First off, I don't consider myself a hot-shot photographer at all. I do this to learn and most of all because it gives me an artistic outlet. However, it has become apparent that some people are under the delusion that I have real talent (which I don't mind) and God bless them for that :-)
If you do contact me asking to do a shoot, there's some things which you should expect to provide.
1. An idea of what you want in your final edited shots. Remember, you're asking me to shoot you, so having some ideas in mind will make it a reality much faster.
2. If you don't really have an idea of what you'd like to do and are just eager to shoot (trust me, I understand the feeling), show me some examples of work that you'd like to emulate. Nothing pleases me more than a model bringing a bunch of prints of stuff she likes, provided it's realistic and she's got the figure for it :-)
3. Location. I don't have a studio, I'm just a hobbyist. Is your house suitable to shoot in (ask me for details) or would you rather rent a location with special characteristics? I don't mind either, I'm very portable. As long as it fits into my family schedule, which is the big determiner for everything.
4. Date/Time. Seriously, give me an actual date and time. I may accept it and suggest something else, but if this is a shoot for you, then let me know when you'd like to do it and we can work from there.
5. Communication. Even if only by messages on email, please communicate with me any updates (like if your not going to show up) so I'm not sitting by the phone with my laptop waiting for you to cancel. Otherwise I'm assuming you're planning on it and I miss out on other things I could be doing.
That's it :-)
Don't let this 5 point list turn you off to asking to do a shoot, I really am an easy going, nice guy. I'm really very quiet and reserved in person too :-) But, since more and more requests are coming in, I have to lay down some form of structure so I can better assist whomever would like to be a part of my hobby.
-Nate