Consider the brief and, through discussion with the client, ensure we are both clear about the requirements, cost, method and timeframe for payment. • Consider what is needed and prepare for the shoot. • Camera, battery charged, memory card empty/formatted • Check settings restored to my defaults following previous shoot: ISO/ metering/ focal point selection /EV values • Choose lenses most suitable for the shoot. Ensure they are clean. Filters? • Is a tripod necessary (depends on the type of photography planned)? • Flash – batteries fully charged. Is a light meter needed? • Consider location and weather and also time of day for light direction for an outdoor shoot. • This is a portrait shoot so I would need simple studio lighting set-‐up for Pre-‐shoot • If a studio session, set up the scene and lights,. My camera to uses both SD and CF memory cards so I would set it to record the same image, in RAW to both cards as a back up to card failure. • I would make sure area is clean, warm and private. Or, outdoors, check for litter. • Take a few shots to check my camera settings in the scene • Greet client and try to make them feel comfortable and at ease. • Give a brief explanation of the studio set-‐up and make sure they feel comfortable with it. • Give the client the opportunity to brush their hair, adjust make up etc. • Ask if they have any specific ideas about how they would like their portrait to look. • If outside, I would walk around with the client and discuss possible locations and poses. If in the studio, I would give the client time to relax; people often find formal portrait sessions intimidating. • Once the person is a little relaxed, I would then begin to direct the shoot more, making suggestions for poses, making sure to always interact with the client. • I would check the camera histogram at intervals and keep an eye on the number of shots still on the card. • Subtly, keep an eye on the time to ensure I don’t over extend the session • Thank the client and clarify a time they can expect to see the proofs. • Re-‐set my camera to my default settings and clear up studio. The Shoot
my memory cards only and leave the other card untouched until the process is complete; this is a safety margin for a faulty card or accidental erasure. • View images in-‐camera (as my camera has very large file sizes and it takes a lot of time to upload them to my old computer). Delete obviously poor shots. • Give the shoot a name and date and import all photos to that folder in Capture One. • Add important details into the metadata of all images and add common keywords immediately (name, location, genre) • Go through the images, individually rotate if needed and give them a star rating or reject. • Delete rejects to limit CPU usage. (I do have a back up on my 2nd card). • Filter to show only the highest rated images. Post Shoot • With Capture One, I can do a lot of processing from within the program, so I first check the focus is on target. Next I check white balance, followed by exposure – correcting shadows and highlights where necessary. • I may experiment with crops. My camera is full frame and produces large size images so there is a little leeway here. • Review the images once again and check the ratings to reduce the number of shots further. • Print a contact sheet of the best images • Convert the images to jpgs and back them up to a separate drive. • The final step here would be to create a web gallery (password protected) and export the images to that. • Notify the client that the images are available for viewing and selection Processing • Once the client has made their selection and decided on size of prints, I will give a final price for the printed images. • Once payment is made, order the prints and deliver after receipt and reviewing. • Back up images to a photo disk and store under name and date to reduce storage on my hard drives. Finalising