Practice Makes Perfect?

Hello, all.  I'd like for you to meet Mandy.  She's a mannequin head that I use for a lot of practice shoots when I can't get a live model.  I use her when I want to see what a certain lighting setup or shot will look like.  

Meet Mandy

We've all heard the phrase that practice makes perfect.  I don't know if there's perfection, but I do feel that practice builds confidence and gives peace of mind.  Why, you may ask?  Let me tell you.      

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a makeup artist (MUA) about our upcoming photo shoot.  The MUA and I have worked together a few times, and she wanted to try a glittery, motion look that required a setup that I've not done often.  We had two weeks until the shoot.  So the weekend after the conversation, I practiced a lighting setup with Mandy.  I was trying to capture motion/multiple shots of an object in camera.  Here's a practice shot.

50 mm lens, f/6.3, 10 sec, ISO 100

I put the camera on a tripod and held a small flashlight above Mandy's head.  During the 10 second shutter, I turned Mandy in three different directions.  I was pleased with the practice result.  


Later that weekend in a studio, I wanted to practice capturing specular highlights.  I knew that I needed something metallic, and I also knew that I wanted a background that would absorb, and not reflect, light.  I bought some glitter glue and applied it onto an unwanted object.  While using another slow shutter, I waved the glitter object in front of a bare bulb Profoto flash head.  The background was heavy, black velvet.  After a few shutter speed and ISO adjustments, I came up with this shot.

100 mm lens, f/11, 0.3 sec, ISO 100

After having tested various setups, I had a good idea of what my lighting, camera settings, and background needed to be.  I was confident going into the shoot because I had practiced beforehand.  That gave me peace of mind and a better ability to concentrate on getting a good shot from the model and not worrying about lights, camera settings, etc.  And the MUA was pleased with this final image.  

100 mm lens, f/6.3, 0.3 sec, ISO 320

So how do you prepare for shoots?  Do you practice shooting a 'live' person, do you read photography articles on various websites, do you watch how-to videos?  Does it give you more confidence during a shoot?  I'd love to know.