After I have booked a client, we start working on planning their shoot. Here are the 5 steps that I typically take. You don't have to do things exactly like I do, but hopefully this will get your wheels turning as your hammer out your own creative process.

1.
 I have my clients create a pinterest board of photos that they like and feel that will best reflect them and their vision for the shoot. Usually I share a few of my own boards to get them started on this.

2.
I meet with them in person as often as I can (or skype/facetime if we can't) to go through that Pinterest board together and talk about it.

3.
We discuss location options that will best serve their desires. If I haven't been to the location and it is accessible I scout it out beforehand and figure out the best lighting situations within the location which will fit the look/feel of the shoot.

4.
I almost always advise them on clothes. I usually recommend avoiding patterns especially busy ones (hah, though sometimes they do what they want to) and recommend that we keep jewelry to a minimum, as I am photographing a person, not their clothing or jewelry for a magazine ad. The biggest place that I have occasionally broken this particular rule is with flowers and dramatic hair, because sometimes those make the shot.

5.
During the shoot I always have that original Pinterest board on my phone or tablet so that we can refer to it during the shoot for continued inspiration and making sure we're staying on the right track.

Optional Steps When I'm Working On a Styled Shoot or Concept

I create a rough timeline of the photos that I want to take. I'll pretty much take extra in the moment inspired pictures as well, but I like things to have somewhat of a story to it or at least symbolism in some way. The images need to flow and make sense together.

If I'm not doing the hair and makeup myself, I'm usually pretty heavily involved. If I am doing it myself, I've designed and written out beforehand what we are going to do.

I help them find clothes and prepare props for the shoot if necessary to make sure we're getting the right look, and to make it an easier more enjoyable process for my clients or models.

If you've got a set, outdoors or indoors, that has to be planned out and prepped in advance. Setting it up a few days (or even weeks) before the shoot is a great way to work out any kinks there might be. And then the sooner you can prepare the set before the shoot itself, the better.