Storyboarding your next photo or video shoot can be an effective way to plan it. It provides everyone involved in the production a road map that helps everyone know exactly what you’re trying to achieve, from crew members and clients alike. Sometimes storyboards take the form of comic-book drawings depicting what the scene will look like but, for me at least, simple stick figures just don’t do it (though if I could draw comic books I certainly would!).
As an easy solution, I will share mine. Feel free to download and use it freely; but let’s also discuss its contents.
Top of Form: Compile information about the client and shoot. Numbering multiple pages will ensure no shots are missed. Large Rectangles: Include representative images here so everyone knows what to capture and how the story progresses – more on this later.
Scene: This shot belongs to a specific scene in the script. TRT: Total Run Time. This information helps plan out camera and actor moves more effectively. Video: Descriptive details on what can be seen within a shot such as lighting, setting or movement.
Audio: What can be heard or said within a shot can help inform planning the shot and timing its actions.
Visuals
Instead of trying to surprise or unnerve my clients with amateurish visuals, I turn to Adobe Stock images as a source for imagery that helps illustrate scenes. You do not need a license fee if using images for reference purposes only – however if distributing to clients then make sure the license fees are paid.
Search our photo library using any descriptive phrase and find what you are looking for quickly! When you come across something you like, explore related images by clicking its thumbnail image for additional search tools – more shots by the photographer from similar locations at similar times.
Taken from this model — additional shots of actors or models (based on release form names). Add to storyboard
I prefer working in Photoshop because it makes pasting images into my storyboard easier.
Launch Photoshop and open your photo of choice, selecting “Select > All,” before choosing Edit > Copy to store them to your clipboard. Switch over to the storyboard template that has been created in Photoshop, making a selection with Magic Wand tool, then make an additional selection using Magic Wand tool.
Don’t forget, Adobe Stock can make all the difference for storyboards! When it comes to visuals, Adobe Stock makes an immense impactful statement about who and what matters in an industry.