A photography moodboard is a great way to explore and communicate the visual direction for an upcoming shoot. Arranging existing images, links, videos and even color swatches will help communicate the mood and style you're looking for.
Building a dynamic moodboard for your photography project is simple and it allows the photographer, crew and client to share a final vision before shots are taken.
This template is part of our guide on How to plan a photoshoot.
Whether you’re a photographer, creative director or a client, follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of creating a moodboard for your photoshoot in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.
The Photography Moodboard template contains beautifully composed placeholders for images, video and color swatches. Highlight important images using the larger cards and draw important colors out of your reference images using the swatches. Just drag and drop your content in to the board to get started.
Create a new board for your moodboard.
Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it.
Choose a moodboard template.
Each new board gives you the options to start with a beautiful template.
Now that you've chosen a moodboard template, start adding any existing material you have—this could be images from previous photoshoots or references your client has provided. Anything that describes the visual direction or sets the tone you're looking to create. Just drag and drop them onto your board.
Drag files from your computer.
Click the "Upload file" button or just drag a file onto your board. You can add images, logos, documents, videos, audio and much more.
The imagery you bring into your moodboard is what helps to shape the look and feel of your photoshoot. Images can define things like tone, cropping, lighting and color. Use Milanote's built-in image library, draw from previous photoshoots or search for visual elements from around the web. The Milanote Web Clipper lets you save anything from online directly to your moodboard.
Use the built-in image library.
Search over 500,000 beautiful photos powered by Unsplash then drag images straight onto your board.
Save images from other websites straight to your board.
Roll over an image (or highlight text), click Save, then choose the destination in Milanote. Return to your board and find the content in the "Unsorted" column on the right.
Color can be a great way to express a particular feel, personality or energy. As painter Johannes Itten said, “Color is life.”
Tools like Kuler can be a great starting point for finding colors that complement the brand you're working with. Another trick is to pick colors directly from the images you've added to the board.
Add a color swatch to a board.
Drag a Note card onto your board, enter your colour #HEX code and press enter. E.g. Teal looks like this: #008080
Colors evoke specific emotions and associations. For example, warm colors like red and orange can evoke energy and passion, while cool colors like blue and green can create a sense of calmness and tranquility.
Once you have all your inspiration in one place, start refining your ideas to create the perfect composition.
Begin by exploring layout 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.
Resize your images to add hierarchy.
Drag the corner of an image to resize it. Double-click the corner to return it to its original size.
Crop images.
Double-click an image and press edit to crop or rotate it.
A moodboard helps you communicate the look and feel of a photo shoot with a team and clients early on. Collecting suggestions and feedback will provide the following:
Invite someone else to edit to your board.
Open the "Editors" menu from the title bar of your board. Add email addresses of the people you'd like to collaborate with—they'll receive an invitation via email.
Collaborate in real time.
When multiple people on your team edit a board at once you'll see their updates appear in real-time.
Milanote is where creative professionals organize their most important work.
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