Does anyone still keep a 'shoot list' of things to capture?

[Jansos]

I remember when I first started with Alamy about 4-5 years ago, I would compile a list of things to shoot and tick them off as time progressed. My early days enthusiasm has worn off a tad but does anyone still keep a list of things to snap? Does it help? Thx! 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Jansos

[AlbertSnapper]

I used to make a list if I was going away somewhere, and would make a list of what to shoot, usually after referring to Alamy Measures info.

I found that often when I found whatever it was that was on my list, I didn't photograph it, as it was either rubbish light, looked unphotographic, wasn't accessible, didn't look worthy enough, etc. etc.

 

Now I don't make lists, or bother too much with what Alamy's customers have been searching for. Just shoot what interests me/captures my eye.

The above method is probably why I'm not getting rich from my sales here !

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by AlbertSnapper
spelling mistake. It's the cider.

[Steve F]

Yes, I keep a list and I keep ideas in my smartphone picture gallery. All good for a rainy day or (lockdown(s)!)

[Brian Yarvin]

Yes of course. Without a solid list, I wouldn't know where to start.

[geogphotos]

No. I think it sounds like a great idea but the truth is that I don't. But also I think it might be a bad idea because it lists what might not be possible today. And usually it is just better to take the pictures that today offers. 

[Mr Standfast]

Yes I've a notebook just for that. I also sketch maps for viewpoints.  Really looking forward to using my notes again...one day.

 

 

[Ed Rooney]

No, I don't work from a list. Mostly I find pictures rather than plan them. If the lockdown ever lift, I plan to shoot something, anything, except empty streets.

[John Mitchell]

I normally make a "to-shoot" list before travelling somewhere, but these days my list is in my head, which is pretty empty at the moment. 🥱

 

P.S. This is actually a good question. I think that I need to sit down and make a list. It might trigger some motivation.

Edited February 26, 2021 by John Mitchell

[meanderingemu]

i do have a list of a few things to look out for.  If i see something about a subject, and there is none in the database i'll take a note down.  I also have a calendar for anytime I see announcement of an event that may be of interest- this has been really quiet for last 3-4 months...  

[gvallee]

I used to have one based on AoA but no more.

 

As I'm full time on the road, I research beforehand the highlights of the next town, see how it's covered on Alamy, and I take it from there. Sometimes the weather is c**p and off goes my list. 

[MizBrown]

I've made a general list of things I can photograph in various places, and have made local trips to take photos of things I knew would be in other towns, and arranged to photograph things in Jinotega, but right now, I think I'm  going to sit down and shoot book covers as a lot of what Alamy search showed for "Leaves of Grass" book wasn't a photo of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."  Two zooms, one of mine.  Probably go with book on a table (choice of glass pebbled top or the wooden table), and one cropped just of the cover. 

 

My lists aren't that precise.  The list for Sebaco:

 

Sebaco:
    ▫    Market — took some, take more with uwa
    ▫    Museum — done
    ▫    Petrogyphs — have something.  Need more
    ▫    Rivers with rocks and people
    ▫    Town — have some, need more

 

So, it's more like "try to find photos here," rather than "take photos of this."   I also have an equipment checklist on the same sheet.

[Chuck Nacke]

I always make a list when going to grocery store (market). When covering a story I print out all information that I

have.  I still do not do straight "Stock Photo shoots", but I would treat one just like I would a magazine assignment

or a commissioned corporate shoot, which means that I would take notes on a conversation with the editor or

Art Director (AD) on what they want to focus on.  On a Stock Photo shoot, the AD would be me as well as the

editor. My iPhone carries a lot of the information that I use to write down, but now it takes a second to check

the future weather, sunrise, sunset and location of the sun in relation to the subject (building or other stationary object.)

 

Chuck

[giphotostock]

Of course, it is the main tool that drives shoots.

The shoot list is a living document, currently 15 pages long. Line items get added when market research is done, then the list is re-arranged and prioritized. When specific line items are completed, they get deleted.

There's a separate file with more detailed research for those line items that really need elaboration.

GI

PS All studio work, we have not done location shooting for years...

Edited February 27, 2021 by giphotostock

[John Morrison]

I keep a list of locations and topics and ideas (including, say, the time of day when a particular building will be lit to best advantage). But, having lived as a nomad for five years, I also embrace serendipity: take a wander and see what turns up!...

[sb photos]

I too keep a list of potential images and locations to shoot for Alamy. Presently due to lockdown the list is getting bigger. As well as a list, the folder is cloud shared so accessible on my iPhone and Mac's. It also includes advance research data, provisional IPTC data, snapshots of interesting subjects/places and times/dates for best light if possible. Of course I always deviate from anything planned when I see anything of interest. Some potential subjects are timeless, others become out of date by the time I might get around to them. The latest added and researched yesterday is a 10 mile river walk that needs good light, and possibly being picked up by my wife and taken back to where I would have left my car (I haven't asked her yet).

[Ed Rooney]

To be clear (or at least somewhat clearer), I am saying that I don't work from a shot-list. I do not mean that I approach stock photography in a totally mindless way. I do research on locations and subjects. I visit places on YouTube. In my working life, I started everyday with a to-do list. 

 

Liverpool is rich with history and subject matter. I've been here for more than a year now but I still haven't gotten to either of the city's important cathedrals. I've not been to Penny Lane or Strawberry Fields yet either. 

 

If the lockdown ever ends, I want to spend a few days in Chester. I'll wander in the zoo, walk the old Roman wall, and visit a few more spots. Do I need to make a list for that? 

[Broad Norfolk]

I am a list person! When the lockdown has relaxed enough so I can leap in the car and get around my local patch again I will back into list mode. I have found that no list usually means I end up with a thoroughly unproductive session so I plan a route and list various subjects such a view points, historic features, villages, and the like. It works for me. It's also helpful in that I can identify what I've covered before. After fifteen years or so of doing this it stops me repeating subjects! The memory fades!! 

[Jansos]

10 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

No, I don't work from a list. Mostly I find pictures rather than plan them. If the lockdown ever lift, I plan to shoot something, anything, except empty streets.

I know that feeling! Difficult keeping the mojo going under such circumstances.

[Jansos]

10 hours ago, gvallee said:

I used to have one based on AoA but no more.

 

As I'm full time on the road, I research beforehand the highlights of the next town, see how it's covered on Alamy, and I take it from there. Sometimes the weather is c**p and off goes my list. 

Full-time on the road sounds exciting but I'm not sure I could hack it. Us Cancerians need a home/shell to retreat to, or so I have been told.

[Jansos]

1 hour ago, John Morrison said:

I keep a list of locations and topics and ideas (including, say, the time of day when a particular building will be lit to best advantage). But, having lived as a nomad for five years, I also embrace serendipity: take a wander and see what turns up!...

I like that approach. I used to keep a list but it just kept getting longer and longer and then I'd beat myself up about not keeping to it rather than getting out and shooting something. These days I go to a particular location to try and snap something and then take a walk and see what else turns up. More often than not I am pleasantly surprised but this was all prior to lockdown. Anyway, sun is out and I'm tempted to go out and shoot something, or I could have another cup of tea!

[gvallee]

10 minutes ago, Jansos said:

Full-time on the road sounds exciting but I'm not sure I could hack it. Us Cancerians need a home/shell to retreat to, or so I have been told.

 

Not me! I'm a born nomad! Every day something new. Every day new people. New adventures. New places. New stories. There's hardly a day when we don't feel blessed. But I realise it's not for everyone.

[meanderingemu]

1 hour ago, Jansos said:

Full-time on the road sounds exciting but I'm not sure I could hack it. Us Cancerians need a home/shell to retreat to, or so I have been told.

 

you develop new sort of homes to retreat to....   It may be a place that feels comfortable, getting a "permanent" place for 6-8 weeks, or for me going on a walking pilgrimage (funniest home where for 2 months you sleep in a new place every night but your mind sees it as being the same because of the community). 

 

Last 12 months have been fascinating as it is forcing me to find what it is about my nomadic life that i felt grounded in, people keep saying to me "You must miss travel", and to be honest the travel they think of I don't think I actually miss, i miss the change, the movement, the not feeling like I stagnate (and yes this is on me),  I also realise that i may be able to do it on a smaller scale 

[Michael Ventura]

I used to way back when, but I soon discovered that I wasn't good at checking off the list.  So I do keep a mental list of sorts but mostly shoot what opportunities I have in front of me.

[John Mitchell]

7 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

I used to way back when, but I soon discovered that I wasn't good at checking off the list.  So I do keep a mental list of sorts but mostly shoot what opportunities I have in front of me.

 

If I take a shopping list to the grocery store, I inevitably lose it or forget to check it. I guess some of us are list people and some of us aren't.

[gvallee]

8 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

you develop new sort of homes to retreat to....   It may be a place that feels comfortable, getting a "permanent" place for 6-8 weeks, or for me going on a walking pilgrimage (funniest home where for 2 months you sleep in a new place every night but your mind sees it as being the same because of the community). 

 

Last 12 months have been fascinating as it is forcing me to find what it is about my nomadic life that i felt grounded in, people keep saying to me "You must miss travel", and to be honest the travel they think of I don't think I actually miss, i miss the change, the movement, the not feeling like I stagnate (and yes this is on me),  I also realise that i may be able to do it on a smaller scale 

 

My RV is actually easy to retreat to if I choose to. It's cozy, spacious enough and I have everything I need: my laptop, cameras, big fridge/freezer, bar, shower/toilets, plenty of books, games we play at Happy Hour. I see it as having a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, sitting room and the front cab. With its rigid walls, I can sit inside and not hear a sound from the outside. It's actually very cozy when it rains, like a cocoon. 

 

When we wake up in the morning, there is this overwelming feeling of freedom. No deadline, no destination written in stone. What do we feel like doing today? We can choose to go for nature, birdwatching or other wildlife, camp in the desert and watch sunrise, go to the coast and go snorkelling as we did yesterday in the Great Barrier Reef, camp in sand dunes or remote cattle stations, visit Outback pubs oozing character and history or visit wild quirky goldfields, the sky is the limit. We are in awe of this lifestyle and make sure we remain appreciative by regularly saying aloud 'what a life! How lucky we are'. 

 

I do have an impressive list of wished locations to visit on a spreadsheet. It took a lot of research prior to the trip. It's split by States and includes interesting things to see, landmarks, historic buildings or places, national parks, quirky artwork in the middle of nowhere, events. Lots of them: Aboriginal dance festivals, music festivals, hotrods racing on a salt lake, monster cars meet, light festivals, silo art trail, even chicken racing! etc, etc. Then came Covid and all these events were cancelled...

[Jansos]

3 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

My RV is actually easy to retreat to if I choose to. It's cozy, spacious enough and I have everything I need: my laptop, cameras, big fridge/freezer, bar, shower/toilets, plenty of books, games we play at Happy Hour. I see it as having a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, sitting room and the front cab. With its rigid walls, I can sit inside and not hear a sound from the outside. It's actually very cozy when it rains, like a cocoon. 

 

When we wake up in the morning, there is this overwelming feeling of freedom. No deadline, no destination written in stone. What do we feel like doing today? We can choose to go for nature, birdwatching or other wildlife, camp in the desert and watch sunrise, go to the coast and go snorkelling as we did yesterday in the Great Barrier Reef, camp in sand dunes or remote cattle stations, visit Outback pubs oozing character and history or visit wild quirky goldfields, the sky is the limit. We are in awe of this lifestyle and make sure we remain appreciative by regularly saying aloud 'what a life! How lucky we are'. 

 

I do have an impressive list of wished locations to visit on a spreadsheet. It took a lot of research prior to the trip. It's split by States and includes interesting things to see, landmarks, historic buildings or places, national parks, quirky artwork in the middle of nowhere, events. Lots of them: Aboriginal dance festivals, music festivals, hotrods racing on a salt lake, monster cars meet, light festivals, silo art trail, even chicken racing! etc, etc. Then came Covid and all these events were cancelled...

Sounds fab, I'd never get my other half out of her chair though! 🤫