Make It happen & Post-Production

 

 

Hi FashionPhotographyBlog.com readers,

Last time we talked about how to communicate with your creative team clearly using mood boards, today we are talking about how to make the process of shooting with your team and taking the shots into post-production run smoothly. So here we go…

 

Once everyone on the creative team and everything for the shoot is confirmed, I’ll reach out to agencies and find a girl that suits the idea. This isn’t always the case. Oftentimes you’ll see a model and be inspired by their look. 

 

Be sure to send out a call sheet the day before your shoot. This serves as a reminder for everyone as to the time and location of the shoot as well as provides everyone with the contact information for all involved. This is a standard protocol on any professional shoot.

 

 Then… Shoot! If you keep everything organized and set yourself a bit of a time table to stick to, you’ll be on track for a successful shoot. For “Surrealia,” we managed to shoot two models with several looks in just a few hours.

 

Remember, make it fun! If everyone is enjoying what they’re doing, it will show. Put on some music – ask the model what their favorite band is or put on something that sets the mood to help convey the feeling in the images.

 

 

Post-Production

 

I know, this is the least fun part of any shoot. The edit. Jocelyne and I decided to pick our final images together and made sure our selects portrayed the model and clothing nicely.

 

As with any good retouch.. It took forever. Well worth it though! After retouching the images and converting to black and white, it was time to send them off to Matt for illustration.

 

The process I went through with Matt is basically the same as the process you go through when sending images off to a retoucher:

 

1) Send over the images and let them do their thing (of course, with a general sense of guidance from you.)

2) You’ll receive a “first round” which you can mark up anything you dislike or don’t see fit and send it back for revisions.

3) Repeat the process of markups and revisions until the image is complete. Don’t forget to be conscious of budget when working with a retoucher.

 

Working with Matt was fantastic. There was bright color, organic shape, line; all the elements we had like in the editorials we found when doing our research. Except they suited us! Matt did an excellent job of taking those elements we liked and translating them to suit his vision and compliment my photographs.

 

The result? A batch of images I’m proud to have my name on and remain some of my favorites to this day.

 

The best thing you can do when planning a shoot is be meticulous. Leave no leaf unturned. Be sure to think of every detail and put your stamp on it. The same type of work goes into planning a test, however you don’t need as extensive a concept. It can be as simple as just shooting a portrait.

 

Hope you liked my posts about finding, planning and working with a creative team. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

 

Until next time.. See ya!

– Alana

 

 

IMAGE SOURCE:

Feature image: Ophelia by Gregory Crewdson

Image 1: courtesy of Alana Tyler Slutsky