Setting The Foundation For A Creative Project
If you’re considering hiring a commercial photographer for any given photo shoot, it’s super helpful to have a creative brief in place. Creative Briefs can apply to any type of photography being commissioned by you, the Client. So whether you’re hiring a commercial photographer for a product photography shoot or a commercial advertising shoot involving multiple talent, a makeup artist's and a catering crew, having a creative brief in place can serve your project well.
What Is A Creative Brief in Commercial Photography?
So, what is a creative brief? Simply put, a creative brief is the foundation on which a marketing and advertising campaign is built. It’s a document that establishes and outlines the parameters of commercial artwork being commissioned by you, the Client. This document often includes creative strategy, art direction and some form of pre-visualization as it relates to the aesthetic qualities of a given commercial photography shoot. It’s important to note that this document is not limited to just marketing and advertising campaigns involving multiple photographs. A creative brief can also be used for producing a single photograph.
To put it another way, this document is used to pre-visualize the creative style of a photo shoot while also informing the creative direction and art direction. It can also go as far as defining color palettes, the tone and mood as well as address the overall messaging of the visual communication you’re looking to create. Creative briefs are also not limited to just photo shoots. A creative brief can be used for the purposes of graphic design, video production and other forms of creative communication. Creative briefs are essentially designed to help inspire the artist’s that you hire as well as provide them with a better understanding of your visual needs in order to produce your project. In this article, we’ll focus on how a creative brief specifically informs a commercial photo shoot.
A creative brief is not be confused with a shot list, which is a separate document involving a numbered list with a corresponding description of the photographs needed for a given commercial photo shoot. Creative briefs and shot lists go hand in hand.
Why Is A Creative Brief Important for a Commercial Photography Project?
Having a creative brief in place helps assure that the visuals being produced align with the strategic needs and creative vision of the project. It helps provide the photographer with a visual point of reference in which to gauge the needs of production. Art is always subjective and open to interpretation. It’s totally ok to give the photographer that you hire some creative freedom. I love creative freedom! But don’t assume that a photographer knows exactly what you want unless you specify it in the the creative brief or shot list. If you have very specific goals for your photo shoot and you know exactly what you want, this is the type of documents that you want to put that information in.
Let’s get hypothetical for a minute. Let’s say that your company does xyz
A Well Written Creative Brief Will Do These 5 Things:
A well written creative brief will help convey the tone and mood you’re going for
A well written creative brief will identify the target market you’re looking to appeal to
A well written creative brief will provide conceptualization and visual strategy (creative direction & art direction)
A well written creative brief will help inform the production needs of your project
A well written creative brief will ultimately help you formulate your shot list
Who’s In Charge of Writing The Creative Brief?
Generally speaking, a creative brief is a document that is that is provided by the company that is requesting creative work to be done. This means you, the Client. Whether your internal marketing team creates this document in house or elects to hire an outside consultant or creative agency, it is ultimately your responsibility to provide this document. I covered this more extensively in a previous article: “WHY YOUR COMPANY NEEDS A SHOT LIST WHEN HIRING A COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER AND HOW TO WRITE ONE”. (Check out the section called “A Who’s Who Of Sorts.")
How Do I Write A Creative Brief For A Commercial Photography Project?
The good news is that writing a creative brief isn’t rocket science. If you have basic computing skills and know how to use technologies like Google Docs, Microsoft Office, guess what?! You can write a creative brief! Writing a creative brief doesn’t have to be complicated. This document can be as little as 1 to 2 pages, but can certainly be longer depending on the project. This document is most often delivered in a digital format like a PDF format or web based format like Google Slides. That being said, if your skillset is limited to Microsoft word, that could be feasible as well. Most importantly, be sure to keep in mind that the brief should be descriptive, easy to follow, informative and visuals are definitely a plus.
What should be included in a Creative Brief?
Depending on the type of work being created, the creative brief will vary in length and can be more or less specific. For example, the brief for a product advertisement shoot would be far more detailed than a product shoot involving standard shots on a white background. Creating standard shots on a white background is pretty straightforward. But a product advertisement on the other hand would be much more specific. The ultimate goal of this brief is to help the photographer you’re hiring envision and pre-visualize the shoot.
A Well Written Creative Brief Should Include (But is not limited to):
A well written creative brief should include a statement about your company’s core values, culture and brand positioning in the market(s) you serve.
A well written creative brief should include information about the specific demographic that you’re trying to target. Most companies these days invest in some type of digital marketing, collecting data points and really take a deep dive into researching the customers in their respective target market. The team putting the brief together should include any pertinent information regarding their ideal customer is and what appeals to them based on their research.
A well written creative brief should address the challenges that your brand faces as it relates to the project at hand. It’s also important to provide and overview of your direct competitors. Think about the similarities and differences between your products, services and messaging. How are you looking to differentiate?
A well written creative brief should address the visual objectives of your commercial photography project as it directly relates to your key messaging of your campaign or project.
A well written creative brief should include mood boards for visual reference. These visual references can be derived from rough sketches, Pinterest pages, Behance profiles, or simply a collection images found on the internet and put into a PDF or Google Slides document to be used for reference only. These visuals should be used as a source of inspiration and help visually identify the specific look you’re trying to achieve. This can help inform the type of lighting you’re after, color harmonies, angles and overall style of the imagery.
A well written creative brief should include any specific visual concepts (creative direction) and pre-designed or rough layouts (art direction).
A well written creative brief should describe any technical requirements involving how and where the images might be used in the real world. It’s important to think about distribution channels and how these visuals will best reach your target audience. It’s helpful to include mockups for a digital display advertising, website layouts, magazine ad layouts or billboards. Having an understanding of the usage of the photographs will help determine the output requirements of the final deliverables.
My Best Advice
I can tell you from a commercial photographer's perspective, that it’s much easier to put together an estimate for a client who is well organized, already has a creative brief established and has a solid shot list in place. We all enjoy working organized people, am I right? That being said, before you even begin contacting commercial photographers about a project, you should have a good sense of your photography needs along an overview of the creative direction and at the very least a rough shot list. And if you don’t have these documents, it’s ultimately the responsibility of your internal marketing team or the creative agency you’ve hired to create them. If you’re going to invest in commercial photography for your brand, it’s worth your while to go through a discovery process and really take a deep dive when thinking about your visual marketing needs.
If you still need additional information regarding creative briefs, I’d recommend checking out THIS HUBSPOT ARTICLE.
To Summarize
I know there’s a lot to unpack here, but hopefully you’ve learned something of value. As you can see, if you’re looking to get an estimate for commercial photography services, it’s really important to be able to describe and articulate your commercial photography needs in detail. The more you know about your visual marketing strategy, the better equipped you’ll be for getting a more accurate bid for commercial photography services based on your specific and unique needs.
