Studio Set, Design and Planning

Prior to any studio photography shot of all sorts, planning is one of the first stages to be taken into consideration before a shoot is performed. Planning a studio photography shoot is a collaboration of many factors to be accounted for things involving the context, subject, scene, garments and partakers of the shoot but also the setup and layout of the shoot itself. This is often a simplistic sketch that portrays a birds eye view of the studio set depicting various things like: Subject position, backdrop, lighting and their positions, filters and sometimes apertures, camera and anything else that might be including in a studio shoot. They are often kept very simple as to keep things as easy to understand as possible for all the members taking part in the shoot.

Above is a basic studio set in which i have designed for a shoot of mine, i decided to keep it very simple and easy to understand, even though the actual set was designed to be a simplistic setup. The studio set is simply portrayed in a fashion that anyone who looks at it can easily understand my intentions and its purpose. 

Above is another example of a studio scene, portraying a greater amount of detail.

When looking back to previous works, a photographer can refer to a previously used studio set that they planned if a similar setup is required, diarising the actions and purpose of every shot for future reference and to learn by the photographers trials and errors. Annotations and notes have been made so that instantly every part of the scene is understood, ensuring that the shoot setup is 'foolproof'. By producing a studio set prior to the shoot itself, upon the actual day of the shoot, the photographer along with assistants can instantly maintain a professional manner, with everything going to plan as everyone know exactly what the desires of the photographer are to be achieved, another advantage of planning this out is that the photographer will find it easier to produce this to the client and model gaining their approval and understanding but also ensuring one less thing that could go wrong due to a possible lack of planning by the photographer. The planned scene upon setting up by the 'crew' of the photographer is a very good reflection of the professional and reliable qualities that the photographer holds. 

Once the studio set has been decided and produced, the drawing of the scene can be turned into reality:

Upon planning of my studio shoot, relevant to my client brief, i will discuss with my client their intentions and to decide a basic outcome that they intend for me to achieve. During this process and upon the decision of the intended setting, themes and contexts, i will design an in depth studio plan.