ViewBug community member rbubek is an amazing studio photographer and shared with us his top 7 tips on what to do to get ready for a client shoot.
1. I'll arrange to meet with the client before I even begin any studio preparations, we'll either meet for a coffee or at the studio so we can discuss what kind of portrait they want and just to get to know the client a little before hand. I feel it's very important to make your client very comfortably at the shoot and if you met before it short of breaks the ice and makes them feel a little more relaxed.
2. After meeting with the client it gives me a idea of what light set up I'll use and how many light I'll need for the look they are after.
3. I'll use a stand in (usually a friend or myself if one is available) to measure the light and make sure everything is pretty much set up before the client arrives - You don't want your client waiting around while you are setting up lights & measuring exposures!!
4. I use a light meter to get my lighting exposures correct rather then taking test shots until I feel I got the correct exposure.
5. Once the client is in the studio again make them comfortably and make conversation and I ease into the shoot , We'll take a couple of test shots & I use a X-Rite color checker as well for the first frame.
6. Once the shoot begins we'll go through the shoot and I"ll always direct my client and I like to keep a conversation going as we shoot ,I find this really relaxes most people. Most people feel uncomfortable when in front of a camera.
7. I shoot tethered for a number of reasons. You can see the image on a larger monitor to check for sharpness and overall exposures and it's just easier to see then looking at the LCD screen in the back of the camera, also I'll sit with my client at the end or sometimes during the shoot and review some of the images. From here we can
discuss if there are any looks we need to change or try again and see the overall shoot and he or she can pick there favourite images.
So there you have it that's the way work in the studio with clients ,with still life I usually like to have a vision of what I'm trying to achieve and sometimes even sketch out lighting setups to visualize the final product. I didn't talk about light setups and light ratios because that varies from every shoot depending on the shoot . Sometimes I just use one light modifier and a reflector and sometimes as many as five to six lights. As far as camera setting I usually set my camera at the lowest ISO which is 100 ISO and my apertures vary from f8 to f16 with my shutter speed is usually 1/160th and my focal length is 100mm.
