PLANNING
Planning is key to any successful commercial photo shoot. Being that I work for an advertising agency, there are often many players in the planning stages of a shoot. Sometimes the ball is in my court to come up with visuals for a given clients needs. Other times there is a Creative Director conceptualizing the ideas. Often times however, this is a collaborative effort between creatives at the agency. Once the ideas are drafted on paper, my job as the photographer is to execute this idea as a deliverable to the client.
For this particular shoot, I was creating the atmosphere of a classroom. More on the conceptual side; less on the classroom full of desks and kids side. So, I really had to think about how I was going to convey this space without actually having all of the classroom elements in place. The elements that I had to work with were; a nice wood floor, a neutral colored solid wall, a desk, and a model. The rest of this shot would have to be created in post because I didn’t have the items at the time. I knew that it would be easier to composite these items in photoshop, than it would be to go out, buy the items, and place them on the wall.
I always pre-plann the shoot as much as I a possibly can. It puts my mind at ease knowing exactly how I will put the final shot together. I knew that the way I shot it would allow me to composite elements later in photoshop. These elements included a chalkboard, clock, books and a bookshelf. Knowing exactly where I would later place these items in the scene, allowed me to properly frame my composition and allow for a successful photo shoot.
The bottom line here is to plan as much as possible. Paint a clear picture in your head of what you will be creating. Know what you’re going to shoot, and know what you are going to do in post. Always shoot with post production in mind.
