How to Write a Brilliant Commercial Photography Brief

I’ve seen loads of photography briefs: good ones, great ones, and some bad ones. Drawing on experience, I’m going to offer some tips and advice for preparing one that will really make the most of your session.

So you might be wondering why do you need to give your photographer a brief? Or what is a creative brief? It might help if I explain what a photography brief is first.

A creative brief is a summary of requirements and agreements between the client and the photographer. It should list facts and other details to give an overall view of the plan and project. A good photography brief will help your photographer understand your brand and target market. It will demonstrate how the photographs are going to be used and set out basics like time, location, budget, and file delivery. A great brief can save a huge amount of time and ensure the success and effectiveness of your shoot, campaign, or project.

Allocating a marketing campaign budget can be stressful but writing a brief will ensure you get the best out of the creative element and maximise your return on investment in terms of your photographer’s time and creativity.

Address and Postcode of Venue/Location of Shoot

If the location is outside, include details of a backup location somewhere undercover or inside. Make sure you include a postcode and attach a google maps link or quick sketch of the location for bonus points!

Date, Time and Schedule

For larger and more complex projects, a schedule or timetable can save a lot of time. For example, if a large team are having portraits taken they can each have their own allotted time to arrive; not only will the team feel happier, but it ensures the photographs will turn out better as they won’t have to stand in line and feel embarrassed in front of others.  Everything will run smoothly and you will look super efficient!

Target Audience

Identify who the photographs are aimed at or who the target viewers are.  Knowing the kind of audience a project is expected to have will help your photographer come up with creative ideas that suit the interests of those people.

Brand Info  

Unless you have used the photographer before, assume that they know nothing about the brand. Include brand colour info, brand guidelines, logos, ethos etc - every detail helps!

Objective / Project Goals  

What should the audience see, feel, or do the first time they see the photographs? Do you want them to feel inspired to take action? Identify clear goals for the project. What problem is the overall project trying to solve?

Usage  

List what the images are going to be used for. Think about: different social media platforms; whether any will be used for PR, on the company website or in your brochures, or on billboards. Specify which media the photographs are to be used in, and the length of exposure (how long the photos will be on the internet).

Format 

Do any of the shots need to be in landscape or portrait orientation? Would square or a mixture of formats be more useful?

Examples  

Include previous photo examples of what has worked well in the past. If you don’t have many good existing photographs already, you could send something like a Pinterest board of the style of images you like that would work for your project.  Bad examples can be useful (but not as useful as the good examples) - if you are including bad examples, don’t get them mixed up!

Shot List 

If this is not clear from the objective/project goals section, think about photographs that will be really useful to have. What is lacking in your portfolio? Look through the company website and think about your scheduled social media posts. Are there any that could do with a better photograph? Check through the printed literature for ideas of what could be improved on or what is lacking or needs to be changed before the next print run.

Models and Roles 

List who will be in the photographs. Sometimes it makes sense to combine models and roles with your shot list.

Model releases are always required if using people, paid staff or otherwise. Some companies prefer to design their own model release documentation; here is a very detailed one from The Royal Photographic Society. There are also some really good mobile apps available for model releases. It is a good idea to have your model releases filled in and signed in advance of the shoot, if possible, as it will save a lot of time on the day.

If you are using company staff in the photographs, give them plenty of notice; no one likes to have this sprung on them the morning of a shoot. Make sure uniforms are smart and complete and find out if any safety equipment is required for a job (and therefore needs to be worn by staff in the photographs). If that is the case, make sure the equipment is available for them and let the photographer know it needs to be worn.

Other Useful Info 

This section hugely varies from company to company and from shoot to shoot but can include things like available lighting, equipment, props, if rooms have been booked, parking, health and safety, PPE equipment required, the site passes, meal arrangements, location permission, or special rules of the location.

Delivery 

If you have deadlines that need to be met, this is the time to say! 

List preferred methods of file delivery. If you are unsure, check whether your office firewall will allow services like ‘We Transfer’ or ‘Drop Box’. If not, you will probably require a USB memory stick which can take longer, especially if it needs to be posted out, so take this into consideration with your deadlines.

Jpeg is the industry standard for the file format. Let your photographer know if you or your designer need another file type.  

Think about end-use. You could save some time by asking your photographer to deliver high resolution and web resolution (at a specified file size for your website or preferred social media platform). They will have software to quickly and easily batch-process the images ready for you to use. Consider asking for ‘letterbox images’ (wide but not tall) for banners or ads; or some photos specifically in square format for Instagram. Just let them know what you might need. You can find out sizes from your web designer and the help pages on your chosen social media platform.

Payment and Rights

Detail the agreed payment and where the invoice needs to be sent. State any purchase order or other info that needs to be included. This saves a lot of time emailing back and forth after the shoot.

If you have agreed on special rights, release, copyright, or exclusivity this should be noted here to ensure that everybody is on the same page.

Contact Details 

It’s important for everyone to have team members’ details in case of unforeseen delays and last-minute changes to the plan.

Call your photographer after sending them the brief to discuss ideas before the commission. They may have experience in similar shoots and could have some really useful knowledge that could save you a lot of time and money.

Template

Download the free sample template below and use the explanations above to build a well-rounded photography brief for your next project or campaign. Remember to keep it as short as possible (2 pages max) but include as much information as you can.

Written by Sarah