Before Your Next Photo Shoot, Start Here
If you have a photo shoot next weekend, what do you need to make it better?
A useful lighting idea?
A clearer way to direct your model?
A composition you have not tried before?
A plan for when the location or weather refuses to cooperate?
Making THAT (and much more) accessible is the idea behind my new Patreon structure.
Over the years, my Patreon has grown into an archive with more than three thousand posts, including finished photography, behind-the-scenes films, lighting explanations, image editing, production stories, and lessons from real shoots.
That amount of material is valuable, but only if you can find what you need when you need it.
I have now organized much of the archive into focused, curated collections built around the practical and creative questions photographers face.
Start with your next shoot
Suppose you have booked a studio for next weekend.
Browse Studio Flash for lighting approaches and setups worth testing. Then visit Model Direction for ways to communicate more clearly and develop a pose through small adjustments.
If you want to strengthen the framing, continue to Composition. If your plan feels predictable and you need a different direction, open Creative Process.
Twenty focused minutes could give you a lighting idea, a clearer way to direct the model, and several possibilities to explore before the shoot even begins.
Taking your camera somewhere new?
If you are traveling to photograph, start with Planning before packing your equipment.
Explore Outdoor Natural Light for timing, light direction, exposure, and changing conditions. Visit Location Work for scouting, logistics, access, weather, and adapting when reality differs from the original plan.
If you are bringing portable lighting, Flash on Location may give you another set of possibilities.
You can't control everything on location, but you can arrive with what you need for contingencies giving you more ways to respond.
Go straight to the subject you need
Collections also include Indoor Ambient Light, Fill Light, Equipment & Technique, Image Editing / Retouch, Working with Models, Artistic Philosophy, and Digital Infrastructure.
The new Start Here collections offer three simpler ways into the archive:
If you are already a patron, thank you.
Material you already have access to should now be considerably easier to rediscover and use.
Free members can begin with Public Posts, while the public previews on many paid posts explain what is waiting inside.
This is only the beginning
These collections are the first visible stage of making the Patreon archive easier to explore and more useful before, during, and after a shoot.
More improvements are in the pipeline, and I'll introduce them individually when they are ready.
Explore the Photographers Tier for half price.
I want you to see what this library can do for your next shoot, not just hear me tell you.
Through September 21, eligible new members can join the Photographers Tier for 50% off their first month.
The Photographers Tier includes finished artwork, behind-the-scenes films, lighting explanations, model direction, composition, location insights, image editing, and practical lessons drawn from real shoots from the past four months.
After the first month, membership renews at the normal monthly price.
By then, you will understand the value and decide whether to continue.
Explore the Photographers membership
What are you planning to photograph next, and which part of the process would you most like help with?