Photo Shoot Planner and Shot List
Write the shot list before the shoot rather than in the car afterwards, and tick shots as captured so nothing is assumed.
PM-01 1 page
Photography and media · PM-08
Studio Lighting Setup Record
A free printable studio lighting setup record — a plan-view diagram box, the lights and modifiers used, where each stood, and the camera settings you worked at.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Rebuild a setup you liked months later, instead of moving stands around until it looks roughly like the picture you remember.
Who it is for
Studio and location photographers, portrait and product shooters, and anyone teaching or learning lighting.
How to use it
- Give the setup a name you will recognise later, and note what it was for.
- Sketch the plan view with the subject, the camera and every light and reflector marked.
- Record each light's modifier, position, height and the power as marked on the unit.
- Write in the camera and lens with the settings you ended up using.
- Keep a frame from the shoot with the sheet, so the diagram has a result beside it.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: A setup you want to be able to rebuild: a diagram of where everything stood, what each light and modifier was, and the camera settings you used on the day.
Write-on lines: Setup name · Date · Subject / use
Plan view — subject, lights, modifiers, reflectors, background, camera
Squared grid
Lights and modifiers
Table, 4 rows: Light · Head / unit · Modifier · Position and height · Power setting · Distance
Camera and background
Write-on lines: Camera and lens · Aperture · Shutter · ISO · White balance · Background
Ruled lines: What worked, what to change next time
Questions
Why are no power settings or distances printed on the sheet?
Because they mean nothing away from your own heads, modifiers and room. A number written next to a dial marking on your own unit is useful; a number we invented would not be. Every one of those columns is blank on purpose.
Why a hand-drawn diagram rather than boxes to tick?
Because a plan view with the camera and the subject on it tells you the angles, and a list of lights does not. The grid is there to keep the sketch roughly to scale.
Related sheets
Camera and Lens Inventory
Get the serial numbers written down before they are needed, and keep track of what has been lent out and not come back.
PM-02 1 page
Photography Job and Pricing Record
Show what the work actually pays, by recording editing time and travel alongside the fee instead of remembering only the fee.
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Location Scout and Permission Record
Arrive on the shoot day knowing where to park, where the power is and that someone in authority has actually said yes.
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