Before I talk about the subject at hand & list the 5 Essential Things To Ask A Photographer Before Booking A Photo Shoot,.... look at these fabulous hairdos, high heels and wardrobe on beautiful dolls in the 1940's! Greta Garbo 1930's Here is my top 5 questions I ask a photographer BEFORE booking a photo shoot with them for the 1st time. These are questions I'd ask after reseraching their work. These are essential questions that should not be asked during or after a shoot, but important to ask BEFORE hand. Communication in biz is key! Never assume, never ask important questions like these, after a shoot is over. Be informed and crystal clear on detailed, specific terms, before you even book a shoot for the very 1st time with any photographer. Veronica Lake 1940's 5 Essential Questions To Ask A Photographer Before You Book A Photo Shoot 1. Do you have a studio or locations? 2. Have you ever had your work published? 3. How long will the shoot last & how many looks? 4. How many edits will you provide and when can I expect them to be delivered? 5. How will I receive edits? Do you have a studio or locations? Important to know because back grounds and locations need to be a match with the style of your styling and wardrobe. Things like a themed shoot will require props and maybe certain back grounds. Colors are also a factor. If your wardrobe is all black you most likely won't be wanting a black back drop, etc. And if the photographer has no studio or an outdoor location, you may have to provide one. Location means drive time too. Lucille Ball 1950's Have you ever had your work published? Important question to ask for 2 major reasons. #1, if they have then they know the process of submitting. They are aware of deadlines, how many edits you need, high resolution, no watermark or logo. #2, they will be familiar not only with the process but the style and quality required. Pinup photography is not the same as family portraits or fitness, bridal, etc. Totally different industry and career fields. Styles are different and so is the photography for modern-day pinup or actual vintage. How long will the shoot last & how many looks? Important to know before hand so you can plan, prepare and schedule your day accordingly. If you wish to shoot in 3 outfits, that may or may cost more and no doubt the shooting time will vary, each additional look. Takes time to get into and out of wardrobe and takes time to be photographed in each look. You'll need to know exactly how long the shoot will last so you can decide on how many looks you'll change into., plus which accessories to bring, if you'll change hairdo's or style different wigs. I say can average 45 minutes on the low end, per look. Then you must change and style again. I truly hate being rushed when changing into a new look! Jayne Mansfield 1960's How many edits will I receive and when will they be provided? 2 important questions to ask before the shoot. If you want to be published. Each magazine has deadlines, guidelines and a certain amount of edited images to submit. A set must be uniform. What I mean is whatever process, editing or photo shop they use on a single image must be done to every single image within that set. Most mags ask for at least 4 edits, the majority ask for a set of 6 or more, be submitted. So if your photographer will only offer you 2 edits per look, that's going to pose a problem. It's extremely rare that any pinup mag will publish just a single image of a model unless maybe it's an advertisement. To land a cover you'll need a full set of at least 6 to 8 images. Mag owners all have their own personal taste, so it's always best to submit as many great edits from a single, matching set, as possible. Also most mags want portrait style images and not too many will publish landscape. Another key thing to know and communicate with your photographer. If you plan to shoot say 2 different looks and want to submit both sets, you'll need at least 4 edits of each set. That would equal at least 8 edits total. Some photographers are not familiar with publication. They are used to editing images differently or looking for that one fabulous image to edit, then edit it differently than the rest. For a set to be uniform each image must be edited exactly the same. When will they deliver edits? Very important to know before hand. If you're doing a Christmas look and set, plan to be in a Christmas issue, there will be deadlines that vary depending on each individual magazine. Doesn't matter and won't matter how great you looked, how fabulous your wardrobe was, how great the set or location was, how flawless the images are nor how many edits you have to submit, if you miss the deadline. If you happen to miss every mags Christmas issue's deadlines, you'll be stuck with a Christmas themed set until next Christmas! Keep that in mind when planning ahead and communicating your goals for each shoot, each set and with every single photographer. I've personally worked with photographers that edited images well the same day we shot! And delivered them the same day. That's rare but one photographer I work with several times a year, does that. I've shot with a photographer that took 2 months to deliver a hand full of edits and I was so disappointed! No clue whether they rushed the edits and simply waited until days or a day before that 2 month mark kicked in, or if during that 2 months they worked on the set off and on. But they were all edited differently ahd very low quality! I have a super fabulous photographer who I've worked with more times than I can count. Nothing he does or we do together is ever rushed, especially his edits! Can take a month or several months. However each image is flawless! Images are edited uniform to match within a set. So knowing your new photographer's editing timeframe is very important when wanting to gain publication. Never ask how many edits, and when to expect them, during or after a shoot. These questions should be apart of a list you go down over the phone before booking a date. How will I receive edits? Another very important question indeed! Some models have no knowlegde how things like Dropbox works or don't have it to begin with. Most pinup mags use Dropbox. It's fairly simple and it's free up to a certain storage limit. It doesn't cost to accept a folder invite and download the images. If your photographer uses regular email and they'll be sending lots of edits that way, it's going to be more work on your part. A couple of extra steps once you receive those emails. Since images must be high resolution only so many can be sent in a single email. So you'll be getting several emails, then have to download each pic., upload them all into a Dropbox folder, label them and send a mag a Dropbox invite. Exchanging info., on the best way to contact you is essential too. If you're rarely on Facebook then express that and make sure they have your email. Contact information should be exchanged before a shoot and if you forget, at least before a shoot ends, make sure you exchange info. Waiting to ask for contact info., days or weeks after a shoot is a clear sign of a non professional. Not knowing your photographers name, email, etc., isn't very professional at all and causes delays if that info., isn't exchanged while booking a shoot. Brigitte Bardot 1970's Communication is key, period! The less info., you have, receive or provide the more chances of assumptions, delays and obviously confusion. Proper communication has the exact opposite effect. I've seen models get impatient waiting months for edits, simply and only because they weren't given a timeframe, weren't updated along the way and when they followed up, were ignored. While I've seen several models wait patiently for months without stress because the photographer gave them a timeframe, kept it, and along the way they updated them and replied when that model followed up. The more information and details exchanged, the clear the terms and agreement are. The more communicating with updates and follow ups, the smoother things will flow and heavily cuts down on assumptions and frustration. Communicate your goals for each shoot before you book a date. List all the things you're looking to accomplish. Ask many questions. As to see examples of their work before you agree to shoot. Research them as much as possible and ask for references if you feel the need.
NEVER book a shoot without going over terms 1st. NEVER book a shoot without researching them 1st. And NEVER wait until a shoot is going on or after to go over details, terms, contact info., etc. Day of the shoot should be about shooting and modeling. Getting dolled up, concentrating on facial expressions and poses. Focusing on the person you're working with that day. Focus is key and all the biz arrangements should be settled and crystal clear so you can focus and do your best.
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