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Shot list builder

Converts a creative brief into a production-ready shot list of 15-30 shots organized by scene or setup, each with subject, framing, lens, lighting, styling, prop, and composition notes plus a hero-shot flag and…

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Purpose

Turn a loose creative brief into a specific, shootable shot list that a photographer, food/prop stylist, and production crew can execute on set without guesswork — with framing, lighting, styling, and composition called out per shot so the day runs on plan and the deliverables come back on-brief.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Build a shot list from a creative brief or campaign concept
  • Plan a product, food, lifestyle, or ecommerce photo/video shoot
  • Break a launch or campaign into specific shots and setups
  • Prep a shoot for a photographer, stylist, or agency partner
  • Map required deliverables (hero image, PDP shots, social crops) to individual shots
  • Turn moodboard direction into concrete, executable setups

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Creative brief / concept: The campaign idea, product, or story being shot
  • Deliverables needed: Where the assets will live — hero banner, PDP, social 4:5/9:16, email, print, etc.
  • Products / subjects: Specific SKUs, dishes, or subjects to feature
  • Brand look & mood: 3–5 adjectives plus any moodboard/reference notes (bright & airy, moody & editorial, etc.)
  • Talent / lifestyle needs: Whether hands, models, or full lifestyle scenes are involved
  • Location & format: Studio vs. location; stills, video, or both
  • Shoot constraints: Half-day/full-day, budget or crew size, must-have shots

If deliverables or mood are missing, default to a bright commercial look with hero + supporting + detail coverage per subject, and note the assumption.

Instructions

Step 1: Parse the Brief Into Scenes/Setups

Group the shoot into logical setups (a setup = one lighting/location configuration). Batching by setup minimizes lighting resets and drives the shoot-day order. For each setup, note:

  • Setup name & purpose: e.g., "Setup 1 — Overhead Flat Lay (social + PDP)"
  • What gets shot here: which products/subjects
  • Estimated shot count: how many frames come from this configuration

Step 2: Assign Shot Coverage Per Subject

For every product or subject, plan a coverage set so nothing is under-shot:

  • Hero shot: The signature frame the campaign is built on
  • Supporting shots: Alternate angles, in-context/lifestyle, in-use
  • Detail shots: Macro/texture, label, ingredient, or feature close-ups
  • Utility shots: Clean packshot / white-background asset for ecommerce and cutouts

Step 3: Build Each Shot With Full Specs

For each numbered shot, specify:

  1. Subject: Exactly what's in frame (product, dish, hands, model, prop grouping)
  2. Framing / angle: Shot size and camera position — e.g., overhead (90°), 45° three-quarter, straight-on eye level, low hero angle; wide / medium / close / macro
  3. Lens suggestion: e.g., 50mm for natural product, 100mm macro for detail, 24–35mm for lifestyle context
  4. Lighting: Key direction and quality — soft window/side light, hard directional for texture, bright even flat lay, moody single-source with negative fill
  5. Styling / props: Surface, backdrop, supporting props, garnish/food styling notes, wardrobe cues
  6. Composition: Rule of thirds, centered symmetry, negative space for copy, leading lines, foreground/background layering
  7. Copy space flag: Note if the frame must leave room for a headline or logo lockup
  8. Deliverable mapping: Which output(s) this shot feeds and the required crop/orientation (e.g., "vertical 4:5 for social, safe center for 1:1 crop")

Step 4: Flag Hero Shots and Priorities

Mark each shot as HERO, Must-have, or Nice-to-have so the team knows what to protect if the day runs short. Ensure every deliverable has at least one Must-have shot feeding it.

Step 5: Add a Shoot-Day Sequence & Prep Notes

  • Order setups to minimize lighting/location changes and shoot perishables (food, ice, condensation) last-in/first-shot within their setup
  • List a prep/props pull summary: surfaces, backdrops, key props, and styling supplies referenced across shots

Output Format

  • Structure: Grouped by setup, with a numbered shot table inside each setup; followed by a shoot-day sequence and a props/prep summary
  • Length: 15–30 shots total, 900–1,400 words
  • Format: Tables per setup (columns: #, Subject, Framing/Lens, Lighting, Styling/Props, Composition, Priority, Deliverable/Crop), with brief prose intros per setup
  • Sections: Setup-by-setup shot tables → Hero/priority summary → Shoot-day sequence → Props & prep summary
  • Tone: Art director on set — precise, visual, directive; written so a photographer and stylist can execute without a follow-up call

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] Total shot count falls within 15–30 and every shot is numbered
  • [ ] Every required deliverable maps to at least one Must-have shot with the correct crop/orientation
  • [ ] Each shot specifies subject, framing, lens, lighting, styling, and composition — no field left blank
  • [ ] At least one shot per campaign is flagged HERO, and priorities are assigned to every shot
  • [ ] Shots are grouped by lighting/location setup, not scattered, so the sequence is shootable
  • [ ] Copy-space frames are explicitly flagged where headlines or logos land

Notes

  • Composition notes that reserve negative space are the most common miss — if the deliverable includes a banner or ad, at least one hero must be built around copy space
  • Batch perishable food and beverage shots tightly and shoot the hero frame first within that setup before melt, wilt, or condensation degrade the styling
  • When in doubt on coverage, over-shoot detail and utility packshots — they're cheap to capture on-set and expensive to reshoot later

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills