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Joshua Ball
Shoot Planner
Answer a few questions and get your five decisions built around your shoot.
The camera doesn't decide. You do.
Most shoots go wrong before the shutter.
Not because of gear. Not because of settings. Because the decisions that should happen before you raise the camera never got made.
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The Shoot
The Edit
Reference
Improve
Tools
If you didn't decide, you guessed.
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Question 1 of 6
Question 1
What are you shooting?
Pick the type that fits best.
Question 2 of 6
Question 2
What light and conditions are you expecting?
Pick the closest match.
Question 3 of 6
Question 3
What are you shooting with?
Question 4 of 6
Question 4
What focal length and aperture are you working with?
This shapes the settings guidance.
Question 5 of 6
Question 5
What feeling do you want the finished image to have?
Question 6 of 6
Question 6
Are you using any filters?
This affects your settings decisions.
Your five decisions
0 of 5 decisions confirmed
All five decisions confirmed. You know what the photo is about, how the light works, what to remove, what settings to use, and what the edit needs to feel like. Go shoot.
Edit Reminder
Before you open Lightroom
Your edit intention
Your mood note
The editing order
1. Balance the light 2. Shape the contrast 3. Correct the colour 4. Refine the finish
Before the shoot
White Balance
Set your starting Kelvin before you shoot.
What is the light source?
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What mood do you want?
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Starting Kelvin
Settings reference
Exposure
Tell me the situation. I will tell you where to start.
Is your subject moving?
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How much depth do you want?
What is the light like?
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Shutter speed — decide first
Aperture — decide second
ISO — set last
After editing
Reflection
Close the gap between what you intended and what you produced.
What did you intend?
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What did you actually produce?
Where did the gap come from?
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What to focus on next
Past reflections
Practice
Shoot Brief
A specific constraint to shoot with intention.
What are you shooting?
How long do you have?
Which decision do you want to focus on?
What is your biggest challenge right now?
Your brief
Success condition
Before you leave
Gear Check
Tick everything off before you get in the car.
0 of 12 checked
You are ready. Everything is checked. Go shoot.
On Location
Read the Light
Three questions before you touch the camera.
Question 1
Where is the light coming from?
This tells you where to position your subject. Side light shows texture. Front light is flat. Back light creates separation and rim light.
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Question 2
Is it hard or soft?
Hard light has sharp shadow edges and high contrast. Soft light has gradual transitions and low contrast. Hard light suits graphic subjects. Soft light suits texture and detail.
Question 3
Where does it fall on the subject?
This tells you whether your current position will produce the image you are imagining. If the light is falling on the background instead of the subject, move.
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Your light reading
Your shoot plan light decision has been updated with this reading.
After the shoot
Edit Checklist
Four decisions, in this order, every time.
Your edit intention from the planner
0 of 4 steps done
Edit complete. You followed the order. Light, contrast, colour, finish. That is the method.
When it went wrong
Decision Audit
Find which decision was missing.
Tap each decision below. For each one, ask honestly whether it was actually made before or during the shoot. Not thought about. Made.
What was missing
Over time
Consistency Tracker
Log which decisions you made on each shoot.
Log a shoot
Your shoots
Plan History
Every shoot plan you have generated.
Exposure reference
Histogram
Describe what you see. Find out what to do.
Where is most of the data sitting?
Is there clipping?
What this means
What to do
Settings reference
Focal Length
What do you want the image to do?
What relationship do you want between subject and background?
What perspective do you want?
Recommended focal length
What to watch for
Edit reference
Colour Cast
Name it. Decide whether to use it or fix it.
What colour cast do you have?
Does the cast serve the mood you intended?
What this cast comes from
What to do in Lightroom
Before you arrive
Location Scout
Work through this before committing to a shoot.
0 of 10 checked
Notes for the planner
Location assessed. Open the shoot planner and use your notes to build your plan.
Settings reference
Depth of Field
How much will be in focus?
Focal length (mm)
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Aperture (f/)
Distance to subject (metres)
Sensor size
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Near limit
Total depth
Far limit
Hyperfocal distance
Focus at this distance and everything from half this distance to infinity will be sharp. Useful for landscape photography where you want maximum depth of field.
Before and during the shoot
Shot List
Plan the frames. Check them off as you shoot.
0 shots planned
Add a shot
All shots captured. Every frame on your list is done.
Film reference
Reciprocity Failure
How long do you actually need to expose for?
When exposures go beyond about one second, film loses sensitivity in a non-linear way. The exposure your meter suggests is not long enough. This calculator gives you the corrected time to use.