How to create the perfect product photography brief
If you’ve made the decision to outsource your product photography project to a trusted photography studio, then your next thoughts will likely be around logistics; what’s the best way to provide a clear brief, to ensure your products are captured in exactly the way you need?
Having dealt with 1000’s of project in our 30 years of commercial photography, we wanted to share a simple outline for creating any product photography brief, setting you up for a successful project.
1. Start with your marketing goals
What are the core goals of this project? Who is the target audience? How do we want to make them feel when they see the photography and what actions do we want them to take afterwards?
Providing this insight early helps the creative photography team to keep this front of mind throughout the project, creating a tailored approach which will ultimately get you the best possible outcome from your shoot.
2. Share the bigger picture
To ensure you retain consistency across all your marketing efforts, provide your photographer with as much background on where the campaign will be featured. Do you need the photographs to work on just the website or will the images be shared across your social media platforms too? Are there any marketing milestones to be aware of such as a new website launch or a direct mail piece? Background is a core factor in any successful photography project.
3. Give examples of what you like (and what you don’t!)
Ahead of the photo shoot, share various examples of product photography which you feel match the style of your brand. Likewise, share examples of styles you dislike or think should be avoided. Websites such as Awwwards are a great source of inspiration for this.
Ideally, share some brief reasoning behind why you think these examples would or wouldn’t work for your shoot. This is important because often, assumptions are made on certain photography styles (i.e not achievable within budget, not achievable within the timeframe) when the reality may be different - without a discussion with an experienced photography team you could be missing out on some interesting styles or concepts!
4. Provide time frame, volume and expectations
When do you need the photography to be completed by? How many images do you require? What expectations do you have from an account management perspective i.e do you need daily or weekly status updates? Providing this information early in the project helps to avoid any disappointment.
Ready to kick-start your next product photography project?
At Prodoto, our team work in a 28,000 ft studio fully equipped to handle any photography project. From packshot to lifestyle, find out how we can bring your products to life with exceptional photography or get in touch below to speak to a member of our helpful team!
