THE PRO WORKFLOW

A well-structured day yields more images, higher-quality files and less on-shoot stress

RESPOND TO ENQUIRIES Administration is best addressed early in the day. depending on your studio type, you may find the opportunity to make last-minute bookings for the current day, to fill gaps in your schedule. Also use this time to send test files and final images to clients.

EQUIPMENT CHECKS the last thing you want to happen is failure of your studio equipment before your shoot has even begun. set aside time in the morning to check your lights, cameras and memory cards. Be sure to have empty memory cards for each of your cameras.

LIGHTING SETUP Begin to organise your lighting and backgrounds for the morning sessions, based on the type of images you plan to take. By grouping related shoots together, the setups you construct here should not need to be altered too much throughout the morning. take test shots before your clients arrive.

MORNING SHOOTS While it is logical that each shoot will have a different duration, based on the complexity of the setup and the number of images required, with experience the photographer will be able to predict how long each assignment will take and organise bookings accordingly.

IMAGE BACKUP While it is advisable to back up images immediately after a shoot, many pros will shoot to dual memory cards, or tethered to a laptop, producing real-time backups. however, spend time at the end of the morning backing up to remote locations and organising archiving of files, using Lightroom for example.

AFTERNOON SETUP set aside around 40 minutes to an hour to rearrange your equipment in preparation for your later shoots. this is a good time to recharge batteries used in the morning and retest your gear. Leave complex shoots to later, to allow ‘spill’ time should you overrun.

IMAGE REVIEW At the end of the working day, once images have been duplicated and tagged, start eliminating failed images and rate those which have potential. Many pros leave days free for image editing and proofing, as this time can also be used for client image viewings and selection.