For even the most experienced professional, the world of product photography can be dynamic, stressful and confusing, and that is why so many people rely on lists to make it a more structured and controlled process. This is particularly the case for clothing photography, where you will likely have more processes, people and parts involved.

Top-level checklist

The master list, the general product photography checklist that each person should build their photoshoot around. It should cover everything you need to do from the preparation and research phases, through to setting up the studio, taking the shots, editing and finally uploading them to the relevant systems.

Preparation

This part of product photography is the catch-all term for any work done prior to the photoshoot taking place. This will include understanding the project brief, deciding on themes and researching examples for inspiration.

Furthermore, you will want to create some extra lists including all of the equipment you will need, what you need to buy or replace and a shot list with timings and schedules for everything above. You may want to spend the extra time creating instructions and lists for post-production, to make the entire process smooth and efficient.

Photoshoot

Once you have completed your preparation, it’s now the time to get the shoot set up and ready to go. This will vary in difficulty, with clothing photography likely to require more time and effort than certain other types of product photography.

You will want to follow your lists, making sure that you set up your equipment as planned, you have everything on your list available and then test out the lighting. From here, you can get down to the business of shooting each item on your shot list, taking note of the key information for each such as vital detail to focus on, angles to use etc. It is imperative to use your quality checklist here to make sure you have got everything you need before moving on to the next product.

Post-production

At this point, you should be fairly confident that you have all of the images you need thanks to your carefully planned, structured use of lists! But you need to stay focused and ensure you follow processes in post-production, to maximise the results and deliver the best product photography images you can.

You will map each of your images against your brand, theme and inspiration work completed before the photoshoot. This is to ensure consistency to the brand in question and if you’ve structured your shoot in the way described above, it is likely that you will be telling a fantastic, consistent story for your clients.

Summary

Ultimately, the message we want to get across to anyone working in product photography, whether a beginner or professional is that careful planning and utilising lists can make the whole process so much easier. You are less likely to have unexpected issues such as forgetting a vital piece of equipment or forget to take that key shot and only realise after you have packed everything away.

Take the time to prepare and you will be able to deliver beautiful, on-brand product photographs that your clients will love.