Photoshoots set the stage for a successful social media campaign, feed, or website content. In the PR and Marketing world these types of content are ever-changing, and it’s important to keep up with those changes. Here is how we at HIT plan, execute and utilize photoshoots.
Plan
The first step in planning any photoshoot is identifying who needs to attend, what the location will be and if props or outside resources are necessary. For example, if you’re shooting for a holiday campaign you made need to acquire Christmas props. Additionally, people in attendance may include Account Managers, photographers or videographers, and any other necessary personnel.
Another aspect of planning a photoshoot is the concept. As we mentioned earlier, if your business is shooting for a holiday campaign, then the overall concept is holiday focused. Other types of concepts may include a refresh of photos for social media feeds. A case study of one of our clients, the Jason Dady Restaurant Group, is a great example of this. Across Dady’s restaurant group is multiple restaurants, each with their own menus, themes, and offerings. We plan photoshoots for each specific restaurant, with lighting, concepts and ideas specifically catered to them. Taking the time to correctly plan a photoshoot will allow it to run smoothly and reflect positively in the end result.
Execute
The next step in setting the stage for a photoshoot is the execution. In order to execute a photoshoot in a timely and organized manner, having a shot list is essential. Entailed in the shot list should be the time and place of the shoot, along with what content needs to be captured. We break down our shot lists by type of content, which normally includes photos and videos. Utilizing the concept from the planning portion, you should have a good idea of what is needed for each of these types of content.
Once you arrive at your destination, having a point person to mainly run the shoot is helpful. Too many cooks in the kitchen can easily overwhelm a shoot. The point person is responsible for ensuring everything on the shot list is marked off, and delegating tasks to others so that everything can run effortlessly.
Utilize
The last portion of a photoshoot is the utilization. How are the photos going to be used? Editing is a great tool to take advantage of. Putting out raw images may not seem like a big deal, but presenting to clients and customers alike an edited, clean-cut version of the original will make your work stand out. As we mentioned before, there is often a theme or tone that your feed, website or campaign is following. Increasing the saturation or warmth of an image, or adding an Adobe Lightroom preset to match said theme are all small things that can have a big impact. Checkout Tre Trattoria for a great example of this! Once your photos and videos are edited and ready to go, you can now utilize. Check out our blog post, How we plan for a month at HIT, for tips and tricks on laying out a social media content calendar will all of the new content you just grabbed.
