Ah budgets. Producer often overlook unit photography because of limited budgets. Also, it’s something that producers need in the future while they are dealing with the now of production.
Make the most of your budget with these insider’s unit photography tips. Ensure you get the best shots that drive the most coverage, social media engagement, and more.
Here are the top five unit shots you should get during production.
- Images from the first episode – The first episode drives most of the media coverage for your series. Why? Because that’s why it’s fresh and new for journalists. Episode seven isn’t going to be as attractive because you’re kind of old news by then. So make sure you have good unit photography from the first episode. If you don’t know what the first episode will be, do your best to pick three episodes it could be and rock those images.
- Images from episodes with key talent – Maybe you have a hot host, guest actor, or famous guru in your project. Media love getting images of talent – and an interview doesn’t hurt either. If you have any big name actors, make sure you get some unit shots from those episodes – including action shots and some smiling, looking to camera.
- Before and after images from the same angle – If your series has any kind of makeover element – from rooms to products to people, make sure you get before and after images. Not only will the media enjoy seeing the before and after (if it can be revealed at that point), but you can also use them on social media.
- Behind-the-scenes shots – It’s fun to have some behind-the-scenes shots for journalists if the story is relevant to that. It’s also good to have for social media posts and your own personal records so make sure you get some shots of crew and talent in action behind the scenes.
- Key production execs – Take on-set photos of whatever production exec will do interviews for your series in the future. Get some action shots and some smiling and looking to the camera. These can be used for both media interviews and for industry use like trade media coverage.
In closing, are you making the most of your unit photography? Where’s your shot list for your next project?
