Well, somehow August flew by and I am still not sure how it happened. We had some incredible shoots last month, but for this blog I wanted to feature our cover shoot with USA Triathlete Erin Storie. I also wanted to talk a little bit about producing a shoot and what goes into it, plus some things you need to think about before you go shoot!
Our cover shoot with Erin involved four different shoots in one day, in three different locations. On the actual day everything went extremely smooth, but that had a lot to do with what happened before we got there! If you're just getting started, or you've been shooting for a while, here's a couple things to keep in mind when producing a shoot.
KEEP EVERYONE IN THE LOOP - There are always a lot of people involved on shoots like this, starting with the Client/Art Directors etc, but you need to make sure that everyone is on the same page to begin with. I love starting the process with a face to face meeting or a phone call if possible and then following up with and e-mail. Then a few days prior to the shoot I send out a call sheet with everyone's info and the schedules. Some people include weather and hospitals as well. Do what you need to do to make sure everyone understands what is happening, and be open to change if need be.
CHECK ON PERMITS! There are a lot of great places you can shoot that don't need a permit to shoot there, but you should ALWAYS check before you show up somewhere and start shooting. In our case I also needed to make sure that we were also going to be able to splash around in the water, a lot of the lakes in Colorado Springs are non-contact. You can usually find a local film commission that will guide you if you can't find any info. Here is a link to on locally so you can see what it's like: http://www.visitcos.com/film/permits/
MAKE A LIST - If you end up shooting early in the morning or you are going on location this is critical. Make a check list of everything you will need to have on hand for the shoot. That way when you are packing up your car at 3 am you don't leave your camera on the desk. Also, don't check anything off the list until it's physically placed in your car/trailer and ready to go!
FOLLOW UP - If you've booked a location or you're working with talent I find it's a good idea to check in with them the day before, just to make sure everything is set and there are no loose ends. I am an over-communicator, but it's saved me a lot of headaches!
STAY ON SCHEDULE - Especially when working with athletes and celebrities, you only get one shot and you need to stick to what you say. If you're given 5 minutes, then you set up for 3 hrs, and shoot for 4 min and 30 sec. One of the things I hated the most was when I assisted people who weren't even close to on schedule. If you tell people you'll be done at 4 pm, then you better be done at 4 pm, if you think you need more time then build it in before hand.
FEED PEOPLE - Even before I made money as a photographer I liked getting paid in food. It is a simple fact of life though, people who are hungry are not happy. I tend to forget this, so I have my assistants remind me that we need to stop and eat :) Even if you're doing a personal project and people are volunteering their time, buy them lunch or dinner, it will make your shoot that much better.
Those are just a few things that I try to remember when planning a shoot, if you're interested in hearing more just leave a comment below and I will try to get a follow up blog that's more entailed in the near future! Now for the fun stuff...photos!
Before you take a look check out this radical video from our day by Storyteller Creative:
Now you can look at the final images ;)
That's gonna do it for today! I will try to get another blog rolling this month, and there is a lot of really exciting stuff in the works over the next couple of months...even in 2018! Get out there and be awesome people!