Storyboard Creation: Tips for Your Fashion Photo Shoot

Your big fashion photo shoot is coming up! Excited? You should be—this is your time to shine. You worked hard to get the gig, now you have to make sure that you nail it, and the first step towards this goal is to create a storyboard for your shoot. Follow these four tips to create a storyboard that will help you make a killer shoot.

The best way to create a storyboard is to pull from your inspirations. What vision are you trying to sell? What story do you want your photo shoot to tell? Take pictures and image snippets of people, places, and things that inspire you and contain elements of the final vision that you want to create. Pin the images to a corkboard, tape them on a wall, create a poster — it doesn’t matter how you do it, the important part is that you create a visual collage of the images that inspire you and move you towards the vision you have for your fashion photo shoot.

Step 2: Focus on the Details

After you’ve begun to construct your inspiration collage, take some time to try breaking your final vision down into its component parts, and then focus on those details. For example, you will most likely be using a make-up artist during the shoot, so be sure to review images of makeup and zero in on what you like and what you want to replicate, even if it means narrowing an image down to just the eyes if you like the eye shadow, or just the lips if you like the way the lipstick is done. Don’t be afraid of having too many images or being too detailed — a successful fashion photo shoot requires a detailed and organized storyboard. Also make sure you have photographs and examples of lighting, color schemes, and wardrobes. No detail is too small.

Step 3: Edit

At this point, your visual collage should be quite expansive. Now it’s time to go through your collage and pick out the details that are most important for your final vision. This may take some time, since your storyboard will be the foundation upon which you will visualize your ultimate design to your creative team. Make sure to think about how the elements of each image and photo fits into or enhances your vision for your final design.

Step 4: Create a Layout

Once you have all the key images for your final vision, you can start creating a story by positioning the pieces into a layout. The arrangement should be both logical and visually attractive. Most boards read left to right. Keep your layout clean and save space by overlapping your flats and other visuals. Good organization is important for the layout; random or crowded arrangements may cause confusion. Once you’re done with the final layout you have a storyboard!

If you follow these four steps for creating a storyboard, you’ll be one step closer to a successful and amazing fashion photo shoot. Are you a fashion student tor professional looking for more tips to succeed in the fashion industry? Register at Fashion Mingle to connect, collaborate, and create with the industry professionals you need to grow your fashion business. Fashion Mingle is the only nationwide fashion directory. Sign up today!