How Much Do You Plan Your Shoots?

Almost no "planning". Just observation and shooting in the present moment.

Always try to keep my camera at hand is about the most planning I do.

Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

I mostly just walk around and shoot what I feel like shooting... there are times (such as portrait sessions) when I do plan, but I usually don't plan too much. It is fun for me just for everything to be mostly impromptu. :)

I'm not much of a planner, but I do take mental notes. One thing on my to do list is to reshoot a building after some renovations. Needs to be late afternoon (for the sun) in the next few weeks. I'll probably get to it over a weekend sometime.

I try to plan as much as I can, at least for the venue, but sometimes I like purposely "getting lost" to find unexplored subjects and places. However, one thing I most likely will NEVER ever shoot, and that is a "sunrise". I just cannot get up that early!!!!!!

i just show up and shoot. i'm not the type that arrives at a certain time with the best like. shoot it as it lies.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

My commercial shoots, none of which are uploaded here, are highly planned. Sometimes it takes weeks to pull together a one day shoot.

What I currently have up here is 90% unplanned. There was a bit of planning involved in the Star Class Bacardi Cup race photos, but mostly in getting access to the press boat without being credentialed by a magazine.

I'm currently gearing up for some extensive still life shooting for images to sell on FAA which has been about a year in pre-production.

Very good discussion Toby, thus far it seems the majority of us do have our cameras in possession at all times. By doing so you just have no idea what you may capture and it does present you with a challenge and split second timing at any given moment. I like Shelby's response she plans ahead for portraits and perhaps a still life I agree those are the ones most of us plan in advance for or the instances which are planned events and you must await the opportunity to take advantage of the controlled setting. I have always liked my very own images or viewing other spontaneous type photos. You either have the option of control or let the situation take precedence. Many of my photos are one shots there is a distinctive voice in your head the moment you hit the shutter release you know you succeeded.

I have noticed now that it seems everyone has a camera or cell I have been asked my times would you mind taking our photo if is a portrait and I do not resist to help. If I do then I will take multiple shots and they can sort which one they like better. I have even gone out of my way to make the particular setting more of a desirable photo for them. They obvious by seeing my camera I must have knowledge of photography. I am always constantly networking when out and about.

This day and age I do not leave home without my laptop nor camera because I do ride my bike everyday I get individuals ask what newspaper I may work for I am ready for that unexpected shot. Sometimes I have just sat there and waited for the picture to come to me. Most professionals do and have used the first morning light for planned photos the morning sun spectrum is differ than mid-day or afternoon and the setting sun.

In a lot of cases in most rural and metro cities the morning light has less pollution in the atmosphere because most of it is dispersed during the night hours by winds or the particles settled over night less movement to stir up pollution.

Cheers, Michael Hoard Principal Actor, Artist and Photographer

Almost all unplanned, mainly from just walking, wandering and observing. The camera is a great tool for getting yourself lost in the moment.
Some trips are planned for specific objects, or to return at a more specific time. I almost always carry a camera these days. Looking forward to a dark skies shoot in the late autumn too. This is new for me so will need a lot of research ahead of time. I may even ask advice nearer the time :-)

Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

It depends what I'm shooting and how controlled i want/need my environment to be.

But my most favourite way of going about the craft...just put on my camera bag backpack with some gear, go to a place and walk the area shopting away. I love the spontaneity of that method, as long as the light is right, I'm bound to find a subject.

I try to have a certain spot in mind when I head out, most of the time I find things long the way that are better. I prefer to have a spot that I can explore on foot.

Some of my best shots are from just exploring around and taking what nature gives me. I occasionally have a planned shot in mind and often times find my best shot of the day is something totally unexpected or unplanned. Plus the adventure is much more exciting than getting to a certain spot and staying put IMO. Of course sometimes thats what is necessary.

I do both.

Planning wise some I plan a year out.

I do long term planning for scenic shots. Since I have a full time job I am limited to 1 or 2 days at a time. My planning is done with maps. Places I want to target. Once I get there-it's all ad hoc.

I almost always plan mine, especially if I'm driving any length of time, or flying someplace. I'm usually out the door around 4:00 am, get setup, wait, shoot until around 10ish. Then I have breakfast while reviewing my images. Then it's nap time lol. I'll head out again around 3:00 or 4:00 to shoot some more, quitting just after the sun sets. By then it's time to eat supper, review images, get my gear ready for the next day and go to bed. I used to shoot all day but found I trashed too many images because of bad lighting so I really don't bother anymore. Unless we're on a cruise, and then I can't really choose the times that are ideal to shoot.

Edit...I also know the exact location where I plan to shoot the day before. As far as planning the trips themselves, I plan ahead months before I leave.

Take my camera everywhere...even on the way to the store, in restaurants and in shops....(I always ask permission to shoot indoors), garden centers and on my walks. I have had too many ' oh man!!" moments when I realized what I had missed when the camera was left home....

improvisation - if I set up or set out to photo something specific - it's usually a failure.

I do astro landscape photography. That requires planning - moon, star position, sunset, skies, usually hiking and scouting during the day with various night sky apps.


Otherwise, I don't plan much - just "spray and pray" a lot (like M-16 training LOL)

Not really, but yeah.

Your astro photography is outstanding.

Thanks! *kicks rock and blushes*

Even when I plan I don't, we took a trip to Washington state, I had "plans" of shooting the beautiful green forests, turns out I shot two, and have only posted one, most of the shots I got there were sunset shots wile waiting for the ferries to get ready to take us back to the island.

TL Mair
tlmair.com

I have no idea... it is a good question to think about it, thanks.

Yes, I plan my shoots {where, time of day, and what I'm after when I go}. Every so often we will just drive around and look for something interesting. But mostly, I have a plan in mind when we go, and I have an intended "target" {I shoot wildlife}. :)

There are about ten cotton fields marked in my head that I either didn't a camera or the right lens. I have both now, just waiting for it to pop and fluff.

Same with some rivers and fall scenes AND I have the kayak now.

Waiting for winter to figure out this astro thing. Melany is one of the artists here I look at for inspiration. (Can't do jack here in the southeast until the humidity and haze breaks. Fall at the earliest.

For my city shots I never plan. I just always have my camera with me and walk the streets. I do plan for my landscape shoots, especially for the sunrise/sunset shots up north.

"have my camera with me and walk the streets"

That could totally be taken out of context LOL

I plan every Friday night for the short trips but sometimes they change depending on the light conditions near sunrise. Already have my Fall Colors week planned and doing a rough hike in a little know area this weekend in the Driftless area NE Iowa. Always Google maps,aerial view of an un-shot area and plan this weekend as a scouting trip for the Fall Color shoot.

Both, some I plan but like many else I always have my camera with me and I do love exploring to see what I can find

Haha Melany, I guess it could...lol

There are different kinds of planning. I plan an itinerary months in advance, taking into account personal experience from prior expeditions. However, due to weather, health, energy levels, and other considerations, I will deviate from my basic plan/route considerably to take advantage of new targets. Ideally, I sleep and travel mostly at night and/or on midday, so that most of my opportunities are near golden hour. Rainy weather is a good time to shoot waterfalls, for example, and clouds and storms present other opportunities. Generally, I prefer to travel in the southwest in the spring, when it's not too hot for me, and when insects are not a problem. A little snow is welcome early in my trip, and my sojourns generally end when it gets too hot for me and the gnats get too annoying. In the fall, when the weather cools, I return to active shooting for a few months. During a long trip, sometimes up to 3 months, I have taken thousands of photos.

At the other extreme, you can plan an individual shot extensively. An example might be a still life, a macro subject, a portrait with particular lighting. At the extreme end of this extreme, I have a couple of photographs I have envisioned for years, but don't yet have the skills to accomplish. If I ever get the opportunity and the skills, I will attempt these.

About all I plan is deciding where I want to go and when I want to get there, taking into account what time I need to start hiking back to get to the truck before full dark. If I need to be somewhere for early light, I scope out the closest place where I can park the truck (without being hassled) and sleep there the night before. After that, nature takes it course.

Planned a trip to Philly to shoot Eastern State Pen and the USS Olympia at sunrise.

On the way from the Olympia to ESP I saw city hall, stopped and shot it.

Not one of the planned shots has ever sold. City Hall has made me a couple grand so far.

Go figure.

I 'plan' my shoots in the sense that after living and hiking in Colorado for 7 years now, I am familiar enough with the various locations, and what location is potentially the best place to go X week of the month, each year (I'm primarily a landscape photographer, and so really learning about the natural history, when flowers will be blooming, what mountain slopes they'll bloom on earlier vs later, is what I'm talking about). I factor in the time of day too.

I do and don't plan. I plan on where I want to travel, and if the destination has anything cool to shoot, it's a plan to shoot it, but once there, it's mainly just walking around, shooting what's interesting. If it's just walking around town, or to state parks I've been to several times,... I don't plan... just shoot.

I plan location, but not specific spot. walk around to see anything interesting in planned location. I usually choose location based on the weather.
I imagine myself, hum it would be beautiful if I walk down to the pond to see anything unusual on this foggy rainy day. or I should go down to the Marina, this is crazy hot weather I might be able to see some clear reflection on the water. These are the thing I imagine before I choose the location based on the weather.

Sometime I take photo spontaneously. Driving around, and all of the sudden I see some old building or some unusual activity or people, certain time of the day light hits certain way, I just got out quickly and take photo of it. I don't like to take photos of people sit still. if I do, I tell them " don't look at me " just look anywhere but me.

For me everything is planned. But, nothing ever goes as planed because the weather reports are ALWAYS wrong. Everything I do is based on weather. Over the years I have been burned so many times on weather forecast that I have learned to go prepared for anything. So if I plan to shoot a river or fall and the sun comes out I will turn my attention to wildlife macro and break out the umbrella for shade . I will keep at this until the sun drops low enough for shadow free shooting.

I always preplan. First I check out google earth for the region I'm going to . Usually it's a different state. I will look at other mages from area to previsualize what I'm going to see. It gives me something to do but also has helped me with finding some locations. I will also check weather patterns for area . If I'm shooting water I will check tides. For Washington it was for safety, for Florida it was for wave action and rocks that are submerged at high tide. Obviously things change when I'm in a new location but preplan nina gives me an idea of where to go. I was in the Palouse and got a map from chamber of commerce . Marked everything thing is known on their map. When I got there , there was so much more too shoot. But it was a great reference to start from.

Great shot Bill!

LOL Diana getting up at sunrise has been something I've been forcing myself to do. It's the only way to get the sun over the ocean in a lot of locations here in the northeast. I've hit many locations at sunrise so far this summer. This morning I was too tired to go out and it turned out there was a spectacular rainbow at the location I was planning to hit - d'oh!

JC- I've sold many shots that I was on a fence about stopping and taking. You just never know what people are going to want.

Cascade- I am going to be visiting Denver/Boulder next month- your images are very inspiring!

I already have a mile long list of locations I want to hit for the end of summer, fall and winter (even thinking about next spring)... When I get to these locations I really don't know what I am going to capture.

I still try to fit in city walks whenever I can.

"...nothing ever goes as planed because the weather reports are ALWAYS wrong..."


Weather reporter/meteorologist. One of the few jobs where you can be pretty much wrong all the time...and still keep your job. :)

I used to try and somewhat plan, but then I'd find myself disappointed, so usually now I just think of a location, and then look around for photo ops.

Now when I go on vacation, I do some planning. For example I recently went to the Charleston SC area. I knew I wanted a sunset shot of the cable bridge there at sunset and night. I didn't know what day I was going to do it, I just followed my instinct. One morning there were beautiful clouds so I knew that was the day to go into town. I did drive around the area trying to find the best location since I only had one opportunity to do it.. That evening I was given the most beautiful sunset I think I've ever seen.

Portrait/advance paid shoots are planned as far as location, lighting and equipment needed. My Wildlife and other shots are not planned any more than grabbing my gear and heading out of the door.
Sometimes after leaving the house I think about JC (not in a stalker way, in a snake hugger way) so I shoot things like this:


Then sometimes I go out in the yard to shoot this:


But end up getting this:


But some days I am lazy and all I want to do is this.......

Mostly unplanned. I take my camera with me everywhere I go....whatever happens, happens. The only time anything is thought out beforehand...is if there is some kind of local event going on....balloon festival, historical reenactment, etc.

The only planning I do is making sure the card is in my camera. Other than that I totally wing it.

Years ago, I planned my shootings. At least I tried to. But when I was at the location (architecture shots) the conditions were not right for the photos I had in mind, so I had to improvise nearly always. Not bad at all since I shoot for my own pleasure. And sometimes I even came back with shots that are still my favorites but never had in mind before.
I have learnt the more you plan, the more you rack your brain and the more you loose time, etc. So nowadays, I just take my camera for some architecture shots (just as an example) and see what happens. Same with macro. Now, mostly, as soon as I see a certain subject that I like I just shot and see what comes out. The more I shot that subject, the more I get inspired. Or not, it all depends on the day lol.

Valerie I love getting to a location, setting up my camera, taking the shot and... Nothing! I look at my camera and see the dreaded 'No SD Card Inserted' message (yes it's most likely still in my laptop at home). This has happened more times than I'd like to admit.

I'm much more about "discovering", than planning shots.

Some of my work however is a bit different than what you're probably expecting, since I also create 3D stereos. Some of the techniques for 3D may involve pushing a subject out through the stereo window in which case it's sometimes better to plan ahead for that technique (to avoid a "window violation") but you only need to be aware of it at the time you see your subject, before capturing it.

If I'm going to be using a single camera to capture a subject in a stereo pair, then the subject should not move between shots, otherwise there will be a mis-sync therefore, it's a good idea to go out when the air is calm. It's usually also beneficial to take 3D stereos when there are no harsh shadows. Some of these things you may or may not be able to plan on but kind of wing it instead. I usually will check the weather reports to get an idea of what it may be like outdoors.

Of course, common sense goes without saying such as, keeping spare charged batteries, a tripod in the trunk of your car, extended time away from home such as vacation trips, knowing where you'll be going... will you need insect repellent, hat, special clothing or weather gear, chance of rain in the forecast (bring a plastic bag for protecting the camera), extra memory cards, etc. A lot of that kind of stuff is just being prepared pretty much for all general outings. It's also usually assumed that the best "light" for shooting outdoors is morning or evening if you consider that planning ahead.

I've gotten used to automatically checking the sky for unusual or unexpected clouds, sunsets, sunrises, fog or mist, snowfalls, etc. every day and especially before and after storms or other weather conditions. I also now carry at least a small camera with me everywhere (I still don't have a cell phone). I have a 3D camera that shoots 2D at the same time and is also capable of video and it fits in my pocket. If I'm going away from home for a while I'll put my camera bag in the trunk that has my better cameras and lenses.

I'm basically a homebody, so I often kill 2 birds with 1 stone by incorporating photo ops when I have to make a trip for something else unrelated.

Same here, Toby! It's a hard lesson to learn!

I usually plan time and location to try for the best light. Once I arrive I walk around a lot looking for different angles and points of view.

I often plan my shoots, only to be sideswiped by mother nature. Often, what I get is better than what I had planned.

This was supposed to be a moonrise over the mountain. Dang clouds showed up and blocked the moon.



This was shot on 4th of July. My plan was to capture multiple fireworks displays in several towns down in the valley. I stopped by in the afternoon to get an idea of where each town was located and what focal length I would need to capture them all. The fireworks shots were a bust, but scouting the location during an afternoon thunderstorm got me this.



This one was planned, but all the way up to the lake, it was overcast. I set up my tripod and decided I would just have to settle for the lake without the mountain, when all of a sudden, the clouds broke and the mountain appeared.



This one was planned down to about 100 yards one way or the other. The cloud got in the way at the beginning, but luckily it wasn't very big. :-)



So, the lesson I've learned is to plan, but remain open to unexpected opportunity.

Oh, and regarding the missing card--I learned that lesson the hard way, too. Now, whenever I take the card out of the camera, I leave the access door open until I replace the card. Grabbing the camera on the way out the door and noticing the card slot door is open alerts me that I need to replace the card. :-)

Mostly I make shoot lists and go when the light is right. I woke up one night before and saw that this ship was in. It wasn't too cloudy I got down to the port to watch the loading at night. Since I was near the beach I went there shortly after sunrise and got a nature shot that excluded the early morning walkers. Both shots have been planned for months. Well roughly planned. Enough so I recognized the opportunity and took advantage of it.

My Canon 5D allows two memory cards. ( CF and SD) I've found it helpful to always keep one card in the camera when downloading images to my card reader. That way, if I forget to replace the card, or a critter visits my setup while I'm downloading, my setup is still ready to get the shot. Assumes a tripod and cable release and a laptop, of course.

Plan for the unexpected. One great habit to use is after you take a landscape, turn around and look behind you. Often the light is good in the opposite direction, also. If you can take the weight, take a macro lens, a medium lens and a long lens, tripod, flash, and cable release. In other words, be expecting something beyond what you planned.

Contrary to the above, I usually find, with wildlife in particular, that things usually go best if you have a specific subject in mind. Just be open to fortuitous alternatives, too.

I'm the kind of guy building a landscape in my head before even going to the shooting place... Of course I'm only doing that for places that I know because I kept track of best shooting spots depending on weather conditions.
Here is probably a good example as moonrise behind Mt Blanc is an event occuring very few times in the year in my area. So you need to check time tables, moon azimuth, shooting spot...



This example is probably an extreme one... agree !

On the other side, I'm also pushing myself in places I don't know without any specific goals... or with specific constraints : one focal lens, only B&W, no stiching, or answering one question :how do I magnify this particular place based on current conditions (weather, people...).
This is the kind of exercise improving your creativity as you go outside your comfort zone... exercise I often need to go through for some commissionned works...

Mine are semi-planned, almost bordering on spontaneous in most, but not all instances. I normally decide the location and possible subject, but as others have mentioned, the subject occasionally shifts to something else once I arrive.

With the exception of the Louisville shots (3 hours from me), and the Florida shots (12 hours), all of my shots were taken within a 5-6 mile radius from my house, with a very few pushing 11 miles.

Have been shooting this area, which is limited in opportunities, since December 2009, so I've pretty much covered the sights.

About 95% of my work is unplanned with exception of watching for the weather and preparing accordingly.

My family shoots/portraits are planned out, some studio work, some outdoors...very few make it here on FAA.

~Michel Soucy