How to Plan a Detailed Shot List for Social Media Client Content Shoot Days
Planning is an essential part of running a stress-free, smooth content day that captures all the content you envisioned. If the planning piece of a content shoot day feels overwhelming to you, we feel you! It took us time to curate our process for content days and that's why we are sharing our findings for what worked for us, so you can get a head start and not go full panic mode.
Planning
Define Goals
What platforms are you creating content for?
How much content needs to be captured (e.g., 15 Reels, 20 photos)?
What’s the purpose of the content (e.g., brand awareness, product promotion)?
Create a mood board for inspiration
Review the client’s branding guide for colors, tone, and style, and create a mood board around this to highlight what direction you want to go in.
Choose How You Want to Organize
How you organize your list is a critical step. For our team, we like to organize by time blocks, and then location. You could also organize the shot list by content type, location, or people. It all depends on how your brain organizes things and what's going to be easy for you at the moment.
Creating Your Shot List
Content Type
What type of content shot are you hoping to capture? Ensure you label this as so, to ensure your/your team fully understands the content. Here are common types of content:
Product Shots: Showcase individual products, groupings, or usage in real-life scenarios.
Team/Behind-the-Scenes: Capture candid or posed shots of the team at work.
Lifestyle Shots: Depict the product/service in natural, relatable settings.
Flat Lays: Arrange products and props for visually appealing overhead shots.
Video Clips: Focus on dynamic content like tutorials, testimonials, or trending Reels.
Logistics
Locations
Confirm shoot locations and include important addresses directly into the shot list A schedule that includes time blocks, plus things like travel time, breaks, and any buffers can be helpful to include.
Wardrobe
Include the outfits within the shot, if there are people involved. This can help you ensure that you are switching up the shots with unique outfits and plan what to bring.
Props + Equipment
List all required items (accessories, tools, etc.) and who's bringing what to coordinate with for specific needs. What cameras, lenses, tripods, lighting, reflectors, and backups (batteries, memory cards) will you need for each shot/location?
People
Who’s in which shots?
Who's taking which shots? Assign roles for efficiency (e.g., one person managing props, another directing poses).
Tracking
This can be a checkbox, or a notes section where you can mark off as you go to see which are completed, or write down why you're skipping.
This concludes how to create a detailed shot list for your next client content shoot day. Download this free Canva template to make it quick and easy!
