As Matchstick Social’s Content Supervisor, I’ve planned, attended, and directed a lot of photoshoots in my day: some successful, some unsuccessful.
I’m also one of our company’s professional photographers, so this gives me a unique perspective on how to arm your photographer with all the tools to accurately capture your intended vision!
Without further ado, here are some of the best lessons I’ve learned while planning and shooting content.
1. If your shoot isn’t content-minded, then what’s the point?
Essentially, never take photos just to take photos. Content with a purpose is our motto, because if it’s not made to educate, empower, or excite, then why do it?
Content-minded photos are photos that are planned for a specific purpose. That could be something as big as a section header for your website, or something as small as an image to accompany a clever caption.
To start you’ll need a “director” of sorts at the helm. This can be an internal person (Creative Director/Marketing Manager/Business Owner) or an external person (Marketing Agency). Of course, we’re going to recommend the Marketing Agency, chiefly because we are one, but also because they’re not too close to your product or service. They can zoom out to view your business at 30,000 ft. An agency like Matchstick Social also offers you multiple points of view from different types of creatives.
This “director” role is important because they’ll be in charge of informing the photographer of their vision.
2. “______ is on my vision board”
Vision boards and mood boards are super trendy, but they also have more practical uses beyond manifestation. Photography, being a visual medium, is often hard to articulate, especially if you’re not a creative type. Think of it like this: you wouldn’t get bangs without showing your stylist a picture first, right? If you disagree, you’re probably an Aries, a Sagittarius, or just bat-sh*t crazy!
We like to use socials like Pinterest and Instagram to grab inspiration. Make sure to pay special attention to the composition of the photos that you’re providing; do you like the lighting? How the product is styled? How the model is posing? These are all important things to note for your photographer. This stage is what I call the “showing” stage.
3. Crafting the perfect shot list (no, we’re not talking tequila)
Welcome to the “telling” stage. This is when you outline shot-by-shot, exactly what you’d like to capture. You can do this in your own personal way, but here’s an example of how we like to do it with our restaurant client, El Pollo Guapo:
Template:
- ITEM NAME – Photographer’s Name (if multiple photographers)
- Detailed description of the shot composition
Example:
- Span-ish Chop – Hayley
- Lifestyle photo of guests eating the bowl (fork shots) Include beverages in the background for staging.
Inspiration Photo:
Reality:
4. Let’s keep these good vibes going!
I know the word “vibe” can be eye-roll-inducing at this point, but whatever way you slice it, the vibes have to be high during a shoot– whether or not you have models involved.
We always bring a speaker and play upbeat hype music like this playlist or as a general rule of thumb, 90s hip-hop seems to be a crowd-pleaser.
A good energy drink or cup of joe can’t hurt either.
5. Director’s gonna direct
Remember that “director” role? Their job isn’t over yet! On shoot day the director should be in charge of keeping everyone on task, overseeing the execution of the shot list, and ensuring the attention to detail is *chef’s kiss.*
Directors can also help manage time, delegate, wrangle the models, and make executive decisions for the brand.
If a shoot fails to nail the vision, oftentimes the director is the one the blame. They’re big shoes to fill, but someone’s gotta do it. That’s why we recommend bringing in the big guns to take charge, us!
