Photography Tips · Brussels

What a Lookbook Photographer Actually Needs From You Before the Shoot

By Dmytro Derkach · Brussels-based commercial photographer

A lookbook shoot that runs smoothly almost always has the same thing in common beforehand: the brand arrived with clear answers to a handful of questions the photographer needed before setting up a single light.

The mood and reference

A photographer cannot read a brand’s intended aesthetic from the garments alone. Bringing two or three reference images, even from other brands, that capture the desired mood, editorial and moody, bright and commercial, minimal and clean, gives a photographer a concrete starting point instead of guessing.

The shot list

A rough list of which pieces need which type of shot, full body, detail close-up, a specific pose highlighting a design feature, prevents time lost mid-shoot deciding this on the spot. This does not need to be elaborate. A simple list matched to the collection’s pieces is enough.

Garments prepared and steamed

Wrinkled or poorly fitted clothing straight out of shipping packaging photographs badly regardless of lighting skill. Steaming or ironing every piece, and having the correct size ready for whichever model is booked, avoids losing shoot time to last-minute fixes.

A model who fits the brand, booked in advance

Model sizing needs to actually match the sample garments, not just look generally right. A model who does not fit the sample size creates visible pinning and awkward fit issues that show up clearly in the final images.

The shot count and deliverable format

Knowing in advance how many final images are needed, and in what format, web-ready, print-ready, square crops for social media, lets a photographer plan shooting angles accordingly rather than reworking crops after the fact.

A lookbook shoot with all of this settled beforehand moves faster and produces more usable images per hour than one where these decisions get made in real time on the day.