CHAPTER 5 | Wrap-Up

Chapter 5 offered an array of tools to help organize any type of shoot, from a documentary to a high-production project.

While Chapter 4 offered tools to give your vision depth at the idea stage, Chapter 5 provided the concrete steps to bring that vision to life through organization and research. This included how to strengthen your skills in sourcing materials, negotiation, and gaining access. It broke down all the moving parts into manageable tasks to make the pre-production process easier, using spreadsheets to help account for all the details. It also provided tips for producing work on a budget, a necessary skill for building a portfolio and experimenting with personal work.

Once all the elements have come together, the shoot should go off without a hitch. In the case of hiccups or all-out disasters, a back-up plan and some creative problem solving can ensure that the shoot goes on, and you still leave with a usable image. With that image, you can enter the final stages of the creative process: editing, sequencing, and retouching to round out post-production.

There are many more aspects to the business side of photography, which are not covered in this book. I would encourage you to investigate further the business standards and best practices found within each specialty of photography.