How to write a photography brief
Writing a brief for your photographer will ensure you get the best results from your shoot; a strong bank of imagery to meet and exceed your expectations and bring your vision to life. Put simply, a brief will tell your photographer what your vision is, outline your goals, tell them what you require and how you plan to use the photos. A strong, clear brief will be hugely beneficial for both yourself and your photographer.
When you set out to write your photography brief it is important to have clear, outlined goals. If you aren’t sure what you want to achieve from your photoshoot yet, do some research to get inspiration from your competitors or brands you admire, think about how you want to use the images and how they will benefit your brand. Have a chat with people who know your business well, other creatives, and you could even ask your photographer for their opinion as they will have experience on what works well and what doesn't.
The initial information your photographer will need will include some background on your business, as well as your main goals, your audience, and usage.
Project Overview & Goals:
Client name - your name and your business/brand name.
About your brand, who you are, what you do etc.
Your branding - a screenshot of your logo and main branding colours.
When do you want to shoot? Just a rough timescale is fine!
Who is your target audience? Who are your ideal customers?
What are you going to use the images for? (Social platforms, marketing flyers, website etc.)
Next will be the more detailed information about your photoshoot:
What do you hope to achieve - Are you looking to promote your business? Do you need the photos to tell a story? Are you trying to gain a more professional look?
Do you have any locations in mind? These don’t have to be precise - for example a coffee shop, a park, a wooded area, a stately home, in your own workshop/office.
Mood-board - Include any example images you can find which illustrate the style you'd like for your photos. You might find these on Instagram or Pinterest, or competitors websites.
Keywords - Just a few words to describe the look you would like to achieve, for example - Minimalist, Warm, Summer, Spring, Elegant etc.
Who else will be involved? You may want to bring along other staff members, family members or friends to act as clients, to help with styling or even just to support you!
Any specific shots required - For example a banner image for your website, a headshot for your business profile, images in a particular orientation with space for text, collections paired together as well as individually…
Do you need particular colours to be used? You may need only dark background to fit in with your branding colours, you may want everything to be bright, neutral colours to match your website.
The final details your photographer will need to know are your desired turnaround time and your budget. These may have already been agreed, and if so you won’t need to include them. However if you do require your images back by a certain date which is sooner than your photographers average turnaround time, please make sure you say so before making your booking! If you have not already agreed on a fee for your shoot, make sure you include your budget in your brief so that your photographer knows what they have to work with in terms of prop sourcing, locations (some may require a payment), travel, and timing.
Including all of the above points when you write your photography brief will make sure you get the best possible results from your photoshoot, and will help your photographer ensure they do the job to the best of their ability! It may be useful to write your brief before you approach any photographers so that they can fully understand your requirements before giving you a quote or offering you a booking.
Don’t worry, a brief isn’t required for every single shoot. You may not need to write one at all, or you may just be able to take out the parts that are relevant to you. If you aren’t sure whether you need to write one or not, just ask your photographer! You might want to create your own from scratch on Word, Canva, Pages, etc… alternatively click here to download my Photoshoot Brief Template to get you started.