Swiss / International Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

Q: What shots should I get for a Swiss / International photo shoot?

For a Swiss / International shoot, capture: Clean grid-aligned portrait using the rule of thirds as a literal grid, every element locked to the intersection; Typographic still life of objects arranged on a strict geometric axis with significant negative space; Portrait of a graphic designer at work on a grid layout, the design visible and clearly structured; Environmental shot in a Swiss modernist building clean geometry, pure materials, no decoration; Flat-lay where all objects are aligned to an invisible grid, photographed from directly overhead on a neutral ground.

Q: Where should I shoot Swiss / International photography?

Good locations for Swiss / International photography include: Modernist Swiss architecture or Scandinavian equivalent, Design studio with visible grid systems on walls, Museum of graphic design or applied arts, University architecture building.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[swiss         ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(swiss_______.BRF)
✎Swiss / International
01 LightPure, neutral, shadowless light a large overhead panel at 5500K rated for photography; the Swiss International Style's allegiance to objectivity requires light that serves information, not mood
02 WardrobeHelvetica-level restraint: white shirt, black trousers, or a single mid-tone color; no pattern, no excess
03 LocationModernist Swiss architecture or Scandinavian equivalent
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Compose on a 3x3 grid visible in your viewfinder and make every element align to it the discipline of the grid is not a constraint, it is a structural argument that the Swiss design movement made for sixty years

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, farHung high

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

Clean grid-aligned portrait using the rule of thirds as a literal grid, every element locked to the intersectionportrait85mm

Typographic still life of objects arranged on a strict geometric axis with significant negative spaceenvironment35mm

Portrait of a graphic designer at work on a grid layout, the design visible and clearly structuredportrait85mm

Environmental shot in a Swiss modernist building clean geometry, pure materials, no decorationenvironment35mm

Flat-lay where all objects are aligned to an invisible grid, photographed from directly overhead on a neutral groundoverhead50mm

Rolling

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

LOC

Locations

Modernist Swiss architecture or Scandinavian equivalentDesign studio with visible grid systems on wallsMuseum of graphic design or applied artsUniversity architecture building

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Part of the Trust & Reliability mood, alongside Blueprint and Normcore. Began in the 1950s, on the style timeline.

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Swiss / International aesthetic?

Order as aspiration: the grid, Helvetica, and the moral philosophy of clarity.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Swiss / International photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Clean grid-aligned portrait using the rule of thirds as a literal grid, every element locked to the intersection
Typographic still life of objects arranged on a strict geometric axis with significant negative space
Portrait of a graphic designer at work on a grid layout, the design visible and clearly structured
Environmental shot in a Swiss modernist building clean geometry, pure materials, no decoration
Flat-lay where all objects are aligned to an invisible grid, photographed from directly overhead on a neutral ground

What lighting works for Swiss / International photography?

Pure, neutral, shadowless light a large overhead panel at 5500K rated for photography; the Swiss International Style's allegiance to objectivity requires light that serves information, not mood

Light

Where should I shoot Swiss / International photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

Modernist Swiss architecture or Scandinavian equivalent
Design studio with visible grid systems on walls
Museum of graphic design or applied arts
University architecture building

What wardrobe works for Swiss / International photography?

Helvetica-level restraint: white shirt, black trousers, or a single mid-tone color; no pattern, no excess

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Swiss / International 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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