How to Plan a Content Shoot
Hi! As many of you know, I am a musician; I make sounds. But in order to get people interested in hearing those sounds, I have to use images! Images help us tell stories, convey information and draw people into our world. After a few months of quarantine, I, like many other independent musicians/business owners/etc. found myself lacking photos to post in order to continue engaging my followers on a consistent basis. So, I reached out to my friend Sarah Yates, photographer extraordinaire, and asked if we could do a content shoot. Collaborating with other artistic people is one of my favorite things, so I’m excited to give y’all a little peek into our creative process! Hope you enjoy some VIP access into this dreamy shoot and who knows, maybe you’ll even get inspired to do your own!
So without further adieu, let’s dive right into how we made this happen!
Step 1: Set the Mood
If you’re planning a content shoot, you have to start with a vision! Decide what you’re going for and what you want to communicate through these photos. If this is your first shoot, consider asking yourself these questions as a starting point:
What things/colors/places make me feel the most like myself?
How do I want to represent myself or my business?
Do some digging on Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration and then surround yourself with things that engage your senses that line up with that vision: sights, sounds, smells, etc. This will get you excited!
If you know me, you know I have a playlist for everything! When you’re in front of the camera or behind it, it’s so important to set an atmosphere that helps you buy into the spirit/mood of what you want the shoot to capture! In our case, we were going for a 70’s vibe that included some funky/bold fashion statements, but was still pretty casual and laid-back.
To give you an example, here are just a few of the tracks that were on the playlist I made for us to jam to. I wanted to make sure I picked songs that paid homage to the 70s, allowed us to have fun and dance a lil, all while keeping a chill vibe:
Thrown Down - Fleetwood Mac
You Worry Me - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Mexico - James Taylor
Oh What a World - Kacey Musgraves
Give Me Love - George Harrison
Deep Burn Blue - The Paper Kites
(feel free to listen to these songs while browsing through these photos for an enhanced experience)
Step 2: Props!
When I approached Sarah about doing this shoot, I told her I was open to pretty much anything she wanted to try as long as we attempted to incorporate two things:
1) vintagey props- these ended up being things I already had around my house (remember: this shoot is meant to reflect you!) like my vinyls, flare jeans, a bohemian rug and my guitars.
2) mirrors- I literally grabbed a mirror off my wall on my way out the door (didn’t end up spending a dime on props, only on snacks!)
Since neither Sarah or I had worked with mirrors before, it took us a while to figure out what we were doing (getting a good mirror shot is harder than it sounds!). We kept encountering the problem of either her camera being in the shot, or me not being in the shot.
Eventually we got the hang of it and with some practice/play, we ended up getting some good ones!
*pro tip: never underestimate the power of movement in photos— look how fun these turned out:
Step 3: Experiment with Lighting and Space
Don’t underestimate the power of some good natural light. As long as you have that, you have a lot to work with! You probably can’t tell, but this entire photoshoot took place in an apartment! For these shots, we used window blinds to create unique lighting to add a little more drama.
Step 4: Take Risks
Sometimes, you need to be a little extra! For this portion of the shoot, I whipped out my white cowboy boots and decided to embrace my inner Dolly Parton. I’ve never tried on a monochromatic outfit before, but it totally changed the dynamic of these shots and I ended up loving them!
Step 5: Find a photographer who helps you relax and hypes you up!
Since Sarah is so fun, flexible and encouraging, this shoot FLEW by. It’s easy to get in your head and feel self-conscious in front of the camera (especially if you’re like me and you have no professional modeling experience. Having someone who makes you feel comfortable in your own skin will make the experience enjoyable, AND get you those money shots!
Click the image below to check out Sarah’s work at sarahyatesphoto.com !
