Photographer's Guide: How to Prepare For a Photo Shoot

When you're preparing for a shoot, it is important to think about what kind of photo shoot it is going to be. It is a portrait session? A landscape trip? Think about where you're going and what you're going to be taking photos of. Here are some lists of things to bring to your sessions.

For a Portrait Session:

Necessities: 

• A camera that meets your needs for that shoot. (are you shooting low light portraits? Bring a camera with good low light performance)
• One or two good portrait lenses. You'll probably want lenses with a good aperture range so you can get good depth of field. Something that can shoot at F1.8 or shallower is ideal, although not necessary. You could survive around F3.5 or maybe even F4 depending on your situation. However, with a lot of portraits it is helpful to have a shallow depth of field. Prime lenses are good for portraiture because of their often shallower depth of field options. a 35mm, 50mm, or 85mm prime lens could be a good option for portraits.
• A good flash. You will never want to use the on-camera flash and if you need extra light in your image and you didn't bring an external flash, you're stuck in a bad position.
• A reflector. You're probably going to want the face to be lit as well as possible. If you're outdoors, a reflector can be very helpful because it allows you to harness the natural light and point it where you want it to go. In a studio, reflectors are still helpful because they can reflect a gentler and more subtle light than if you were to point a bright studio light at the subject.

Optional:

• Lights. You may want to bring some lights in some situations. If you are in a place with bad lighting, bringing your own can help tremendously.
• A telephoto lens. If you don't have the option of a good portrait lens with a shallow depth of field, a telephoto lens could help you out.  Even if you're at F5.6 or smaller, a telephoto lens can mimic a larger aperture when it's zoomed in. At 300mm you can get a decent depth of field without having to set the aperture to a wide setting.
• Flash diffuser. This can be a useful tool if you're looking to get more light into the photo, but want to keep a softer look.
• A tripod. I didn't put this in necessities because you can do handheld portraits. However, if you're using a telephoto lens, you will want a tripod. You may want to use one even if you're not using a telephoto lens.

For a Landscape Shoot:

Necessities:

• Wide-angle lens. You'll want a lens that can go 20mm or wider. You will not want to have a minimum focal length any longer than 24mm and if you have a lens that goes wider than that (15mm or even wider), bring that lens.
• A camera that fits the needs of the shoot. Think about the time of day you're going, the light, and if you're going to do any long exposures.
• A tripod. It's possible to shoot landscapes without a tripod, but I find it easier if you have one on hand.

Optional:

• ND filter. If you're doing long exposures, an ND filter is essential. Especially if you're doing the long exposure during the day.
• Polarizing filter. If you're shooting somewhere with water, you may find this useful, or if you're looking for a more blue and contrast-y sky. This filter will remove reflections from water and make the sky look blue-er and have more contrast.