A picture is worth 1000 words – most of us have heard this phrase – and it’s probably true.

So maybe a few words could be used to define a photoshoot concept and to measure whether the actual photoshoot was successful in delivering against these words – I’m going to call them Themes for lack of a better word.

My concept is that if we can define a few (3 to 4) themes we want in a photoshoot to drive towards that the themes will serve as the structure for designing the photoshoot, all its parts and actions  and provide some often needed consistency in the final product.

What might be some of these themes?  There are many of course, but most of the ones I prefer are more in line with “being” vs “doing” such as the difference between athletic and pushups or fetish vs leather.

 Etc.

So my concept is that rather than coming up initially with an idea for a shoot such as “big, floppy clothes in the woods” come up with the themes such as Outdoors, Girly-crazy and Silly.  Let those themes drive the major decisions around the shoot.  The Photographer, Shoot Designers and Stylists would keep referring back to these themes as individual decisions are made such as location, wardrobe, makeup, props, being consistent with the actual model’s poses and actions along with lighting, time of day, and the photographer’s camera setting.

I think this will provide a structured platform allowing for more creativity and greater consistency for the entire team making sure everyone is aligned – if someone has a different idea or concept, rather than a struggle to get it introduced into the shoot, a clear decision could be made by the team to include it and design around it or to exclude it, perhaps saving for another time – or to completely change the shoot and redesign around it on purpose.

What might be your themes?

Based on three or four of them (no more than that) what are 3 shoot concepts you can outline right now for each of them with some of their details using those same themes? 

If you have some images you really like, maybe you can go to them and identify their themes to help drive your own concepts of what to do in the shoot – it shouldn’t be particularly difficult to do this whether the image is one you made or one you have seen  with someone else in it.

Try it - let me know if you need some help and we can get together with your outline and put the detail to it!

Thanks (473) 536-8638