I’ll be doing a little walkthrough of the steps involved in one of my typical productions, from pre-shoot to final product. Whether you’re an upcoming photographer or just a hobbyist, I hope it sheds some light on the behind-the-scenes and you will find it an interesting read

I should also mention that typically for major clients, there is usually a large team of people working on a campaign. In those instances an executive producer will handle everything related to preparing the shoot, and thus often, all that’s needed of the photographer is to prepare his treatment (more on that in a bit), show up, and shoot.

However, it’s becoming increasingly popular these days for the photographer to quote and execute the full-scale production of the photoshoot themselves. This post will cover a project’s process on this scale.

1. How It Begins – Quotation Request
   It begins with a quotation request from the client or advertising agency, for the sake of consistency I’m going to use the agency as contact point in this post.
2. The Next Step – Photographer’s Treatment
   This happens two ways, sometimes it’s requested during the job bid, sometimes it’s part of pre-production after you’ve been confirmed.
3. Casting
   When the model agencies send you quotations for the job, they would often have attached packages of their available models already. From there you can shortlist the faces you like and arrange for a casting, don’t be afraid to request for more options if you don’t see anyone that fits the look and feel you’re going for.
4. Your Team
   This one is relatively straightforward. You should already have a few regulars you love working with, whether from doing editorials or test shoots.
5. Risks and Backups
   Almost every shoot will have a small chance of something going wrong, be it camera failure, last minute cancellations, models falling sick, or the studio becoming unavailable. Always make sure you have a backup, a second and third option on hand for someone you can call.
6. Pre-production Meetings
   You have finished your treatment presentation, casted and shortlisted the models, confirmed your call time, studio, hair and makeup team, and your stylist has prepared a list of options for wardrobe. You sit down at the meeting with the creative team and client to go over details for your ideas and shooting schedules.
7. Equipment Rentals & Final Checks
8. Pre-light
   Once all that’s s set, the last thing is light test.
9. Shoot Day
   This is where you just do your thing — be confident, you’re thoroughly prepared and ready.
10. Post Production
    Naturally, how much work there is to be done here depends on the complexity of the visual. Just let your retoucher do their thing.

http://www.profoto.com/blog/instruction/zhang-jingna-walks-us-through-a-commercial-photo-shoot-from-request-to-postproduction/