How to Plan a Photoshoot: The 6 Essential Steps

You’ll find the board to create your brief on the Photoshoot plan board. Double click the Brief to open it and start adding the goals, concept and defining the audience.

What do you want your images to communicate? Is there a specific concept or vision you have in mind? Use emotive words to communicate the style and mood you hope to achieve and list any specific shots you need. This helps the photographer organize their shot-list, equipment, props and talent before the day of the shoot.

Alongside your goals, list the shots you require. How many photos do you need? Where will they be used—in print, online or social media? This will help the photographer produce the required formats and prepare copyright details.

This is where you describe a specific type of audience and detail what’s important to them. What do they care about? What inspires them? Include any relevant research or stats you have. All this helps the photographer choose a mood or direction that speaks to your audience. Ansel Adams described how important the audience is when he said "There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer".

Once you’ve made any final tweaks, it’s time to share the completed brief with your team so everyone's on the same page. If you want to learn more about writing a photoshoot brief, check out our dedicated photoshoot brief guide.

You’ll find the board to make your moodboard on the Photoshoot plan board. Double click on the Moodboard to open it and start adding your inspiration.

Start by adding any existing material you have—this could be images from previous photoshoots or references your client has provided. Include any logos, existing expressions of the brand like websites or design elements.

The imagery you bring into your moodboard is what helps to shape the look and feel of your photoshoot. These references can define things like tone, cropping, lighting and color. You can start by saving visual elements from around the web. There are lots of fantastic sites where you can find great visual inspiration for free, like Designspiration, Instagram or Pinterest.

Once you have all your inspiration in one place, the next step is to arrange your ideas to create the perfect composition. Start by exploring composition and introducing hierarchy. Place a key element to anchor your board, and change the size and position of the remaining elements to indicate their importance and relationships to one another.

Now that your moodboard is complete, you have a powerful visual reference for your photoshoot. Remember, you can create multiple moodboards to explore different visual directions.

Next, we'll create a shot list so we don't miss a thing during the shoot…

You’ll find the board to make your shot list on the Photoshoot plan board. Double click on the Shot list to open it and start adding your planning.

Start by listing the subjects or topics you want to shoot. Depending on the type of project, these could be commercial products, parts of an event, a buildings or people. Adding references images or sketches will make your shot list easier to scan.

This is the heart of the shot list. It's where you list each shot you want to capture. Think about the different product angles, formats, arrangements, even where you'll position the camera.

Traditionally you'd print out your shot list to refer to on the day. But these days digital shot lists can be accessed on phones or laptops. This way you can check off each shot or adjust it as you need.

Now that your shot list is complete, you have a clear plan for the images you need to capture during the shoot.

Next, we'll create a call sheet to schedule the team…

You’ll find the board to make your call sheet on the Photoshoot plan board. Double click on the Call sheet to open it and start laying out a plan for the day of the shoot.

Add some background information about the shoot for your models and crew. Next, add the location of the shoot and any details that will help people arrive safely and on time. Explain where the parking options are, nearby public transport and any details about to get into the building.

Who's involved in your shoot? List your talent and crew along with their contact details. This will save you hunting around for phone numbers when plans inevitably change on the day. Next, add any specific arrival times so each person knows exactly when they're expected.

Probably the most important part is the schedule—specifically the general crew call time. The general crew call time is when everyone needs to arrive on location. Under this, add the key events for the day so everyone can clearly see what's on and when. Don't forget lunch!

Once you have everything you need, it's time to organize your call sheet so it's easy to scan. Then share it with your team so everyone can start preparing for the shoot.

You’ll find the board to make your contact sheet on the Photoshoot plan board. Double click on the Contact sheet to open it and add your shortlist of images.

You might have captured 200 images from your photoshoot but your client only needs 5 final images. It's time to reduce your list to a group of unedited images you want them to choose from. Discard the shots that are bad from a technical perspective and those that are generally unflattering. Try to be ruthless at this stage so it doesn't become a time consuming exercise.

Providing some background on why you selected this shortlist of images will help your client understand your thinking. What is it that you love about these images? Share your thoughts on the lighting, composition or something special you see in them. Refer back to the brief or moodboard you created to tie the images into the initial concept.

Once you've prepared your contact sheet, it's time to share it with your client. This is an exciting moment for them as it's usually the first time they've seen the output from your photoshoot. They can leave comments against the photos and vote for their favourites. It's much quicker and more collaborative than creating PDFs and emailing comments back and forth.

Hopefully this guide has helped you become more organized and given you the space to let your creativity shine. If you're just starting a new shoot, use the Photoshoot Plan template below to get setup in minutes.