A detailed brief upfront will make things so much smoother for you and for us, it should cut out a number of calls or emails and we all love that! Here we have detailed some of the key things that we feel should be part of your brief at the very beginning, providing us with all the information needed to get you a quote and streamline the briefing process.
Deadlines:
There are 2 key dates when organising a photoshoot:
Date 1- Shoot Date
When can the shoot take place, eg what window of time will we have access to the products or location or people needed to make the shoot happen. If you are flexible then give a window of time, otherwise be as specific as possible eg dates and times
Date 2- Final Deadline
When do you need the final image files handed over. For a one day shoot we would hope to deliver images (no retouching) 7 days later. This of course can be quicker or longer depending on workload so please let us know your requirements.
Image references or direction:
Most people will have a reference image that they would like us to either replicate or use as inspiration. Perhaps you have a style guide that we should be referencing or a mood board to guide us. If you have something in mind please be as specific as possible so we can hit the brief first time.
eg 1) We need 5 images of the shoe shot on a white background with soft shadow. 5 shots are: left side, right side, overhead, underneath, ¾ angle toe pointing left.
eg 2) We need to photograph 3 rooms of the house; lounge, master, hall. Focus of the shots is to be the flooring. We would like some natural window light as per eg image
Don’t forget to mention if you are wanting any model’s/talent as part of your shoot and if that is something we are to organise, or you will.
List all intended image usages & specs:
It is important to know upfront where you will be using the images so your photographer can capture the correct orientations and at the right image quality. Sometimes we can crop one image into multiple usage crops but other times we need to shoot multiple images eg shooting for Insta Stories will not allow us to create a web banner crop.
Provide specifics on dimensions and media eg;
Image 1: Blender on kitchen bench, usage will be 1×1 Instagram post & 16×9 web banner
Image 2: Person using blender, usage will be A3 poster instore 3 months
Are there any file specs that we need to output to? Do you need Low res or high res files, jpg or tiff etc?
Shoot location:
Are you supplying the location or is it something we need to source/supply Eg we could be shooting in your showroom or you might need us to organise a house or studio.
Retouching:
Our quotes normally cover the photography and then basic image adjustments such as colour balance/contrast/cropping. They do not cover any photoshop retouching or clipping paths. If the images are going to require more advanced retouching please let us know if this is something you will organise yourself after we supply the images or something you need us to quote on.
In summary here are the key points for your brief:
Shoot dates and final deadline
Image references or direction
Intended image usages
Shoot location
Retouching
Happy Briefing!