Production Management

The part nobody sees

Every shoot starts long before the camera comes out, and that side of the studio is run by Erika, my studio manager. She’s the client’s single point of contact, agreeing the budget and dates and turning the brief and shot list into a draft schedule. Locations are scouted and secured, permits applied for, and talent cast and booked. Stylists, hair and makeup, assistants and catering are lined up, props and wardrobe sourced, equipment hired, travel and accommodation arranged, and insurance put in place. Of all of it, the scout matters most, because the final schedule is built on what it finds.

Scouting the location

Scouting takes two forms, depending on the kind of shoot rather than where it is. For a shoot tied to one property, a dining room, a hotel lobby, a spa, wherever it is, I visit beforehand and walk the space with the same eye I’ll bring on shoot day: where the light falls, what needs moving, what needs cleaning or restyling. My studio then liaises directly with the hotel or venue management on the staging itself, so whatever needs to be reset or made ready is sorted before the team arrives, not worked out on the spot.

For travel and destination work, where the shoot belongs to a wider area rather than a single property, scouting looks different. I travel to the location ahead of the shoot rather than leaving it to the last day, and spend the time finding what’s actually worth shooting: the areas and angles that work, the best time of day for each one, and anything that could complicate the shoot, from tourist crowds to permit requirements in certain areas. I also study how the light moves through the day, and note a backup plan for anywhere the weather could turn against us.

Every scout leaves me with something concrete: notes, reference photos, and a clear sense of what the shoot day needs. Erika takes that and finishes the schedule around it, timing each setup to the light and writing it all into a call sheet, so everyone arrives knowing where to be, when, and why. By then, nothing about the location is still an unknown.

On the day

On set, Erika keeps the day running so I can stay behind the camera. The schedule is held against the light and against the property’s own rhythm: rooms released by housekeeping, the kitchen ready on time, a terrace cleared before the sun drops. Talent moves between setups on cue, wardrobe and hair and makeup are ready before they’re needed, the crew is fed, and the client signs off key frames before we move on. When something shifts, a room not ready or the weather turning, the plan is reworked on the spot, starting from the backup noted on the scout.

After the wrap

Production doesn’t end with the last frame. Props and wardrobe are returned, every location is left as it was found, and releases and paperwork are filed so the images can be used without loose ends. The client stays informed through to delivery, from the first email to the final files. It’s the part of the work nobody sees in the photographs, and the part that lets everything in them happen the way it was planned.