What is a shootout?

Before you can decide if you should attend a photographers shoot out you need to know what it is! It’s called different things (shoot out, shoot along, styled session) but basically a shootout is when a more experienced photographer hosts a session for other photographers to join in on. Sometimes there is education involved and sometimes it’s more laid back.

Who should attend a shootout?

Truly, anyone. A lot of times they are targeted at newer photographers that need more experience or want to learn more about running sessions. But I honestly think they are the best way to grow and improve for photographers at any stage.

What happens at a shootout?

This will vary greatly depending on the photographer leading it so I will just speak for myself. Most of the time I will get information from my attendees to determine their experience level and what they are mostly looking to get out of it. A lot of the time that will be settings, using light, posing, etc. I remember when I was just starting out I really just wanted to watch someone run a session. There is often times for teaching and watching the head photographer run it, and then time for the attendees to shoot on their own a bit.

Why should I attend a photographer shoot out?

Some of the main takeaways I have gotten out of attending a shoot out is number one, that I can do this. Or that I have been on the right track. The more you shoot and learn the better you will be. If you have a good amount of experience than it can be a time to not worry about delivering photos and just play and experiment. A lot of times we can be too caught up in making our clients happy (which is a good thing) that we don’t get a chance to push ourselves and learn new things. I have taught many different things and across the board it is helpful to learn the same thing from different people. You may hear something different that makes something click.

This session was my first shoot out for family photographers after moving back to Boise! The golden light was perfect and the family was the best. I helped style them and everything turned out so great! I can’t wait to shoot more Boise family sessions. To see another example of a shootout in Washington head here.