I’ve called this post “that brief” because I will never forget an email that came to me from a regular client who simply gave me a name, address, date and time and the words “go do your thing”. That was pretty flattering – they trusted me and were comfortable with how I had worked for them before. I’ll never forget that brief but most of the time I think that I’d prefer a bit more to go on.

Every photograph that I have ever taken was dictated by things that can be controlled and things that can’t. The client’s brief is something that should be able to be negotiated and should always be realistic. In the “contact” section on my main website I say the following:

Commissioning a professional photographer can be a daunting business. My philosophy has always been to make it as painless and as uncomplicated as possible. I believe that this is best achieved by a proper dialogue between photographer and client. We both want the same thing – a set of pictures that achieve and even exceed their purpose. In my experience, the better defined that purpose is, the easier it is to get the photographs that the client needs.

The perfect brief (if it really exists) is a delicate balance between a prescriptive list that doesn’t allow for any creativity and one that is so open that it leaves you scratching your head when you should be taking pictures. 

There is a long list of details that are really useful. I’ve already mentioned day, date, time, location and a named contact. Beyond that there are things like how the images are being used which will dictate whether you need to shoot horizontal, vertical, square or other odd shaped images. 

Examples of similar work that have been used before are useful and when there’s a story behind the commission it’s always better to know what that is. Shot lists are really useful but they need to be realistic and they shouldn’t be so long that you don’t have time to do anything properly.

How and when images are to be presented and delivered is really important and how and where they are archived in the medium and long terms is something it is good to know. Commission forms are useful and, having designed some in the past, difficult to get right but they are a great way to start to collate the necessary information.

Most of my jobs these days come to me as emails or email attachments. That’s OK but I really like to have a conversation about things too. Almost all of my favourite commissions in the last dozen years have involved at least one conversation and I don’t think that is a coincidence. To quote my own website for a second time:

I call my service “bespoke” because I believe in tailoring what I do to what the client wants and needs. The way I shoot, the way that I deliver pictures and even the way that I charge are all options that we can explore before going ahead with the job.

If both the client and the photographer have a clear understanding of every aspect of the assignment then the chances of everyone being satisfied are greatly increased. Of course things can go wrong but in my thirty-seven years of experience as a professional photographer a really good understanding of the brief married to technical skills and creative thinking give you the very best chance of overcoming problems and coming out with positive results.