BY KENDALL MORGAN - Fashion and commercial shoots are intricate undertakings. Casting talent and scouting locations are just the beginning of a process that leads from concept to glossy page. This is where the producer comes in. In charge of any and all aspects of a photo shoot, the producer isn't just a fund raiser (as in film) or a creative guru (as in the record industry). Rather, the job of the photo shoot producer is to keep things moving while keeping an eye on the bottom line. Lynda Goldstein should know. The founder of the 11-year-old company Pix Producers, Lynda has done everything from dodging helicopters rubbernecking on a David LaChapelle shoot of Duran Duran for Vanity Fair to controlling tourist traffic in Times Square for an Estee Lauder Liz Hurley campaign.

She sums up her role on set as "the nucleus of a print shoot. The standard requirements of a producer are to organize a location, get travel permits, and take care of the catering and transportation. A producer in print is much more like a production coordinator. On top of it, you are handling the money. You're coordinating schedules and insuring that the needs of the models, hair and makeup, the client, and the photographer are being met. You're pretty much the only person who knows what everybody's needs are"

A producer is part mother hen, part Filofax, and has the least glamorous role on the set. But Lynda wouldn't have it any other way. "I loved it from the beginning. I loved the diversity and organizational aspect of the job. I'm very detail oriented by nature,” she says. "It's not something you learn by formal education" In fact, Lynda says that ten years ago being a producer was "an unknown industry" That's why she began her career in the late '80s as a studio manager for famed photographer Art Kane. "At the time he didn't have a rep and everything was handled within his studio. Then he decided to follow his passion, which was teaching, and I went to work for a rep of Herb Ritts, among others"

Studying fashion and nutrition at the University of Delaware, working with fabric production, and working for a film production company gave her an eclectic background. Being at the right place at the right time led her to form her own company. "It was almost starting from scratch," she says of Pix's early days. "There was some loyalty coming from where I was working (as a photo rep). We did the celebrity Gap campaign with Herb Ritts. That was the first time Gap got cool and one of the first times celebrities were used in advertising"

"That was a wonderful beginning," says Lynda. Pix and its founder have kept that tradition, producing the Ebel watch ads using the hands of Madonna, Meg Ryan, and Harrison Ford, as well as multiple shoots with superstar Janet Jackson.

A large part of Lynda's job involves sussing out the desires of the photographer at hand. She has worked with some of the greats—in addition to Mr. Ritts and Mr. LaChapelle, there's Sante D'Orazio, Geof Kern, Terry Richardson, and Hans Gissinger. Although she often takes on the role of location scout or casting agent in addition to being a producer, the role of matchmaker could best describe her approach to blending elements on a shoot.

"Even when there are standards within the shoot, the people involved make every production unique. You could do the same shoot with two different [photographers] and it couldn't be more different. Different photographers like different personalities around them. Some are more on the reserved side and like their team to be high energy, and some are high-energy and like their team with not so much of a personality. There's a bit of psychology involved"

With so many elements to take care of, how could an aspiring producer ever get into the business? "You could start working for a photographer or just try to find a producer who would let you tag along and see what it's all about," she advises. "Before you make the decision, you need to see what's involved. It seems very glamorous, but there's a lot of sweat and hard work and long hours and sleepless nights waking up and writing down notes. When everyone's on break, you're working. It's a never ending process"

So why not take a more chic role in the industry, where you get the paparazzi shots in the social pages and boldfaced mentions in Vogue? Because, according to Lynda, the producer is ultimately the one that gets the most satisfaction for a job well done.

"There's a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of the shoot when you can look back and see how everything came to you. It's like a puzzle.One of the most rewarding things is flipping through a magazine and seeing the job you've worked on. Another reward is getting that phone call from someone you've worked with before: ‘I want you again.' That is a wonderful feeling"