REVISUALIZATION

Experienced photographers extensively plan and prepare their shoots in advance.  That may include scouting a series of locations, packing all of the appropriate gear, getting permits, and even pre-visualizing particular shots to exacting standards.  They also have a number of contingency plans in case the weather or other circumstances turn against them.

Once the shoot takes place, that should not signify the end of things.  Obviously there's all of the post processing work that goes into cleaning up and finalizing a series of images for your clients.  However, I'm talking about what you can do for yourself.  I call it "revisualization".  That's the time that you take to reflect back on the shoot.  Ask yourself some of the following questions:

What went well, and what didn't go well?

What was your best shot, and why?

What could you have done differently?

What did you not see coming that happened, that you can prepare for in the future?

What was the client most and least pleased with?

What were some of the hooks or one-liners that were effective with the client(s)?

Did you use or need all of the gear that you brought?

Would an assistant or an additional assistant have been helpful?

How well did you quote your job in the first place?

The list goes on and on.  Personally, I always seem to think about the shot that I didn't get.  Even worse, for myself, is the shot that I didn't even think about getting until well after the shoot.  That's frustrating when that happens.  All of this afterthought, or reflection, will help you improve so that your next shoot will have more potential to be your best shoot.    Take time for revisualization.