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What is a photography brief? How do I construct a photography brief so the freelancer I hire can make me quality photography content?
Here’s a photography brief definition:
An effective photography brief will contain an overview of your entire project, which includes:
- [content type wanted – include a sample or two if you can!
- Key dates & deadlines
- Audience for project
- Deliverable outcomes
- Project goals
The truth is, it can be hard to know what to include in these photography briefs when you’re planning your project. If you have no idea how photography briefs work, how are your freelancers supposed to know what’s needed of them?
Photography Brief Example
Luckily, we’ve provided a photography brief example, so you’ll know how to write a photography brief and bag yourself strong content!
This brief will provide your freelancer with everything they need to know about both your project and your business. If you’re struggling to get off the starting block, feel free to use it as a template for your own brief:
Name: Connecting Blue – Band Photoshoot Project
About the company: My name is Aron, and I’m the lead guitarist for an indie band called Connecting Blue. We recently released our debut album, and we’re looking to create some promotional material. In particular, we’d like to work with a photographer to take some band photographs, which we can use for advertising across all forms (social channels, future album covers, merch lines, potential tour content).
What do you need?: We’ll need a full photoshoot, both with group images and solo shots of the band members. The band consists of 5 people, so it’s likely this photoshoot will span over a week. We’d also need the photographs to be edited to commercial quality, so the photographer will need to have experience shooting + editing this kind of photography.
Why do you need it?: As we haven’t yet established ourselves in the industry, this will be our chance to launch our music, and create a name for ourselves.
Your vision for the project: We’d like the photographer to capture everything our music emulates. We’re an easy-going group, and spend most of our time having fun and making tunes. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and don’t want to be associated with corporate images or the idea of ‘selling out’. We’d like to shoot the photography at a theme park or carnival, as our lead single from the album is titled “Ghost train”.
Examples of styles you like:
https://www.pinterest.ch/pin/brand-new-science-fiction–282249101630355319/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/oasis-definitely-maybe-album-cover–583990276662594799
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/slint-spiderland-lp–696017317417755127/
Where will the content be used?: On our social media channels, merch lines, and potentially our as promotional material for a tour.
What file types are required?: We’d need visual files that could preferably be printed onto a variety of materials – e.g., with t-shirts. EPS, PNG + SVG files would be ideal.
Target audience: We have a similar sound to Ider, and Snail Mail, so our audience mainly consists of 18 – 30-year-olds who are interested in old-school symbols mixed with rough vocals.
Deadline: As soon as we find the right photographer, we’d like to work on the project ASAP.
Budget: $10,000+
Point of contact: You’ll be working with the entire band, and our Manager, Tim.
Analysis:
Now, let’s break the brief down section-by-section so you know exactly how it works:
Name: Connecting Blue – Band Photoshoot Project
Your freelancer is probably working on lots of different freelance projects, so give yours a name to distinguish it. It’ll help you keep organized too.
About the company: My name is Aron, and I’m the lead guitarist for an indie band called Connecting Blue. We recently released our debut album, and we’re looking to create some promotional material. In particular, we’d like to work with a photographer to take some band photographs, which we can use for advertising across all forms (social channels, future album covers, merch lines, potential tour content).
Why does the freelancer need to know about you and your company? Giving them the whole picture helps the freelancer create the most appropriate work for you. Tell your freelancer what you do and how you do it.
What do you need?: We’ll need a full photoshoot, both with group images and solo shots of the band members. The band consists of 5 people, so it’s likely this photoshoot will span over a week. We’d also need the photographs to be edited to commercial quality, so the photographer will need to have experience shooting + editing this kind of photography.
Be specific about what you want. Is it just one piece of work you need, or an ongoing project? Let your freelancer know upfront and this will help them work out how long your project will take to complete.
Why do you need it?: As we haven’t yet established ourselves in the industry, this will be our chance to launch our music, and create a name for ourselves.
This might seem completely obvious to you, but sometimes spelling out the motivation for your project can be really helpful. It gives the freelancer extra insight into why you need this work; do you want to reach new customers? Are you changing or launching your business? If you have current projects – why aren’t these working? All this extra information will help your freelancer do a great job.
Your vision for the project: We’d like the photographer to capture everything our music emulates. We’re an easy-going group, and spend most of our time having fun and making tunes. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and don’t want to be associated with corporate images or the idea of ‘selling out’. We’d like to shoot the photography at a theme park or carnival, as our lead single from the album is titled “Ghost train”.
If you already have an idea of how you want the work to look, write it down in your project brief. This will help the freelancer hit the ground running and shorten the delivery time. You and your freelancer will ideally develop concepts together. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want yet – mention this to your freelancer and you can talk through ideas.
Here are some examples of styles we like:
https://www.pinterest.ch/pin/brand-new-science-fiction–282249101630355319
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/oasis-definitely-maybe-album-cover–583990276662594799
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/slint-spiderland-lp–696017317417755127/
Sometimes it’s hard to describe a style you like, which is why you need to show your freelancer. Include images, links to other work you’ve seen, color pallets, fonts – anything that will help your freelancer get a good idea of what you want your finished project to look like.
Where will the content be used?: On our social media channels, merch lines, and potentially our as promotional material for a tour.
Where you want to use your content can affect the kind of work the freelancer creates. Try your best to future-proof your ideas. Who knows where you’ll need to use the content in a year’s time? Your freelancer should create the work in a way that it can be used in any media or medium you require. The last thing you want is to rehire the freelancer in the future to adjust the content.
What file types are required?: We’d need visual files that could preferably be printed onto a variety of materials – e.g., with t-shirts. EPS, PNG + SVG files would be ideal.
Granted, this may not be information that you know. But, depending on where you need to use the work, you’ll need different file types. If you’re not sure about this, it’s something to ask your freelancer.
Target audience: We have a similar sound to Ider, and Snail Mail, so our audience mainly consists of 18 – 30-year-olds who are interested in old-school symbols mixed with rough vocals.
Your target audience is a vital piece of information that your freelancer should know. It’ll help them create work that specifically targets that section of the market and helps you draw in custom.
Deadline: As soon as we find the right photographer, we’d like to work on the project ASAP.
When do you need your project to be completed? Don’t forget this crucial detail.
Budget: $10,000+
How much will you pay for the project? If you have a budget in mind, include it in your project brief. If you have no idea, you can discuss costs with your freelancer.
Point of contact: You’ll be working with the entire band, and our Manager, Tim.
Who will your freelancer be dealing with? Make it easier for remote workers to communicate with you by making it clear who their point of contact is during the project. There will be extra questions and work that needs to be signed off, so make sure your freelancer gets straight through to the right person.
When you post a project brief on Twine, you can add a fully comprehensive project description. This will help you find the right creative freelancer and ultimately get the project you want.
We vet all of our freelancers and match them to clients using over 10 different criteria. This allows both parties to gain maximum results at the most effective price. We’re here to help along every step of the way and will do everything we can to make sure you have an awesome experience.
So, there you have it! A top-quality template for your photography project. For more help on writing a great project brief, check out our article here – or, check out our other creative brief examples: Logo Design Brief, Animation Project Brief, Illustration Project Brief, Music Production Project Brief, Copywriting Project Brief. Ready to find a freelancer? Check out our talent here.
Ready to get hired? At Twine, we have dozens of top-quality jobs being posted each and every day. From design to marketing, development to copywriting – there’s a job ready for your skills. Join the marketplace of diverse creative talent here.
Stuart Logan
Wondershare
Michelle Payne
