How To Set Up A Test Shoot
I love test shoots – A test shoot is a shoot where a team come together to produce work for everyone’s portfolio. Creatives come together and make beautiful images, everyone works for free, and gets to use the images to build their portfolio.
First you’ll need to come up with an idea for your test shoot. You might have a bank of ideas that you’ve been wanting to create for a while or look up ideas on the internet or magazines.
Once you’ve decided on your idea, you’ll create a moodboard. You can do this on Pinterest, but you can do it anyway you like as long as you can share it easily.
The next step is to find your team. You might already have someone onboard that you have planned to do a test shoot with, then you can help each other to find the creatives to complete your team.
You might need a makeup artist, hair stylist, stylist, a designer, etc. Instagram can be a good place to find what you are looking for.
When you have found everyone you’ll need for the photoshoot, then it’s time to plan the shoot, Tell them what you’ve got in mind and make your vision very clear. They will have ideas of their own, so listen to them.
You’ll need to decide where you are going to shoot. Will it be a studio or location shoot? I love both, but I prefer to be in a studio for beauty and portrait and to be on a location for editorial and fashion shoots.
If you decide to be on a location you’ll need to think about if you need a permit? How will the model change her/his outfits? Where will you do the hair and makeup? What time of day will be best for the light?
The more you plan the better but sometimes ideas don’t turn out as you expected. That is not a bad thing, many times I have a shoot in mind but it doesn’t really work in camera but then you get some new ideas from that idea and you make it work and you have something different and unique. That is what I love – you are making something magical!
The team for this shoot:
Makeup Artist/stylist – Alessia Mancici
Model: Amber Goman
Photographer – Moa Thorneby
xx Moa