How To Create a Storyboard Concept for a Photoshoot

How do you create a winning concept? Bring together all of your inspirations and see your concept emerge. Dimitrios Tsioumas, Goldwell International Artistic Master and NAHA Haircolorist and Editorial Stylist of the Year, gives a behind-the-scenes look at how he creates a storyboard concept for entering Goldwell's Color Zoom Challenge. But, even if you aren't entering Color Zoom (but, um, you should!) his tips can set you up for a killer shoot! Check out all of Dimitrios' tips at colorzoom12.com/webisodes.html.

When Dimitrios is planning a photoshoot, his first step is creating a storyboard concept— in fact, he usually begins planning out his storyboard about six months before the actual shoot day!

"I start to gather the images of what inspired me, and then I put it in a book," Dimitrios says. "You want to gather everything that inspires you in one place because it really brings your vision to life."

click image to zoom HOW TO BEGIN YOUR STORYBOARD "When I'm creating a storyboard, my favorite way to approach it is by looking at magazines, going online—I look at trends, fashion shows—things that I'm constantly inspired by. In fact, it's not only fashion, it's nature, it's architecture, it's all the things that make me a creative person, that I can then interpret into hair. It could be a cut and paste from one image onto another. So you could have a fringe from one image tthat you're really inspired from, and then take the overall shape from another hair cut that you want to take, then put the two images together to create a final!"

PUT IT UP! "You want it to be visual, so put it up!" Dimitrios says. "Put it on a board, put it on a wall, anything that's going to give you a nice visual.

MAKE-UP "Remember, you are going to have photography, you are going to have a make-up artist, a wardrobe stylist, all of these elements should be up on your storyboard," Dimitrios says. "When you're looking at make-up for your shoot, rip out pictures of cheeks, pictures of eyes, pictures of lips—you really want to bring this vision, this hair alive."

PHOTOGRAPHY IS KEY "You will also have a phtographer, so go through  magazines and see photography you like. Look at the lighting, look at the background, look at the angles. Additionally, when you're picking out the wardrobe, think about the whole outfit—from the shoes your model will wear, to the different color palettes, to the final dress or combination of top and bottoms. All of these things should be picked ahead of time."