Stages of a photoshoot production involving concept & abstract model photography

A MODEL PHOTOSHOOT THAT INCORPORATES A FEATURE-RICH CONCEPT IS A COMPLEX TASK THAT SHOULD BE APPROACHED IN STAGES. I DISCOVERED THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKING IT DOWN INTO STAGES DURING MY INITIAL SHOOT IN JANUARY 2021. EACH STAGE DEMANDS METICULOUS PLANNING, COLLABORATION, AND METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL TO ENSURE THE SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION OF THE PHOTOSHOOT AND PREVENT ANY OBSTACLES ALONG THE WAY. IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE, I HAVE DEVELOPED A SET OF STAGES SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTS WHERE THE MODEL TAKES AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS.

I. CONCEPT DESIGN:

AT THE VERY BEGINNING, THE CONCEPT DESIGN STAGE SETS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ENTIRE PHOTOSHOOT. DISCUSSIONS TAKE PLACE TO DETERMINE THE THEME, MATERIALS NEEDED, AND OVERALL PLANNING. THIS STAGE ALSO INVOLVES THE INTRICATE TASK OF DESIGNING THE SET, ENSURING IT ALIGNS WITH THE ENVISIONED CONCEPT.

II. PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY:

AS THE SET DESIGN PROGRESSES, THE PRODUCTION MOVES INTO THE PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY STAGE. THIS IS WHEN THE MODEL AND PHOTOGRAPHER COME TOGETHER ON SET FOR THE CREATIVE SESSION. PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY REQUIRES THE PARTICIPATION OF EVERYONE INVOLVED TO CAPTURE THE DESIRED SHOTS.

III. SELECTION:

ONCE THE PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY WRAPS UP, THE SELECTION STAGE BEGINS. THIS CROSSOVER STAGE OCCURS WHEN ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE SESSION ARE COMPILED INTO A DESIGNATED FOLDER TITLED "SESSION." IN-PERSON OR REMOTE MEETINGS ARE THEN HELD WITH ALL PARTIES INVOLVED TO MUTUALLY CHOOSE THE IMAGES THAT WILL BE USED IN THE FINAL GALLERY.

DURING THE SELECTION PROCESS, IMAGES AGREED UPON BY BOTH THE MODEL AND PHOTOGRAPHER ARE TAGGED WITH THE COLOR GREEN. IMAGES CHOSEN BY THE MODEL ALONE ARE TAGGED PURPLE, WHILE IMAGES SELECTED SOLELY BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER ARE TAGGED ORANGE. EACH SELECTED IMAGE FOLLOWS A FILE NAMING CONVENTION: TITLEOFSHOOT-#.DNG, WITH THE FORMAT BEING RAW (.DNG) AND EDITED USING SOFTWARE LIKE AFFINITY PHOTO.

IV. TOUCHUP & OBJECT REMOVAL:

AFTER THE SELECTION STAGE, SELECTED IMAGES ARE COPIED TO A "WORK IN PROGRESS" (WIP) FOLDER FOR FURTHER REFINEMENT. THE TOUCHUP AND OBJECT REMOVAL STAGE BEGINS DURING THIS CROSSOVER PHASE. REAL-TIME SESSIONS, EITHER IN PERSON OR VIA REMOTE ACCESS, ARE CONDUCTED WITH ALL PARTIES INVOLVED TO ADDRESS IMPERFECTIONS AND REMOVE UNWANTED OBJECTS FROM THE CHOSEN IMAGES.

ALL MODIFIED FILES ARE SAVED AS NEW ORIGINALS AND REMAIN IN THE WIP FOLDER. THE NAMING CONVENTION FOR THESE FILES BECOMES TITLEOFSHOOT-#-NO.DNG, STILL IN RAW FORMAT (.DNG) AND EDITED USING AFFINITY PHOTO.

V. WHITE BALANCE:

ONCE ALL TOUCHUPS AND OBJECT REMOVALS ARE COMPLETE AND AGREED UPON, THE WHITE BALANCE STAGE COMMENCES. THIS STAGE AIMS TO BALANCE OUT THE WHITES, GRAYS, AND BLACKS IN THE IMAGES. PARTIES INVOLVED, EITHER TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY, UNDERTAKE THE TASK OF ADJUSTING THE WHITE BALANCE.

THE WHITE-BALANCED FILES ARE SAVED AS NEW ORIGINALS AND TAGGED WITH THE INITIALS OF THE LAST PERSON TO MODIFY THE FILE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE PHOTOGRAPHER MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS, THE FILE WOULD BE TAGGED AS "BY-ORANGE." THE SOFTWARE USED REMAINS AFFINITY PHOTO, AND THE FORMAT REMAINS RAW (.DNG). THESE FILES ARE STORED IN THE WIP FOLDER.

VI. EDITS:

AFTER THE COMPLETION OF WHITE BALANCING AND TAGGING THE FILES AS COMPLETE, THE EDITING STAGE COMMENCES. THIS STAGE ALLOWS FOR CREATIVE EXPLORATION, INCLUDING MAKING ORIGINAL EDITS, CROPPING, AND ADJUSTING COLORS. BOTH THE MODEL AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER CAN WORK ON THE EDITS EITHER TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY, BASED ON THEIR PREFERENCES AND ARTISTIC VISION.

EDITED FILES ARE SAVED AS NEW ORIGINALS AND TAGGED WITH THE INITIALS OF THE PERSON WHO LAST MODIFIED THEM. AGAIN, AFFINITY PHOTO IS THE SOFTWARE USED FOR EDITING, AND THE FORMAT REMAINS RAW (.DNG). THE FILES ARE STORED IN THE WIP FOLDER.

VIII. FORMAT & COMPRESSION:

ONCE THE EDITING STAGE IS COMPLETE AND THE IMAGES ARE READY FOR RELEASE, THE FORMAT AND COMPRESSION STAGE COMES INTO PLAY. THIS STAGE SIGNIFIES THE TRANSITION TO THE FINAL STAGES OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS. DURING THIS STAGE, ONE PERSON TAKES CHARGE OF PREPARING THE IMAGES FOR BOTH WEB AND PRINT FORMATS.

TWO VERSIONS OF THE IMAGES ARE CREATED: ONE FOR PRINT AND ONE FOR WEB. THESE VERSIONS ARE ORGANIZED INTO FOLDERS WITHIN THE "GALLERY" FOLDER. THE "PRINT" SUBFOLDER CONTAINS IMAGES IN PORTABLE NETWORK GRAPHICS (.PNG) FORMAT, WHICH PRESERVES HIGH-QUALITY, UNCOMPRESSED IMAGE DATA FOR PRINTING PURPOSES. THE "WEB" SUBFOLDER HOUSES THE IMAGES IN JPEG FORMAT, WHICH IS OPTIMIZED FOR WEB USAGE WITH HIGH-QUALITY COMPRESSION TO REDUCE FILE SIZE WHILE MAINTAINING VISUAL INTEGRITY.

IX. GALLERY:

THE GALLERY STAGE INVOLVES THE CREATION OF AN ONLINE PLATFORM WHERE THE FINAL SELECTED IMAGES ARE SHOWCASED. ALL THE PHOTOS PUBLISHED IN THE GALLERY ARE SOURCED FROM THE JPEG FILES IN THE "WEB" SUBFOLDER. THIS ONLINE GALLERY PROVIDES A VISUALLY CAPTIVATING DISPLAY OF THE CONCEPT AND ABSTRACT MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY, ALLOWING VIEWERS TO APPRECIATE THE ARTISTIC VISION AND CREATIVE EXECUTION.

X. RELEASE:

WITH THE GALLERY PREPARED, THE FINAL STAGE OF THE PHOTOSHOOT PRODUCTION IS THE RELEASE. A SPECIFIC RELEASE DATE IS SET, AND THE GALLERY IS SCHEDULED TO GO LIVE ON THAT DATE. THIS MARKS THE CULMINATION OF THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION PROCESS, AS THE CAPTIVATING IMAGES ARE NOW ACCESSIBLE TO THE INTENDED AUDIENCE, READY TO BE ADMIRED, SHARED, AND CELEBRATED.

THE STAGES DESCRIBED ABOVE SHOWCASE THE IMPORTANT STEPS IN A PHOTOSHOOT PRODUCTION INVOLVING CONCEPT AND ABSTRACT MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY. EACH STAGE PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN REALIZING THE CREATIVE VISION, FROM PLANNING TO SELECTION, EDITING, FORMATTING, AND THE FINAL RELEASE. COLLABORATION AMONG THE MODEL, PHOTOGRAPHER, AND OTHER KEY INDIVIDUALS ENSURES A COHESIVE AND IMPACTFUL OUTCOME THAT CAPTIVATES VIEWERS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ARTISTIC EXPERTISE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.