Photographers are human and are therefor prone to making mistakes, however, some mistakes as a photographer can cost you dearly. Fortunately for me, my mistakes have never happened on a paid gig. I have however gone out to shoot nature and landscape shots and realized I didn’t have any compact flash cards once, and didn’t have my tripod another time. Because I this, I have become a slave to checklists and I found that many pro photographers do the same thing. I have put together some of my typical checklists for you to use yourself and modify as needed.

Pre-Shoot Checklist
The pre-shoot checklist is the list i use the day before a shoot. This one covers things like making sure batteries are charged, cleaning equipment, and things like that. Nothing is worse than thinking you are totally prepared and realizing your camera battery is near dead when on location.
PDF: Pre-Shoot Checklist

Shoot Day Checklist
The shoot day checklist is the list of things I am taking for a particular shoot. Bodies, lenses, filters, flash, tripod, batteries, etc. This is my basic packing list of things that go into whatever kit I am taking.
PDF: Shoot Day Checklist

Location Checklist
There are a LOT of logisitics about doing location shooting, especially for architecture shots that must be perfect. This list is a ton of questions to make sure you have the answers to such as parking, access, lighting, people, signage, security, etc.
PDF: Location Checklist

Wedding Shot Checklist
A wedding is one of the most stressful types of shoots there is, you simply cannot miss a key shot or get a do-over later if a shot doesn’t work. The second part requires skill and experience, but the first part we can address with this wedding shot checklist. Go over this list with the bride and groom and decide which shots are the must-have’s for their wedding. If you don’t want to always be refering to the list when taking the photos, bring an assistant with the list and a clipboard to make sure all the shots were taken.
PDF: Wedding Shot Checklist

If you have changes, comments, or additional lists you would like to share, please leave comments or discuss in the Flickr Group.

Happy Shooting!