than shoots that are rushed into and not thought out well.

Below is a checklist to help make the most out of every commercial photography session, using photos from a recent shoot I did for the fabulous London menswear outlet, Lipman and Sons. This is an ideal example as this was quite a complicated shoot with multiple locations, outfits, models etc....so planning was crucial!

• Step 1 - The initial discussion . During this conversation, we discuss things like what services does the client offer, do they have an outlet or a relevant location? Where will the photos be used? Will the business continue to run while we are carrying out the shoot? Or can it be closed or used out of hours? For Lipman + Sons, the photos were to be used on a brand new website being designed by the fabulous Sarah from 181Digital.com. So, it was great to be able to hear what sections we needed photos for, what sort of format of photo is needed (portrait? landscape? panoramic?) and have a rough idea of how many photos are needed in total.
  
  
• Step 2 - Create a shotlist . Once armed with information from the initial discussion, I create a shotlist which outlines the what, where and how for the shoot. This can have many iterations as planning continues, but it is the main document that I will work from on the day of the shoot to ensure we get exactly the shots we need. Again, for Lipman + Sons, this was carried out in conjunction with the client and the web designer, so everyone knew what was going to happen on the day and in what order.
  
  
• Step 3 - Location. If the client has a business premises, then obviously that can dictate where the photography will take place. However, for some, this might not be suitable/appropriate or they might prefer an alternative, relevant location. Lipman + Sons have been providing menswear for over 100 years. Their shop is rammed to the rafters (see below!) with suits, coats and accessories so it wasn't an appropriate location. It was agreed that we would shoot near the store using London's West End as the backdrop. Whilst this was fantastic in terms of the variety on offer, when photographing in public spaces it does create issues in terms of avoiding members of the public, so we selected a morning shoot before the streets became too busy.

Step 4 - Models and props . For most shoots, some form of props will be required to represent the business but it is important to plan exactly what is going to be shown and to ensure they are available on the day.

In terms of models, in 13 years of business, I have never had to actually pay a professional model - we usually find either willing staff members, or rope in friends or family! A good trade-off can be had on the day - they give up a little of their time in return for a free professional headshot which can be carried out during the shoot. Another question to ask is if a hair and make up artist will be required on the day too. For Lipman + Sons, we used 3 models to represent different ages, shapes and sizes!

Step 5 - Delivery. It is very important to agree before the shoot exactly what is going to be delivered and when. I supply photographs to my clients via an online gallery system - they can download their photos directly as both high resolution and low resolution jpegs, So, they are set up with files which can be used online or for print. I always try to manage my clients' expectations as to when they will get the photos, depending on when I know I will have time at my desk to edit them.

Step 6 - Back up plan . One thing I have learnt running my business all these years is that it is always important to have a back up plan and also to be extremely flexible! When you are working in public spaces, you cannot always dictate exactly where you are going to shoot, or what the weather is going to be like. In an ideal world, I do a recce prior to the shoot and I also use the LightTrac app so I can see exactly where the light is going to be coming from at any location, at any time, on any day. However, sometimes even the best laid plans go astray! On this particular shoot, it started to rain, so we managed to talk our way into The Round Table pub and take photos in there!

So hopefully, if you are planning a photo shoot for your business, these 6 steps will help you make the most out of your session. But if you need any help, please feel free to give me a call on 07715 889457 or take a look at my website here. Thank you for reading. Pennie