How to Prepare for a Content Shoot

Brands are constantly in need of new content to post every day- and that’s great news for content creators! We’ve put together a list of things to keep in mind and help you prepare for your content shoot.

Know who you’re shooting for

It’s important to take some time to understand the brand that you’ll be shooting for. Set up a meeting or a phone call to discuss the particulars of the shoot with the client and get a better picture of their expectations for the job. What is their desired aesthetic? What are they looking for, stylistically for this shoot? How many photos are needed? Understanding the client’s expectations is the first step towards delivering a content library that will impress.

You’ve most likely been hired because of your skills behind the camera and your creative direction, but communication is key and it’s worth making sure that you and your client are on the same page to avoid any awkward situations.

Know what you’re shooting for

You need to know what the content is intended for. Not all photos are created equal and depending on the composition of the photo, it may not stand up to zooming or cropping without negatively affecting the composition. It’s important to keep this in mind when shooting content. Take a variety of shots with different crops in mind: landscape, portrait, and take shots with a square crop in mind. This way, you’ll have more than enough content to spread across your website and social media without any loss of resolution, details, or compositional interest.

Know where you’re shooting

Location, location, location! The location and time of the shoot is going to affect a lot. First off, if the shoot is scheduled in a bar at nighttime, you’re going to need to think through your options for lighting. Is the shoot outside at sunset? This is going to severely limit the amount of time you have to get all the necessary shots. Is it a beautifully sunny day with harsh shadows? This can make shooting portraits or products much more difficult. Think through the potential problems that the shoot may present and be prepared for them!

Make sure your equipment is ready and working

Needles to say, you’re going to need to make sure you have all the necessary equipment for the shoot and that it is all working properly. Do you need extra lighting or a flash? Then make sure you have extra power cables and batteries. Does your camera have a spare battery and is it charged? Write a checklist of all the equipment that you’ll be taking with you and check that it is all fully charged and functional. There is absolutely nothing worse than having a technical issue that prevents you from doing your job and looking unprofessional in front of the client.

Write a shot list

This one is easy to forget. But don’t forget! You may think that you’ll just know what to shoot when you get there, and chances are that it will look amazing regardless. But having a shot list ready before the shoot will allow your brain the much needed space to focus on creating beautiful images instead of scrambling to come up with ideas for the next shot. It’s a great way to make sure that when you walk away after the job is done, you haven’t missed any key shots. You don’t always get a second chance so make the first one count!