Surrealism Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

Q: What shots should I get for a Surrealism photo shoot?

For a Surrealism shoot, capture: Portrait of subject with an impossible or unexpected object held or worn as if entirely normal; Wide shot in a familiar setting kitchen, office, park with one element that cannot exist there; Double exposure portrait merging the subject's face with a landscape, both given equal reality; Carefully composited in-camera shot of subject interacting with an oversized or miniaturized prop; Environmental portrait in a mundane space lit with a dreamlike quality that makes the real feel unreal.

Q: Where should I shoot Surrealism photography?

Good locations for Surrealism photography include: Empty swimming pool, Suburban kitchen at 3am, Perfectly preserved mid-century living room, Open road with no horizon.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[surrealism    ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(surrealism__.BRF)
✎Surrealism
01 LightShadowless, directionless light for the uncanny or conversely, a hyper-real single source that makes the impossible scene feel perfectly documented
02 WardrobeFormal dress in inappropriate contexts, or everyday clothing combined with a single impossible element (hat full of water, jacket made of flowers, shoes going the wrong direction)
03 LocationEmpty swimming pool
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Commit fully to the realism of the impossible element use in-camera practical effects before reaching for compositing, because physical objects behave like physical objects and digital additions do not

All 151 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs, $8 →

Viewfinder

Live

Four controls on the brief's own plate · the meter is real, so you can blow a frame

Standby50mmMeteredf/5.6 · 1/125 · ISO 400

Aperturef/5.6Shutter1/125ISO400White balance5200K

Use your own photo

Running the list sets the camera for every shot in turn. Load your own photo to light and expose a frame you actually shot.

LGT

Light the set

3 lamps

Drag a lamp and watch the frame above change. The brief's own note is the preset

KeyThe light that makes the pictureSoft, farEye level

FillHow far into shadow you can seeSoft, farEye level

BackRound at the front, where it is just another fillOffEye level

On the brief

Contact sheet

00 / 12

Nothing on the sheet yet. Set the camera, then take a frame.

SEQ

Shot list

00 / 05

Tap a pad to mark the frame shot · saved on this device

Portrait of subject with an impossible or unexpected object held or worn as if entirely normalportrait85mm

Wide shot in a familiar setting kitchen, office, park with one element that cannot exist therewide24mm

Double exposure portrait merging the subject's face with a landscape, both given equal realityportrait85mm

Carefully composited in-camera shot of subject interacting with an oversized or miniaturized propsetup50mm

Environmental portrait in a mundane space lit with a dreamlike quality that makes the real feel unrealportrait85mm

Rolling

Take it to set: all 151 briefs as one PDF · $8

LOC

Locations

Empty swimming poolSuburban kitchen at 3amPerfectly preserved mid-century living roomOpen road with no horizon

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Part of the Romance & Intimacy mood, alongside Dark Academia and Gothic. Began in the 1920s, on the style timeline.

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Surrealism aesthetic?

The photograph the unconscious would take if it had a camera.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Surrealism photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Portrait of subject with an impossible or unexpected object held or worn as if entirely normal
Wide shot in a familiar setting kitchen, office, park with one element that cannot exist there
Double exposure portrait merging the subject's face with a landscape, both given equal reality
Carefully composited in-camera shot of subject interacting with an oversized or miniaturized prop
Environmental portrait in a mundane space lit with a dreamlike quality that makes the real feel unreal

What lighting works for Surrealism photography?

Shadowless, directionless light for the uncanny or conversely, a hyper-real single source that makes the impossible scene feel perfectly documented

Light

Where should I shoot Surrealism photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

Empty swimming pool
Suburban kitchen at 3am
Perfectly preserved mid-century living room
Open road with no horizon

What wardrobe works for Surrealism photography?

Formal dress in inappropriate contexts, or everyday clothing combined with a single impossible element (hat full of water, jacket made of flowers, shoes going the wrong direction)

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Surrealism style

Omoro reads your visual references and generates images in your exact aesthetic. Build a mood board before the shoot or create composite references for your client.

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