A quick little tip that I hope to put to use more moving forward is to create and use a shot list when taking photos. The idea here is to create a literal list, written out or on your phone, of the photos you want to take. This can be as specific as you would like. While traveling you might have a list of monuments and locations to photograph, for portraits you may want specific poses or lighting scenarios and for other types of photography you might just want a list of different locations to photograph your subject.
This list can be what you want it to be, but try not to put too many items on it. You can always add to it once you’ve gotten the essential shots. If you get into a habit of creating these lists, you will likely have a better sense of how long each shot will take. Sometimes that’s a matter of getting to a location and setting up or finding what you’re looking for, not just taking the actual photos.
Using a shot list as a sort of creative limitation can help you focus more on creating stronger photos that meet your expectations, rather than a bunch of ok photos of things of less value and significance. Feeling like you’ve accomplished something can definitely be a motivating factor in getting out and taking photos. Without a list of photos in mind you might easily feel uninspired or even overwhelmed by all the possible photos you could take, and still end up not taking ones you’re proud of.
Having a shot list is also a great tool when working with a client, it sets expectations and limits. You want to make sure you get all the essential photos, and they might be the only one that really knows what is vitally important. You can also help suggest some ideas based on their final usage. Using shot lists for your personal work can also help you better know how long it might actually take to get all the shots that your client is looking for.
Creating a shot list is a helpful tool when it comes to getting the photos you want in the end and not feeling overwhelmed or uninspired. Let your list guide you to stronger photographs that you can be proud of sharing. How have you used shot lists in the past?
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