May You Make The Most Out of Every Shoot
- Iliana Alvarez
- Jun 29, 2017
- 4 min read
What in the world are you guys shooting?!?
Understanding what a client/or you want, being able to articulate define and draw this in the mind of others, to then bring that to life exactly or better than it was initially imagined or thought of is an Art. An art that when approached strategically can save you from wasting your most valuable resources.
We often shoot just to see what comes out of it, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, when this is your career, other people and their resources are involved, clarity and planning become the most important aspect of your shoot. Regardless of whether this is an experimental shoot, a test shoot, TFP work, or producing pictures for a profit, it's essential that you and your team know exactly what you are testing for, wanting to get better at, accomplish, experiment with, or bring to life.
Planning and Project Management:
Meticulous planning before engaging in a battle: you have already won the war. Careless planning before engaging in a battle: you have already lost the war. No planning: your defeat is certain.
~ Chin-Ning Chu
When Collaboration Teams Are Smaller
When collaboration teams are smaller they often lack one specific leader/Creative Director, and or Client. This then makes Artists take on multiple roles, although there is nothing wrong with learning how to juggle different roles or added responsibilities not having a set Director or Project Manager can result in varied results, less predictable outcomes, and or an outcome that doesn't always benefit the entire team. To avoid such, I feel it is important that we practice our craft as if we were out in the real world: with a budget, deadline, and a specific and defined goal.
What Are WE Shooting?
I've seen a lot of confusion between Editorial/Fashion and Commercial Photography/Modeling. Knowing these types of photography styles and their differences can make or break our career. Do you know the difference between commercial and editorial fashion modeling/photography?
In short: Editorial tells a story and Commercial sales a product, but because one word can have a hundred different meanings, one color many shades, and because we all interpret things differently I've gathered a few links to the articles that touch on this subject and break down these differences in greater detail. You can find them below.
As artists, it is important that we always work on our communication skills, and on the articulation of our ideas. "Use all available resources to best draw your idea in the mind of others from the start" is the equivalent to "measure twice and cut once" in our industry.
Regardless of how obvious the type of shoot you are doing this must always be clarified
What You Are Good vs. What You Are Hired To Shoot?
When shooting it is important to remember that what you are good at, what you want to/ like to do, and what you are being hired to do won't always coincide or match.
I, for example, love editorial shoots and their artistic aspects, but my look has landed me commercial shoots. When working with a team I have learned that sometimes the photographer wants something artistic and other times they want something more relatable, or commercial, whatever the goal is, and no matter how obvious it may appear, always make sure that team is on the same page. Trust me people are quick to assume and fill in the blanks. This can later lead to a result we did not all worked towards or were expecting.
Imagine I get hired to model for you. I am super artistic and expressive with my modeling, giving the camera a wide variety of unusual poses. If the goal was to produce commercial images (and let's say you assumed I was going to give you commercial poses simply because I have what most define as a commercial look), then even though what I was doing still constitutes as modeling, my modeling would have failed you. If I didn't give you what you wanted or helped you get better at a specific type of photography due to a lack of communication, who is to blame? and how can we benefit from the shoot?
If this confusion would have happened in a paid gig, when you are on a tight deadline, and have a set budget, what then?
This can apply the other way around with photographers shooting a style the model was not expecting or with, and even with Makeup Artists providing day wear makeup when expectations were different. Express clear wants prior to a shoot versus cutting the model or Artist off in the middle of their creative attempts :D this can save you from hurting peoples artistic egos.
To go after the big fish or in our case the right client, we must first define who the "right client" is, and what type of work they need us to provide?
My tips:
Study communication, better articulation of ideas, along with how different types of personalities understand things better through different means of communication.
Study art, how we see and interpret things, what separates editorial from commercial.
Define, and clarify your photoshoots.
Plan
Make sure everyone is getting what they are working for/towards.
Questions to ask:
What is the purpose of your shoot?
What do you want to capture?
Is there a message?
What are you trying to convey?
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For improving communication skills, I took a class I loved, info below:
Training by Dr. Kim and Dr. Karen are in my opinion best. Also, ask about Strengthening your people skills in the workplace.
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Thank you for reading this far. This is my first article on the subject, and I wrote it with hopes that the stuff I have learned over the years can save time, possibly money, and headaches to the newer people in the industry.
Please comment below your opinions, suggestion on article corrections, and additional information regarding the subject that can help us all.
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