Planning Your Photoshoot

Lesson Info

Planning Your Photoshoot

We are talking about how to plan your photo shoot. This is something that, of course, will vary for people, depending on what type of work you do, how you like to work, but there are certain ways of creating that I think that can benefit a vast majority of people and I wanna share a little bit of my process, as well, and not just technical. You know, how do you build a photo shoot? How does this work? But, also the concept behind it, the ideas behind it and exactly what you're trying to communicate, making sure that that goes into the image. You can see a little before and after picture here. I'll be showing you a number of those during this presentation, just a little bit of how I like to work, how it comes together in the end, and how an image of just me doing a weird back bend in a field can somehow turn into something that communicates an idea to somebody. I love looking at before and after images because when you see this before image, what if that was it? What if that was the pic...

ture? I mean, would you have any idea of what I was trying to communicate? Maybe. You might be like, yeah, I can kinda see the pose. It might be saying something, but the concept isn't quite there yet and that's why it's so fascinating to me to be able to go through something like this. The first thing we have to do is determine how you work. I mean, how do you really like to work? I think that it's sort of something that's lost a little bit is how you like to work. You get into this mindset of this is how I should do things. This is how I've always done things. And then, you forget to change it up or really ask that question to yourselves and I like to ask that question because it can really alter the direction that I take my work in and this happened to me about a year ago, maybe a year and a half ago. I asked myself this question of how do I wanna work. If I had to change things, what would it be like? And, I ended up creating a totally new series where I built a set in a studio. I never do that. I mean, I was very anti-studio. I didn't want that. I didn't enjoy that process before. I mean, I went so far as, my studio ended up being in an abandoned high school. It was not even a real studio, but it was a space that I could create in and I found a lot of joy in that process that I really hated before. How do you like to work? I wanted to ask about this picture in particular. I know that it's kind of a creepy, crawley picture, but nonetheless, we're going to ask this question. I wanna know how this could've been done. So, just think. Brainstorm right now. If you were going to make this picture, you're probably like I would never have made this picture, but if you were to have made this picture, how would you have done it? What would be your process? If you were gonna go get your props and stuff and actually sit down and do this, what would you do? Does anyone have an actual idea of what you would've done to make this picture happen? Okay. Let's hear it. From anyone. If I was gonna do it, I would use a blank wall. I would hang a black sheet so that I would go ahead and have a black background that I wouldn't have to change later. Always good. I would get a white sheet for the bottom and I would buy a dress that would be easy to unzip and photoshopped to look like a skin texture later and post and then I would use myself because I am a self-portrait artist. Awesome! Okay. So, I'll show you how I did it, which is very similar to how you did it. I used this dress and I unzipped it. I took a pillow with a black pillow case and I stuffed it in the dress and it looks so much like my body. I was so impressed. Just a pillow, right? This was the actual raw image that I started with. I stuffed that pillow in there. Just crunched the blacks down for this visual that I'm showing you right now and this was what I used and it was really great because it had the shape of a person, so I didn't have to struggle to hold the dress in a certain position and get little pieces of dress. It was just there, like that, because of this fantastic black pillow case that I had. I used that and that was what I used to blend into my skin for the previous image that you just saw there. It was really, really fun to do, but there are so many ways you could've done this. Right? Like, so many ways. Maybe this person was actually wearing a dress for the image and then, you photoshopped skin onto it. Who knows? I mean, whoa! Who knows? It could've been anything. There are so many ways to do it and I'm gonna show you a little bit of how I like to do things, as well. I think the first thing that we need to do, though, is to really look inside of ourselves and ask how do I work. How do I like to work? What do I want my work to look like? And to really break open your mind because I think that we just don't delve into that space very often, of saying how do I work. How do I work? You watch people, even on CreativeLive, working in a certain way and you adopt certain things from them and then, you go out, and you shoot, and you're like, oh! I really like that thing that I did and then you take that and then, all of a sudden, a year goes by and you have a process and that's your process that you've taken from pieces from other people, from other things, from experiences and then, something really horrible happens, which is that you have a portfolio and you know what you're doing and that's what you've been working for is to know what you're doing and then you know what you're doing and then you don't do anything else. You just do that thing, over and over because it's easy and it's familiar, and you get what you want from it, but what about the potential that you have to create something different from what you've done before? I believe, truly, that the biggest obstacle that we have in achieving any vision, a vision, is that we don't know how to cultivate a vision in the first place, that we see other people doing things, and so, we do that thing, that we have an idea of maybe what we want, but we settle for however it comes out because that's way easier than doing it over and over and over again. For some reason, we think that it's supposed to be easy. We think that being an artist is about just poof! Our pictures exist and that's how it's supposed to be. But, in my opinion, it's supposed to be really hard work. I think that being an artist is something that is often thought of as being this simple thing. Oh, well, if you're an artist, then you're naturally good at that, right? I mean, obviously. If you're doing it, then surely you're good at it. You don't have to think about it. But, what if we did take the time to think more deeply about how we create and why we're creating? What could it turn into? And that's the question that I really want to answer because I also believe in this idea that if we're more decisive and if we simply try more things, then we're gonna be so productive in our craft. But, if we don't, if we flounder, if we're not really sure what wardrobe to use, what location to use, if we settle for things, if we simply stop trying different things, then we're going to be unproductive in our craft. I think that it's important to talk about what it meant to be productive in your craft. I don't mean that you're gonna create tons and tons of images. I mean that you're going to create images that are more meaningful, more impactful for you, and for other people. I believe that if we can think more deeply for ourselves, if we can challenge our craft, then it will start to mean more to other people. That's what I want to encourage that we do. Specifically, that we understand why we're compelled to create. And we've already talked about this, the why. Why are you compelled? What is it? For example, I don't even like photography that much and I'm okay admitting that. It's not my favorite medium. I love writing more than I love photography, in general, and that's not to say that I don't love photography, I do, but I love other things a little bit more. That will evolve over the course of my life. That's okay. Why, then, do I take pictures if that's not my favorite, favorite, favorite medium to create in? Well, because it's the most satisfying at the end, because the process is really fun. I love going on photo shoots. The reason why I was so anti-studio for so long is because I didn't wanna be cooped up in a studio, and I didn't wanna just have my white walls and have to put a backdrop up. I wanted to go to the forest and I wanted to go to the desert and I wanted to experience things. That's why I'm compelled to create. That's what I love is the experience of it. That's why I would call myself a photographer and I don't necessarily go up to strangers and say I'm a writer because yeah, I love writing and I'm a writer, but also, I love this experience so much.

Class Description

Lessons

1. Class Introduction
2. Storytelling & Ideas
3. Universal Symbols in Stories
4. Create Interactive Characters
5. The Story is in The Details
6. Giving Your Audience Feelings
7. Guided Daydream Exercise
8. Elements of Imagery
9. The Death Scenario
10. Associations with Objects
11. Three Writing Exercises
12. Connection Through Art
13. Break Through Imposter Syndrome
14. Layering Inspiration
15. Creating an Original Narrative
16. Analyze an Image
17. Translate Emotion into Images
18. Finding Parts in Images
19. Finding Your Target Audience
20. Where Do You Want Your Images to Live?
21. Create a Series That Targets Your Audience
22. Formatting Your Work
23. Additional Materials to Attract Clients
24. Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?
25. How to Make Money from Your Target Audience
26. Circle of Focus
27. The Pillars of Branding
28. Planning Your Photoshoot
29. Choose Every Element for The Series
30. Write a Descriptive Paragraph
31. Sketch Your Ideas
32. Choose Your Gear
33. How to Utilize Costumes, Props & Locations
34. What Tells a Story in a Series?
35. Set Design Overview
36. Color Theory
37. Lighting for the Scene
38. Props, Wardrobe & Time Period for Set Design
39. Locations
40. Subject Within the Scene
41. Set Design Arrangement
42. Fine Art Compositing
43. Plan The Composite Before Shooting
44. Checklist for Composite Shooting
45. Analyze Composite Mistakes
46. Shoot: Black Backdrop for White Clothing
47. Shoot: Black Backdrop for Color Clothing
48. Shoot: Black Backdrop for Accessories
49. Shoot: Miniature Scene
50. Editing Workflow Overview
51. Add Fabric to Make a Big Dress
52. Edit Details of Images
53. Add Smoke & Texture
54. Blend Multiple Images Into One Composite
55. Put Subject Into a Miniature Scenario
56. Location Scouting & Test Photoshoot
57. Self Portrait Test Shoots
58. Shoot for Edit
59. Shoot Extra Stock Images
60. Practice the Shoot
61. Introduction to Shooting Photo Series
62. Shoot: Vine Image
63. Shoot: Sand Image
64. Shoot: End Table Image
65. Shoot: Bed Image
66. Shoot: Wall Paper Image
67. Shoot: Chair Image
68. Shoot: Mirror Image
69. Shoot: Moss Image
70. Shoot: Tree Image
71. Shoot: Fish Tank Image
72. Shoot: Feather Image
73. View Photo Series for Cohesion & Advanced Compositing
74. Edit Multiple Images to Show Cohesion
75. Edit Images with Advanced Compositing
76. Decide How to Start the Composite
77. Organize Final Images
78. Choosing Images for Your Portfolio
79. Order the Images in Your Portfolio
80. Why do Some Images Sell More Than Others?
81. Analyze Student Portfolio Image Order
82. Framing, Sizing, Editioning & Pricing
83. Determine Sizes for Prints
84. How to Choose Paper
85. How to Choose Editions
86. Pricing Strategies
87. How to Present Your Images
88. Example Pricing Exercise
89. Print Examples
90. Licensing, Commissions & Contracts
91. How to Keep Licensing Organized
92. How to Prepare Files for Licensing
93. Pricing Your Licensed Images
94. Contract Terms for Licensing
95. Where to Sell Images
96. Commission Pricing Structure
97. Contract for Commissions
98. Questions for a Commission Shoot
99. Working with Galleries
100. Benefits of Galleries
101. Contracts for Galleries
102. How to Find Galleries
103. Choose Images to Show
104. Hanging the Images
105. Importance of Proofing Prints
106. Interview with Soren Christensen Gallery
107. Press Package Overview
108. Artist Statement for Your Series
109. Write Your 'About Me' Page
110. Importance of Your Headshot
111. Create a Leave Behind & Elevator Pitch
112. Writing For Fine Art
113. Define Your Writing Style
114. Find Your Genre
115. What Sets You Apart?
116. Write to Different Audiences
117. Write for Blogging
118. Speak About Your Work
119. Branding for Video
120. Clearly Define Video Talking Points
121. Types of Video Content
122. Interview Practice
123. Diversifying Social Media Content
124. Create an Intentional Social Media Persona
125. Monetize Your Social Media Presence
126. Social Media Posting Plan
127. Choose Networks to Use & Invest
128. Presentation of Final Images
129. Printing Your Series
130. How to Work With a Print Lab
131. Proofing Your Prints
132. Bad Vs. Good Prints
133. Find Confidence to Print
134. Why Critique?
135. Critiquing Your Own Portfolio
136. Critique of Brooke's Series
137. Critique of Student Series
138. Yours is a Story Worth Telling