PHOTOGRAPHY | Photoshoot Reminders

Photoshoot Reminders

As an amateur photographer and videographer, I find the profession both exciting and frustrating. It's exciting because this form of art is something that captures the moment and can be preserved for ages. Once a beautiful shot is recorded into a memory, it will never be deleted (unless you deliberately do so). That's the fun part of it. The frustration comes in the process of doing the photo and video shoots. Aww, the horror of all the problems you'll encounter when shooting is totally infinite (I'm just exaggerating). 

But for someone who wants to capture the best shots as much as possible, it can really bring one down in the dumps when faced with hurdles. For the purpose of this entry, I'd like to jot down some of the things which should be known (and avoided) during shoots:


1. Charge the battery or bring a spare battery (chances are, you'll have one more than three shots to capture the best one. It can be an issue of lighting, movement, composition, or lenses)

2. Bring the correct lens (I'm currently using three lenses- 50mm, 18-55mm, and 75-300mm. But I know there are more specialized lenses in the market which come at really high price)

3. Adjust the lens if needed (Since I've only dealt with a DSLR recently, I have not adjusted the lenses very often. Result is- blurred and out of focus shots)

4. Shoot early (To finish early)

5. Bring extra video camera if doing videos (I'm still on the prowl to find the best video camera in covering events but it's a good idea to let the video roll while you are free to loiter and shoot those busy people)

6. Bring assistants to do the make up and hair (Admit it, you can't fix hair and make up yourself. Don't sweat this part. Ask someone's help)

7. Scout the location (Wherever the location is, you need to find the most appropriate scenes)

8. Check the angles of the location (It takes time to find the best angles so you need to do a pre-shoot check to save your and your models' time in figuring out where to stand)

9. Bring tripod (A good one please. Which means to say- it can be panned and tilted easily)

10. Use dolly (Usually a track is constructed for dollies, but you can improvise. Use a swiveling chair or a bicycle. Anything that will give the camera that sense of movement)

11. Find a crane (For this you will also need a remote clicker as you can't click the camera while it's above you)

12. Vary the foreground, middle ground, and background

13. Check if out of focus

14. Bring spare memory card

15. Keep the lenses safe and secured

16. Ensure that lighting is correct

17. Early morning (6am to 9am) and late afternoon (4pm to 5:30) are two best time of the day for shoots

18. Save the photos in computer immediately after shoots

19. Label the photos as to what event they were taken (for future reference)

20. Select the best shots and dispose the bad ones

21. Create a story board prior to shoots

22. Conceptualize the theme and plan the shots

23. Remember to synch the photos with the selected music for the music (e.g. classical, jazz, folk country, etc.)

24. Start editing videos once photos are done (you can always edit the photos later but you need to start this early)

25. Get comments and critics from people who would see the video (there's a good chance that they will say something and you will need to do some revision)