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How do you prepare for a model shoot?
I eat chocolate. I'm hyper as it is.....but that really brings out the bouncing off the wall energy that I like.....it's contagious and entertains the model too....chocolate.....photographers' breakfast of champions. Jun 14 06 11:47 pm Link I make sure my camera bag.......has a camera in it before I leave for a photo-shoot Jun 14 06 11:59 pm Link azdave wrote: Laugh will you? I actually did that on a shoot. Luckily I was only 30 minutes from home and was able to go back for it without anyone noticing. Does that make me king of the photographer dumbasses? Jun 15 06 12:05 am Link azdave wrote: Do you keep candy in your camera bag? Jun 15 06 12:15 am Link You make prince at best Dario... I went to a shoot not too long ago and after driving 45 minutes, talking to the models (6 of them), setting up my lights, backdrop, laptop, and making sure the cards were blank I grabbed the camera and realized it had no battery in it... and there was no battery to be found in my camera bag or light case or my car. I had left them at home on the charger still plugged in... so as you can see, I am the king!  Luckily the girls were OK with it because they were still deciding on wardrobe so I was able to drive home to get the batteries and get back before they were ready to shoot. DarioImpiniPhotography wrote: Jun 15 06 12:22 am Link I tend to be very meticulus (spelling?) when it comes to this. I set my equipment out the night before and make sure batteries are charged etc. I think part of being a true professional as a photographer is not having to make excuses for why something is missing or not charged etc. Sure we are all human and we make honest mistakes but sometimes you only get to make that first impression! So I tend to lay the clothes out the night before...so to speak. Jun 15 06 12:24 am Link shower and tight underwear! Jun 15 06 12:26 am Link (scratches head) uhm,..., can't really think that i do anything in particular before work; guess, as the yrs go by, i've gotten into a routine but, again, nothing out of the ordinary before a shoot. sorry. FML Jun 15 06 12:28 am Link Man, photography is tough. So many little bits and pieces to make the whole thing work. Batteries, cameras, lights, tripods, reflectors, stands, cords, meters, flash cards, map, cellphone, model releases, checks, etc. I virtually ALWAYS leave a little token equipment behind as a sign that I was there. I've forgotten the battery too. Bummer... Jun 15 06 12:28 am Link azdave wrote: Well, I pull over my car 2 blocks away from my house almost everytime I leave the house to make sure I have my flashcards. No CompactFlash cards is always my biggest fear. Jun 15 06 12:29 am Link Michael Kirst wrote: Yeah that really is the best method. I need to make that a consistent habit. Growing business can make you a bit scatter brained though. All the more reason to be meticulous. Jun 15 06 12:29 am Link Anderson Image wrote: I went nuts looking for my flash cards the morning of a model shoot. Turns out I left them in the car of the prior night's model. DAMN! Had to buy a replacement card. Jun 15 06 12:31 am Link First I oil up the gun real good ............ Jun 15 06 12:32 am Link Not to get off the subject, but... great avatar Uno!!! UnoMundo Photography wrote: Jun 15 06 12:33 am Link I try to wake up with some coffee, then check my time zone and take a shower and brush my teeth (because there's nothing worse than a photographer that smells bad (or smells at all)). Then I check the laptop to see who I'm shooting and at what time. Eventually I'll pull out the body and load up some film and get the meter out of the case and maybe a second lens and I'll move everything out of the planned shooting area. Then more coffee. -Don Jun 15 06 12:33 am Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: Film? What's that? Jun 15 06 12:35 am Link Gotta get up at 5:00 am. I packed everything but now I've got to go check to make sure I've got my cards in the bag!  Sheesh! That would have sucked! Thanks for the reminder!  Jun 15 06 12:49 am Link My prep usually takes a few weeks. Details, details - busy - busy -busy.. LOL Recently my prep before a shoot, involves not sleeping - I didn't know that the nerves would cause a reappearance of my insomnia. I plan everything twice - and have backups for most. Shooting outdoors usually means you have to be flexible and roll with the punches. VintageV Jun 15 06 01:01 am Link  ha--i kid, i kid. Jun 15 06 01:56 am Link azdave wrote: Not only my camera in it, but memory cards.. That really sucks when you don't have a memory card for the camera. Jun 15 06 07:26 am Link Michael Kirst wrote: A learned man once told me that getting into a tough spot is human. The ability to deal with the situation and get out of the tough spot is one of the final signs of becoming a true professional. Jun 15 06 07:30 am Link I rewash and lay out any garments we're going to use (I normally have them cleaned after a shoot). I make sure the work area is clean and secure. Check my equipment and have it all packed away. Make sure I have plenty of film and fresh batteries. Eat a full meal. Jun 15 06 07:35 am Link I'm always ready to shoot. Always. Jun 15 06 07:39 am Link I am so phobic about leaving something behind that I made a checklist of all the things that I would ever need. Then the night before figure out what I need from the list and go through it all. I have backups for my backups which I have found allows me to sleep the night before. Jun 15 06 08:33 am Link Kind of a ritual for me if it's in studio as my memory sucks if I don't follow some kind of process, 1. Studio setup and check a. Lighting all functional (test fire and meter check) b. All gear and props ready c. Food and water for models and crew d. M&M's! e. MUA backup gear f. Releases and paperwork ready 2. Gear check a. Format and stow CF Cards b. Top off battery, check spares c. Check camera settings (WB, ISO, etc.) This one is key for me! d. Check and clean camera and lenses e. Verify space on capture system (create directories for day's shoot) Once the basics are done, then I try to remember if I am actually scheduled to shoot that day! Jun 15 06 08:53 am Link Carlos Arturo Velarde wrote: I may have King. I left for a wedding shoot in Orlando (3 hour drive) and was over half way there when I remembered I forgot to recharge my camera batteries after my last shoot a week prior. I had set out the battery charger to charge them but simply forgot. I didn't have the charger with me either. I knew the spare battery was shot out because I had changed it half way through the previous shoot so I had half a battery in camera at best. Thank God my parents live near Orlando so I took a detour off the highway and drove 30 minutes to my dad's house and borrowed his digital snap shot camera for backup. Miraculously for my ass, my Canon 20d made it through the entire wedding shoot (400+ RAW images) but was flat dead at the close. I must have lost 10 pounds from stress and sweating bullets by wedding's end. Lesson learned. Jun 15 06 01:50 pm Link i just make sure i have any equiptment ready, and the snacks and water, that's about it. Jun 15 06 01:56 pm Link I shoot location often. never keep your car keys in your pocket. if you are two hours away and drop your keys in the desert, you are SOL. wear clothings with zippered pockets. ask the model if she has EVER hiked or walked more than her car to the her front door. some cuties cant make it 200 yards. be prepared to piss outside! Jun 15 06 02:00 pm Link plan the concept, acquire any props or materials, coordinate with hair/mua/wardrobe or pull wardrobe myself if no stylist is available, call agencies for a girl, find someone to assist, buy lots of polaroid, charge my lumedyne battery. Jun 15 06 02:02 pm Link I think this goes without saying since I live in the Seattle area, but getting tanked up on coffee before I head out is a must. Just to make sure, I'll hit the nearby espresso stand and grab at least a double for the drive. There's been only one time where I was caffiene deprived, and the only reason the shoot went as well as it did was because it turned out the model was in the same boat. If I'm meeting the model for the first times, I also like to study any pics I have from them. I always have this fear of getting to some location and not being able to spot the model in the crowd. Jun 15 06 02:19 pm Link My check list of stuff to do tonight before tomorrow nights shoot. - Clean - Vaccum - Charge Batteries - Set up the "set" - Empty Card - Set up Lights - Take some test shots - play the waiting game, read a book, work on photos from the last shoot. Jun 15 06 02:48 pm Link I am always ready/prepared - just need to make sure "someone" shows up to be photographed LOL - good thing there's flowers and butterflies where I shoot, that way I can still stock up on those images if there is a no-show... Jun 16 06 08:45 am Link Music... Jun 16 06 08:46 am Link make sure I have camera, film, digital back, portable drive, bottled water, 2 packs of smokes and a lighter, and my credit card. I'm good to go  Jun 16 06 08:48 am Link |
/tim
