6 Tips on Preparing for a Video or Photo Shoot

As an effort to help Booksy professionals continue to open all the right doors and welcome fresh, new challenges, we spoke with a hairstylist, a makeup artist, and a fashion stylist to learn tips on how beauty professionals can prepare for a video or photo shoot.

This team of three professionals recently collaborated on set to produce an eight-minute video titled: BOOKSY ELEVATE: Your Look, Day or Night. The video showcases the work of these Los Angeles, California based professionals. At this stage in their careers, they each regularly create engaging video and image content for tens of thousands of magazine readers and social media followers. 

Rolando Aqui is an independent contractor, celebrity stylist, and Booksy Ambassador. His wife Amia Serrano currently works as a fashion stylist and modeled for roughly a decade. And Nikki La Rose is a celebrity makeup artist with 13 years of industry experience.

The video they created was designed to help consumers prepare for professional Zoom calls. Their eight-minute video provides hairstyling, makeup, and fashion tips for clients. But in an effort to help Booksy professionals, we gained some valuable insight for service providers.

Take a moment to learn six behind the scenes tips on how to prepare for a video or photo shoot. Learn the ins and outs of working with videographers and photographers to create cohesive image and video content. Remember that being successful in the beauty industry involves welcoming fresh, new challenges. Spend a few minutes learning how to do just that. 

Use Instagram to Network

First and foremost, each one of these professionals fully agreed on the importance of preparing for a video or photo shoot by networking. Make sure to network in person but more so online. Rolando encourages industry professionals to step out of their comfort zone. Take a step away from being behind the chair. And dive into the creative world of creating hair, makeup, and clothing looks for a video or photo shoot, he said.

Rolando encouraged newcomers to the world of creating content for a video or photo shoot to send direct messages via Instagram to other professionals. This small step could help springboard a host of collaborations. Rolando said sending a professional portfolio is more traditional. But he added that sharing work via Instagram has become widely accepted within the beauty industry. 

He added that it’s important to showcase work that fits the aesthetic of the professional you’d like to work with. So, try to send them examples of your work that shows that you can be an asset to image or video collaborations that will mutually benefit everyone involved. 

“Be able to say, ‘hey I’ve done this type of work. I can fit your aesthetic, if you give me a chance. I can do all types of different hairstyles and hair types.’ Because if you’re going to send out work that just doesn’t seem like a good fit, then other professionals probably won’t even write back to you to tell you the truth,” he said.

Assemble the Right Team

After you’ve built a solid network, or at least a versatile enough network, where you can create content with hairstylists, photographers, videographers, makeup artists, and models—the next step is to be prepared to select the right individuals for the right projects. 

When you’ve built out your reach and you’re ready to assemble a team, it’s important to choose the right people. For instance, Rolando works with a host of different photographers and videographers for different jobs. And having a far-reaching network helps him always create content that’s cohesive and meets the needs of every assignment.

Rolando added that there can be some photographers who are really aesthetically a lot different from what he's looking for on a video or photo shoot. Some people shoot just completely differently from a more simplistic look in comparison to someone who's shooting video or photo content that’s over the top or looks very avant-garde, he said.

His long-time professional partner and wife Amia Rolando added that “it’s like working with a beauty photographer to shoot an elaborate editorial. It just doesn’t match up, just because they’re so used to smaller frames. Simple lighting, studio lighting—things like that. So again, you just have to look at everyone's aesthetic to make sure it matches what you’re trying to create.”

Create a Mood Board

Once you’ve spent time networking and then assembled a solid group of people who are ready to work on a project together—creating a theme is the next big step. Specifically, all three professionals recommend creating a mood board, which is simply an arrangement of images, materials, or pieces of text that plan out a style or concept for the video or photo shoot.

In regards to the mood board, it’s once again important that the mood board complements the different styles of all the professionals involved on the project. And that includes the hairstylist, makeup artist, fashion expert, and the model. But it also means making sure the videographer and photographers are ready to contribute content that’s perfectly in tune with the demands of the assignment.  

To help create a mood board before a video or photo shoot, Nikki draws inspiration from visually striking sites like Pinterest. As a makeup stylist, she looks for inspiration from trends associated with specific decades. 

One example includes elegant eyeliner associated with 1960s makeup. Nikki also finds inspirations from 1990s supermodel-style type makeup. “I pull from basically different periods of time. From the 1970s or the 1980s—it all just kind of depends. From there I get on Google and start finding images. Instagram is obviously another huge source of inspiration to get ideas and techniques for a mood board,” said Nikki.

Bring Extra Equipment 

Another tip that all three professionals agreed upon was to always bring enough styling tools, makeup, and clothing to prepare for the many different variables on a video or photo shoot. 

“I would say, I bring at least three different curling irons, a flat iron, a ton of products, about 10 to 15 different products, and plenty of bobby pins and hair ties—you know the whole nine yards. I just bring everything just in case something isn’t working out. That way I can change up the hairstyle within a matter of a few minutes or so,” said Rolando.

Amia added that it's also important for her as a fashion stylist to bring a number of different outfits to compensate for the fact that different clothing brands can fit differently. In short, a fashion stylist also needs to have options, in case an ensemble doesn’t fit as anticipated. 

With regards to makeup, Nikki likes to spend time preparing for the video or photo shoot by looking at images of the model. But she still brings an entire arsenal of makeup onto every shoot. Some examples include multi color pallets, foundation pallents, main colors, and neutral colors. Her goal is always to be able to mix and color correctly. 

Communicate on Set 

All three professionals also agreed that it’s also important to make sure to communicate as much as possible with the entire team. On the day of the shoot, make sure to have an informative meeting. And take this step before applying makeup, performing any hairstyling, or asking the model to change into an outfit.

“Have a pow-wow at the beginning of the shoot. Pull information from each other to make sure the look is cohesive. The hair, makeup, and clothes will play off each other. Make sure you complement everyone else's work. And have that pow-wow before you get into the creative side of the project, because communication is super important,” Nikki said.

Amia said that during that meeting, make sure to pitch ideas and speak up. "If something would work on your end of the job, explain it to the team. And that's because they might like the idea. They could piggyback off of that and be like, 'oh you know what would look cool with that. We could do this.' That’s really how you create from the heart,” she said. 

Adjust the Final Look

The final tip that Rolando offered was to be ready to make adjustments. Different uncontrollable variables can have a big impact on the set of a video or photo shoot. For example, sometimes shooting outdoors can mean there’s more wind or more natural light than originally anticipated.

Being exposed to unexpected variables means that it’s common to slightly change the look mid-shoot. So, be prepared to change the hair style, makeup, or clothing, upon request. Just remember that making those changes on the spot can go a long way.

“If It's not looking good on camera, or there’s a piece that’s off, like the hair is not flowing, then I have to pretty much change it or fix whatever is not working with the model. Or if it doesn’t look right. Like if it’s not her aesthetic.” he said, adding that those seemingly small changes help to make sure that the final product looks more cohesive and natural.