Useful Tips for Saving a Photo Shoot

There is no perfect shoot, but here are some useful tips that could save you and your final images against possible mishaps. It is better to be prepared against various external factors.

Learn to Be Your Own Assistant

Whether you're an amateur or a professional photographer, it is always better to have a sidekick on set, but what if your assistant cannot come to set on time or gets sick? Well, you should consider everything for a stress-free shooting. First of all, as a photographer, you should be at your photo set on time, even before everyone, to take control of everything you can in any circumstances. Secondly, always keep a reflector holder ^[1]. That will be the most useful gadget in case of a photo assistant absence.

Keep Some Cosmetics With You and Learn Basic Makeup Techniques

If you're shooting portraits, it is common for a client to not want a makeup artist, due to financial reasons. They don't want to spend extra money for a makeup artist, but they always expect to have perfect images. Therefore, at least just to match the overall skin tones on someone's face, always keep powder and a makeup brush with you. By the way, it is better if you have different colors of powder ready for different skin types. It will save lots of time on post-processing.

Keep Color Gels in Your Photo Bag

Imagine you're hired for a last-minute shoot, and you don't have a chance to scout the location. Sometimes, storyboards don't match the reality. If you're shooting inside, always have different color gels in your strobe case. If you haven't shot with color gels ^[2] before, you will be surprised with the effect you'll get. Using trial and error, change the color of your lights, and shoot with the best combination. Gels are one of the most important shoot savers. They can totally change the mood of the image, and sometimes, you get better results than you imagined.

Don't Underestimate the Power of Color Grading

Contrary to ordinary thought, you can shoot whenever you want, even under rain. Well, sometimes the results don't come as expected due to gray weather and lack of tones in the image. The weather can turn to gray even you start shooting on a sunny day. Everything is possible in terms of weather conditions during a shoot. Well, converting to black and white could be a solution, but sometimes, we just want to use color images. Therefore, during post-processing, always try to achieve the best results after color correction, and then, apply your color grading. While doing this, try different methods and software, learn about different color spaces and presets, and definitely check out what you can do with 3D LUTs.

Fake It Until You Make It

What if your model is in a bad mood during your shoot? Models are human as well, and even in professional work, it is normal to face a situation like this, and photographers should empathize with it. I've done many shoots with professional models who were hungover, tired of working for the whole week, or had a recent breakup with their lover. This can happen to any of us, whether we are working with an amateur or a professional model. As a photographer, it is your duty to keep your model's mood up for the sake of your shoot. So, even if you don't like the poses, pretend that you really like them, and get what you want in terms of photography. Try not to reflect your real thoughts and feelings in your words and body language. This attitude will definitely change your model's mood, and you'll soon see the change.

Create Your Own Wardrobe

No, you're not obligated to be fashion stylists. But, as most of us know well, finding a fashion stylist for personal shoots is a real hassle. I've only worked with professional models when I started to build my portfolio; I had good connections with model agencies, so it was easy for me to book professional models, but it wasn't easy to find a stylist and convince them to collaborate. So, most of the time, I asked models to bring their own clothes, but I never got good results with that method. Therefore, just to build my portfolio, I bought some women's clothing: dress, shoes, and accessories to use on my shootings. You don't have to buy expensive stuff; just buy some cheap replica shoes, black jackets, and stilettos. They are always better than jeans and a shirt.

Backups

It is always better to keep a separate camera body in your bag, because you never know when your fancy DSLR will fail. Your backup camera doesn't have to be as good as your main camera body. Any camera will be fine in case of an emergency where you are too far to find another body. Lenses rarely fail, but it's better keeping a nifty fifty lens ^[3] as well. They're cheap, yet they're sharp and perfect workhorses. Batteries, cables (if you're shooting tethered), and memory cards can fail easily, so have some backups.

Never Rely on Your Equipment

Every brand and every product can break down during a shoot. I used to do shoots using rental Hasselblad ^[4] bodies and Phase One backs, tethering with the latest Mac ^[5] and the recent software. Yeah, this sounds like a very expensive and perfect setup, but they fail too. Unfortunately, nothing is perfect in the digital world. Luckily, rent al companies always keep the spare gear and digital operators ready for any possible issues, but if you want to start building your own studio and buy your own gear, spend a bit more and buy backup gear. I've even seen Elinchrom, Broncolor, and Profoto strobes fail. Even if you're going to use only two strobes, always keep the thirrd strobe ready in case of an emergency. The same principle is valid for the rest of your equipment.

In conclusion, these are some of the tips and tricks that I've been using for eliminating mishaps during or after a photo shoot. If you have any useful tips that you use in any kind of photography, please share in the comments section below.