How to Plan a Styled Shoot as a Photographer
Want to plan a styled photoshoot but don’t know where to start? Keep reading… you’re in the right place!
Planning a Styled Shoot: The Basics
The first step in planning a styled shoot as a photographer is to figure out what your goals are. Is it to practice a concept, gain content for your portfolio, or just for fun? You can start by answering the following questions:
What
What kind of content do you want to shoot? couples/families/creative?
For me I was really inspired to do a 70’s styled shoot because my friend has a really cool green couch that fit the vibe.
Why
Looking to build your portfolio or just test out a concept?
I wanted to create this shoot to add to my creative portrait portfolio. Most of my paying clients are families or couples and I want to expand my reach to more creative opportunities.
Where
What location do you want to use? Outside? Studio?
Like I mentioned before, I chose the location for the couch. Plus it helped that the same friend happened to have an awesome 70’s style wardrobe we could pick from!
I also brought my two softbox lights with me to ensure we would have proper lighting.
When
Do you have a timeline for this shoot? Soon? Lots of planning?
We found a date that all 4 of us were free and marked it down on the calendars, it was a random Thursday after we got off work.
Who
Who will you use as models? Hire them? Ask friends? Model call?
For this styled shoot I choose to ask two of my best friends to be my models. I love doing this because I don’t have to feel guilty about not being able to pay them and they get free photos out of it!
How
JUST DO IT!!!
You’ll get better with practice but if you’re worried about not being prepared, spend the night before watching youtube videos and screenshotting inspiration so you can easily refer back to it if you get stuck.
